Economy depression

GraphyFotoz · June 29, 2008

Yeah I'm still kick'in but no ambition. :rolleyes
With gas and food prices it's just hard to get excited about taking pics lately.
No new equipment in almost a year now.
More important to eat and get to work to pay the bills.....depressing to say the least!
Something hasta give!!!!
I'm sure I'm not the only one in this sinking boat!

thebigsky · June 29, 2008

I think a lot of people are in the same boat, it's pretty difficult to escape when the global economy is struggling with rising fuel and food prices.

Petrol is around $11 a gallon here in the UK, food and energy costs are rising rapidly, house prices are falling and I'm sure it's going to get worse before it gets better.

So no, you're not alone in finding things pretty worrying.

Keep your chin up!

Charlie

Richard · June 29, 2008

I had my eye on a 100-400mm, but decided that I just can't afford it if I am also going to replace my 20D next year as planned. I had also been planning on a trip to Turkey, which likewise got nixed. It's a bummer, but it's also a good idea to remember how well most of us live compared to the vast majority of the world's population.

Buck up, mate. If you are at all like me, there's plenty left to explore with the equipment you already own.

cmorganphotography · June 29, 2008

What I'm scared of i the fact that portraits and art prints are a frivolous expense, a luxury item. If no one can afford to live, where does that put photographers? Sure you have to have baby pictures and wedding pictures... but a lot of people have P&S and think that's good enough. Portraits are something you need to have a photographer do... but with DIY being free? I'm scared our market is going to take a dive and I just opened my own business.:cry I'm going to an art sales event in two weeks but I have to buy all the prints prior and get some sort of frame or sales device on them to sell. That's fronting cash that I might not get back.
Anyone else feeling the pinch? In order to get toys I take on second and third jobs, recycle and squirrel money away. Donate plasma. Take a % of sales and save it, put the rest in the bank for rainy day funds and to live.
It's ridiculous. My husband and I both have two jobs, 1 ft and 1 pt. It shouldn't cost 4 dollars a gallon for gas and 200 dollars for groceries. Milk is 4 dollars and 12 eggs are almost 3. The cheap bread is at least 2.50 when before it was 50 cents. Ouch!

Awais Yaqub · June 29, 2008

Even worse over here !!!
With 6000 Rs which is hardly 100$ people have to spend whole month looking after whole family. We are not in sinking boat infect it sank long ago

. Even for people earning more around 700$ cannot afford basic necessities here.

To get out of the shock i use my trusty method i found when my mom was hospitalized before she died.
I thought i am the only guy full of pain and sadness until i saw people in worse situation then me waiting for death to get rid of further expenses, this kept me alive and motivated otherwise i would have died :cry

cmorganphotography · June 29, 2008

Awais Yaqub wrote:

Even worse over here !!!
With 6000 Rs which is hardly 100$ people have to spend whole month looking after whole family. We are not in sinking boat infect it sank long ago . Even for people earning more around 700$ cannot afford basic necessities here.

To get out of the shock i use my trusty method i found when my mom was hospitalized before she died.
I thought i am the only guy full of pain and sadness until i saw people in worse situation then me waiting for death to get rid of further expenses, this kept me alive and motivated otherwise i would have died :cry

FOr what it's worth, I'm glad you survived and keep kicking. You've done your mother so proud by bringing all the beauty you see to people all around the world.

GraphyFotoz · June 29, 2008

cmorganphotography wrote:

FOr what it's worth, I'm glad you survived and keep kicking. You've done your mother so proud by bringing all the beauty you see to people all around the world.

davev · June 29, 2008

Awais Yaqub wrote:

Even worse over here !!!
With 6000 Rs which is hardly 100$ people have to spend whole month looking after whole family. We are not in sinking boat infect it sank long ago . Even for people earning more around 700$ cannot afford basic necessities here.

To get out of the shock i use my trusty method i found when my mom was hospitalized before she died.
I thought i am the only guy full of pain and sadness until i saw people in worse situation then me waiting for death to get rid of further expenses, this kept me alive and motivated otherwise i would have died :cry

After reading Awais's post, I don't have a thing to complain about.
Yes, gas is more expensive. I know the heating bills will be higher this year.
But I have a lot of extra's lying around the house, that if I sold them, or got
rid of the monthly services, would put more food on the table.

This may bring America back to the way some things were 30 or 40 years ago.
Instead of driving the kids all over town to play at some spot, maybe they'll have
to play in there own neighborhoods.

