Hiatus

It may have seemed like I've been on a hiatus for a while. I have not posted any new images in a few weeks. Between the changeover from fall to winter, which is a difficult time to photograph scenery, and the holidays, I have not been highly motivated to create new work.

We have had a lot of cold weather, but not much snow. Today we were lucky to get a soft snowfall during the day. I took advantage and made haste to my local park to try and photograph the covered bridge there. I was able to get a few nice images, although the one I "wanted" was not possible since the higher water level prevented me from reaching the position I have used before.

I am finding photographing snow difficult. There is always a contrast between the brightest white, mid-tones, and the shadows. The sky was overcast today, so that lessened the contrast, but that can lead to drab images, especially of the gray sky. On the other hand a sunny sky would have pumped up the contrast to the extreme, making the scene very harsh. I think I prefer the overcast conditions, where I have more control on making adjustments.

Box Design

In a followup to my previous post where I show my home-made box for transporting framed prints, I have put together a rough diagram of the design I used. It includes a materials list and a cut list. I have omitted the assembly since that is (a) more difficult to document and (b) should be self-evident to someone attempting to build a box like this. Just be careful to make the box as square as possible.

Below is the diagram. Click on it to make sure you are not seeing it compressed by Blogger.

I have not yet settled on a good lining material. I picked up some thin rolled-up blue foam insulation at Lowes, so I'm going to try putting that in. I'll let you know how that works out.

Spyware = Bad

I've just overcome a bout with spyware on my main computer. And I must say: Spyware creators are Evil, and Thank God for smart people who provide great free tools to eliminate this evil.

One of my children visited a "bad" site and maybe clicked on a pop-up she shouldn't have. After a few hours of getting nowhere I found a site that recommended Combofix. This is a program that performs some real magic and it eliminated the spyware that other tools could not. It's not a commercial program - it's a freebie that someone developed with a very crude user interface. But it got the job done, and that's all that matters.

Thank you smart spyware-removing people.

Searching for a Clue

I have recently begun keeping closer track of the traffic to my website. I am not using publicly available tools for this (why not - I really don't know). I keep my own logs and have developed some scripts that spit out some statistics for me. A few nuggets of information has some out of this.

Image-Based Searches

For one, and this was a little surprising to me, image-based searches usually resulted in very little follow-on traffic. Visitors coming to my site from, say, a Google or Yahoo image search typically only view that one photo that they linked to. They don't explore other parts of my site.

Now this is perfectly understandable. When you perform an image search, and click on a specific thumbnail that you find might meet your needs (whether it be to purchase a photo or, uh, "borrow" one for some other purpose) you are basically trying to confirm whether you like THAT PHOTO that you clicked on. You are really in the mindset of continuing your image search through the search engine, not exploring the target website.

At one point I was concerned with getting good rankings in the Google image search, but with this new information I'm not really that concerned any more.

Holiday Season

The other interesting piece of data is that during the winter holiday, i.e. the "gift-giving season", I seem to get a lot of subject-specific searches, and my sales during the holidays reflect that. When people buy photography as a gift I think the tendency is to buy a specific locational subject that the buyer believes the recipient knows and will appreciate. For example "Sea Isle Sunrise" or "Boathouse Row". I don't get a lot of "Fall Foliage" or "Waterfall" searches. Again - perfectly understandable.

Snow on Trees

One more interesting search that I get a lot of in November is for "Snow on Trees", or some variation of this. I have one particular image, shown below, that is a fairly good seller at shows, but not really that good online. But people search for this subject constantly. So what gives? My theory is that people are designing holiday cards or newsletters, either for their own personal use or for others, and they are looking for nice winter images to use for these. Although the quality and size of the image on my website is not appropriate for making prints, some people may find it acceptable for cards.

If this is true then I am sure people are stealing my images left and right, since I get no requests to license this image. It is nearly impossible for me to detect this (i.e. "enforce" my copyrights). And prevention measures are possible, such as making images much smaller on my site, going to a flash-based website, or slicing and dicing the image so it makes it harder to download manually. I am not inclined to do any of that for now, because I like the simplicity of my site - the way it operates, and the ease that I can maintain and update it.

Winter Project

For the past few years I have been transporting my framed prints in cardboard boxes. The boxes were OK, but not really up to the job. They were not durable and did not protect the artwork. They were very susceptible to rain and wet ground, and storing them during the show was always a problem.