Instead of the latest fads, you'll wear those jeans one more year.
Instead of driving across town to buy something for 50 cents less,
you buy it down the street and save the gas money while helping
out the local business.

There's a person that lives near us that wakes up, drives to a Starbucks to
get a cup of .... whatever, drives home, gets ready for work, then drives
to work. That person lives 2 blocks from the Starbucks.
What, they can't walk???
Want to save some money ... buy a coffee pot.

I would guess that we all have a few things we could cut back on.
Coffee, cells phones, cable TV, high speed internet, bottled water.
Bottled water, I love that one. Bottled water is tap water run through
a filter system. People spend good money for something that's free
all around them. But the good news is that it probably takes the
equivalent of 2 bottles of water to get one bottle on the shelf.

We in America have had it good for a long time, but it looks like time
may be running out. I hope not, but I don't know.

GraphyFotoz · June 30, 2008

cmorganphotography wrote:

What I'm scared of i the fact that portraits and art prints are a frivolous expense, a luxury item. If no one can afford to live, where does that put photographers? Sure you have to have baby pictures and wedding pictures... but a lot of people have P&S and think that's good enough. Portraits are something you need to have a photographer do... but with DIY being free? I'm scared our market is going to take a dive and I just opened my own business.:cry

It's been awful in my area for quite awhile now. (Upstate NY)
That was before the economy really took a dive!
People marvel over your one of a kind work but want to pay mass print prices.

It's a shame but what ya gonna do?

Economy affects all aspects of life and it's really starting to hurt!!
We are not far from 1929 all over again.

Pupator · June 30, 2008

GraphyFotoz wrote:

We are not far from 1929 all over again.

I know things aren't great right now, but if you really believe that you have a very limited understanding of what things were like in 1929.

GraphyFotoz · June 30, 2008

Pupator wrote:

I know things aren't great right now, but if you really believe that you have a very limited understanding of what things were like in 1929.

Bread lines.....food rations.....no jobs......american dollar not worth squat....stock market crash.
Not hard to see that for the future the way things are going.
You show me where it's getting any better to head this off.

Depressing? Yes but reality and YES this could very easily happen!
I've had old timers that lived thru it the first time tell me that things are leading to this quickly.....and that was 5-6yrs ago!!

Andy · June 30, 2008

davev wrote:

After reading Awais's post, I don't have a thing to complain about.

+ 1

philiphutson · July 1, 2008

GraphyFotoz wrote:

It's been awful in my area for quite awhile now. (Upstate NY)
That was before the economy really took a dive!
People marvel over your one of a kind work but want to pay mass print prices.
It's a shame but what ya gonna do?
Economy affects all aspects of life and it's really starting to hurt!!
We are not far from 1929 all over again.

The move to walmart printing has been going on for a long time. The best solution I have seen is to start charging hourly rate and giving them a cd and offering the customer a very limited (larger sizes only) handprinted image for a premium. The pros that have moved to this option have come to love walmart because they don't have to deal with all the print issues which takes up to much of their time. They don't sell a lot of the handprinted images but what they do is a nice bonus.
-Philip

Ann McRae · July 1, 2008

Great post Dave. I live in an area where the economy is still booming; however, I realize the interconnectedness and the interdependance of the global economy. I've planted a garden - good old fashioned grow yer own food. This will help improve my carbon footprint (by 25% - did you know that not eating meat also has the same effect?) and my health. I think we are all excessive consumers and I am as guilty as everyone around me. I've raised children during this generation of instant satisfaction and immediate gratification and am worried. But I think there is plenty that each of us can (and should) do to alleviate the problems faced all around the globe. I am hoping my little garden is the first vey small step in the right direction.

So, graphy, if your worried, figure out a way to ease the pain. Maybe that is an alternate means of transportation, maybe it is planting a simple little veg garden, maybe it is moving to greener pastures (so to speak). I think mostly there is reason to appreciate what you have and relish that.

ann

davev wrote:

After reading Awais's post, I don't have a thing to complain about.
Yes, gas is more expensive. I know the heating bills will be higher this year.
But I have a lot of extra's lying around the house, that if I sold them, or got
rid of the monthly services, would put more food on the table.

This may bring America back to the way some things were 30 or 40 years ago.
Instead of driving the kids all over town to play at some spot, maybe they'll have
to play in there own neighborhoods.

Instead of the latest fads, you'll wear those jeans one more year.
Instead of driving across town to buy something for 50 cents less,
you buy it down the street and save the gas money while helping
out the local business.

There's a person that lives near us that wakes up, drives to a Starbucks to
get a cup of .... whatever, drives home, gets ready for work, then drives
to work. That person lives 2 blocks from the Starbucks.
What, they can't walk???
Want to save some money ... buy a coffee pot.

I would guess that we all have a few things we could cut back on.
Coffee, cells phones, cable TV, high speed internet, bottled water.
Bottled water, I love that one. Bottled water is tap water run through
a filter system. People spend good money for something that's free
all around them. But the good news is that it probably takes the
equivalent of 2 bottles of water to get one bottle on the shelf.

We in America have had it good for a long time, but it looks like time
may be running out. I hope not, but I don't know.

GraphyFotoz · July 1, 2008

Ann McRae wrote:

So, graphy, if your worried, figure out a way to ease the pain. Maybe that is an alternate means of transportation, maybe it is planting a simple little veg garden, maybe it is moving to greener pastures (so to speak). I think mostly there is reason to appreciate what you have and relish that.

ann

Understood......have Tomatoes and Cuckies planted....if the deer don't munch em!

I live in a semi rural area so alternate transpo is not feasible.

Our part of the state is pretty dead.....once home to IBM....EJ Shoes....Aniteck...Universal Instruments.....and 4-5 subs for these.
They are all gone now....all that there is in the area Lockheed Martin and BAE Systems. (Engineer jobs mostly)
Only people keeping the housing market going here are PPL retiring out of NYC and NJ buying homes up here with their fat retirements.
You can buy a home here that cost $500,000 in Poukeepsie for about $125,000!
Taxes here in NY are some of the worst in the country short of Cali.
Getting very hard on local retirees....most I know don't even know if they can afford to heat their homes this winter...let alone afford to eat.

Looking more and more like Hobbies are a luxury of the past at this point.
Most of my friends have had to give theirs up to survive.

Moogle Pepper · July 1, 2008

Yeah this year hasn't been very good to the most of us. Housing bubble crash, Credit crisis which looks to crash too, increasing cost of fuel and food, unemployment rates rising. It surely isn't a good time in America, nor other parts of the world as well.

I was very very highly reluctant to decline going to University of Chicago's master's program because I can no longer afford it's seriously hefty tuition and student loans are getting hit bad. Of course the student loans would continue to aid big universities like University of Chicago, but at what cost? I didn't earn any financial aid either which made the decision, slightly more easier. Just slightly.

We all just need to suck it up, be more fiscally responsible, tighten the belt, and hope optimistically that it will be better and be happy that we are still alive cause tomorrow is still in question.

GraphyFotoz · July 1, 2008

Moogle Pepper wrote:

We all just need to suck it up, be more fiscally responsible, tighten the belt, and hope optimistically that it will be better and be happy that we are still alive cause tomorrow is still in question.

Yup this sums it up all in one sentance!

Ann McRae · July 2, 2008

GraphyFotoz wrote:

Understood......have Tomatoes and Cuckies planted....if the deer don't munch em!
I live in a semi rural area so alternate transpo is not feasible.

Our part of the state is pretty dead.....once home to IBM....EJ Shoes....Aniteck...Universal Instruments.....and 4-5 subs for these.
They are all gone now....all that there is in the area Lockheed Martin and BAE Systems. (Engineer jobs mostly)
Only people keeping the housing market going here are PPL retiring out of NYC and NJ buying homes up here with their fat retirements.
You can buy a home here that cost $500,000 in Poukeepsie for about $125,000!
Taxes here in NY are some of the worst in the country short of Cali.
Getting very hard on local retirees....most I know don't even know if they can afford to heat their homes this winter...let alone afford to eat.

Looking more and more like Hobbies are a luxury of the past at this point.
Most of my friends have had to give theirs up to survive.

We live on the outskirts of our city too, so I planted enough for me and the deer

I noticed something really funny this week - the deer ate the beets out from between two rows of carrots!!
And we have no public transportation options yet (coming soon tho). When we moved here, we drove an SUV. Now its a minivan, and I'd like to buy an ultra compact. Our housing market has flattened totally, but still about 3X what it was 3 or 4 years ago. We are actually glad to see a bit of a slowdown because things were too out of control. But the cost of living is high, and those that do not own a home yet, probably won't unless they buy south of the border

now that our dollars are =.