So I've decided to build my own carrying boxes. I've seen similar boxes by other artists so I basically "borrowed" their ideas.

It's a simple box design. I designed it with the following features:

• Removable lid, to protect from rain (some boxes I've seen don't have a lid). The lid stays in place simply by placing the 1x3 wood pieces slightly over the edges, as seen in the last photo.


• Lauan wood sides. Thin, light, and cheap.


• 2 inch "feet" on the bottom (the sides extend down to form the feet). In case of rain this will keep the artwork mostly above water level

Here are a few photos of a partially completed box. I will be putting in a soft lining material, but I have not decided on the material yet. I will also be putting on a protective finishing coat. Let me know if you want more information or the measurements/plans.

Indoor vs. Outdoor

I just completed my last show of the year, and surprisingly the faltering economy has not really hurt my business too much. I'm glad that people are making a strong enough connection to my work that they are willing to spend their hard-earned money to take the prints home.

There are a number of differences between indoor and outdoor shows. The advantages of the outdoor are pretty obvious. Potentially larger crowds, and bigger and roomier space to display more of the artists' work. This should typically result in bigger sales.

But in some ways I'm starting to grow fond of indoor shows. One major advantage is the weather factor, or non-weather factor. Not getting rained on or getting your tent blown away is a fantastic feeling.

Another advantage is that it is more a more intimate setting. Well, let's say "personal" setting. In a large tent a person could walk in, browse for a couple minutes, and leave without saying nary a word if they keep their distance from me. But at an indoor show I greet visitors very quickly, since I am typically standing or sitting just a few feet away. This often quickly leads to conversation, which helps to put the visitor at ease.

I thoroughly enjoyed my last two shows, both indoors, and I look forward to more int he future.

Churchville Nature Center Growing

I've just learned that one of my local photography haunts, Churchville Nature Center, will be expanding soon. A large chunk of adjacent land has been donated to them, and their visitor center is also going to be expanded.

Read about it below at phillyburbs.com:

Churchville Nature Center Growing

Busy Show

My show last weekend was well attended. The crowds at Charles Boehm Middle School were pretty steady all day, right up until the closing minute. Thanks to all who stopped by for a chat or a purchase.

I think my set-up has greatly improved over the years. The frames I am using now do a better job of enhancing my work, and I was able to utilize the full space effectively with the addition of a new print rack. I have been using lights since I began the indoor shows, and they are almost a requirement for selling photography.

Below are some shots of my setup. My next and last show for the year is at Archbishop Wood High School in Warminster, Pa. That will be Nov 21 (evening) and Nov 22.

Coming to a Close

Fall colors are dwindling away. Bright colorful leaves are starting to morph into brown, at least those that haven't fallen to the ground yet.

Also, my show season is almost at an end. Just 2 more shows. Next weekend in Yardley at the Charles Boehm Middle School, and two weeks after at Archbishop Wood High School. I have a bunch of images from the season that I will be working onto the website and into my inventory.

Below is a recent image taken during a fantastic morning near Lake Nockamixon in Bucks County. Shooting nearly directly into the sun through the fog creates an image with little color variance, but creates a wonderful mood with the silhouettes of the horse and pony.

Something a Little Different

Sometimes I struggle with autumn. The window is so small to take advantage of the best colors, and in addition due to my day job I can only spend quality photography time on the weekends. And when the weather is clear the sun arrives with full force quickly after sunrise. This can immediately create unwanted contrast, even when using a polarizing filter.

The other reason I struggle is finding creative ways to work in the color to quality compositions. I avoid making images of color for color's sake, unless there is something interesting going on in the photo. So with relatively few outings in the peak season I sometimes find myself under-performing, relative to what I know is possible during this season.

So this morning I am out at a local park, and the lake is full of geese preparing to continue their migratory journeys. As groups of them lift off from the water and head on their way I attempted to capture some of this activity. The sun did not cooperate today as some clouds blocked the "quality" light right after sunrise. So I did not get much of the geese activity looking horizontally across the lake.

But I did see the moon overhead, and with so many geese flying around I figured I would get some chances to include them with a moon shot. The image below is one such result. It does not represent the fall colors, but it is striking nonetheless.