I do feel for the retirees. Imagine having to pay heating costs for a house up here where a month of -30C is a normal thing!

keep your head up and enjoy your hobby. Hope you don't find yourself needing to sell gear.

ann

Moogle Pepper · July 3, 2008

Well the good news from this mess is that they believe 2009 will have better prospects. Too bad that is about 6-7 months away from now.

Ann McRae · July 3, 2008

Moogle Pepper wrote:

Well the good news from this mess is that they believe 2009 will have better prospects. Too bad that is about 6-7 months away from now.

Won't this all depend on the outcome of your election? From across the border it seems that your economy is tied to your political leadership.

There is an interesting survey just published by my favorite Canadian news magazine, McLeans

Canadians Live the 'American Dream'

Amusing, there may even be bits of truth in it!

ann

cmorganphotography · July 3, 2008

Ann McRae wrote:

Won't this all depend on the outcome of your election? From across the border it seems that your economy is tied to your political leadership.

There is an interesting survey just published by my favorite Canadian news magazine, McLeans

Canadians Live the 'American Dream'

Amusing, there may even be bits of truth in it!

ann

With both candidates the only difference I see is one wants to cut military funding and the other doesn't. I just wish one of them would realize that drilling oil readily available in the USA would relieve the market immediately. Competition is good for markets and oil prices are based on speculation.
It irks me when they say "Oh no, we won't drill for oil because there will be no benefit for ten years, if it would help right now, I'd do it!" I call bs. It would help out now and food and gas prices would go down instead of up.
It seems too many hands are in the pie and no one wants to give up anything for anyone else's relief. It's kinda scary when the economy is drowning and people in charge of changing it through law and the government system won't because they are too selfish.

In a perfect world... yadda.. yadda...

flyingdutchie · July 3, 2008

I think most of the economic woes come from the overspending in the past.
The USA lived/lives on credit. A lot of consumption was paid through credit-card debts, home-equity loans on overvalued houses, gigantic budget deficit, etc.

Greed in the market was fueled by under-pricing 'risk': Huge profits were made in the stock-markets because people got lucky until the bubble popped and with no money left to buffer the losses.

At some point you have to pay the price. And i feel that that time has come.

I just hope i can keep shooting some more pics, when my job doesn't keep my so busy

ed_h · July 4, 2008

diesel is getting close to 2 dollars a litre, in my case about 150$ a week in fuel. Compared to many people, truck drivers fisherman etc costs are out of control. In one respect we are very lucky to be in a minerals export boom.
Ed

Moogle Pepper · July 4, 2008

jawdrop

GraphyFotoz · July 4, 2008

Ann McRae wrote:

Won't this all depend on the outcome of your election? From across the border it seems that your economy is tied to your political leadership.

ann

That's the problem we don't have any!
Bush and his shoot happy side kick have controlling interest in oil.

Nother thing is we have too few of refineries.....need to build more but they won't.
We need to stop exporting what we refine and drill for our own oil HERE.
According to the stats I've seen we have enough oil here in the USA to last 50yrs.
There is some speculation that there is some shady trading going on with oil futures just there aren't proper laws to guard against it.
The whole deal is being done with smoke screens and mirrors.:splat

gus · July 4, 2008

ed_h wrote:

diesel is getting close to 2 dollars a litre, in my case about 150$ a week in fuel. Compared to many people, truck drivers fisherman etc costs are out of control. In one respect we are very lucky to be in a minerals export boom.
Ed

I filled one of our little 4 ton trucks at work the other day. 3 1/2 years ago i remember i used to juuust be able to squeeze $100 in the tank. Last week i put $175 in it.

I still feel sorry for the people i met on Tanna Island a few weeks back whom i saw pay $5/lt for diesel.

gus · July 4, 2008

GraphyFotoz wrote:

That's the problem we don't have any!
Bush and his shoot happy side kick have controlling interest in oil.

Nother thing is we have too few of refineries.....need to build more but they won't.
We need to stop exporting what we refine and drill for our own oil HERE.
According to the stats I've seen we have enough oil here in the USA to last 50yrs.
There is some speculation that there is some shady trading going on with oil futures just there aren't proper laws to guard against it.
The whole deal is being done with smoke screens and mirrors.:splat

Graphy....world oil is controlled by a cartel. It will do as it wishes..not what makes sense to the rest of us.

Economy depression

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