Business

Red Canoe in Algonquin - Click for larger

(Above image published in the Summer 2012 issue of ON Nature magazine)

It's not always the fun part, although I love getting paid for what I do. The business aspect of photography takes up the majority of our time. If it were just clicking the shutter this would be a very simple business. It is a lot of hard work and grueling hours at the computer. Phone calls, emails and dealing with clients can eat up your day. Not to mention, backups, processing and adding the captions, keywords and other metadata.

Labrador Iceberg - Click for larger

(Above image selected as Editors Choice, National Association of Photoshop Professionals June 21, 2012)

It's not why we got into this. It wasn’t for recognition or the money. It was for the shear joy of capturing a moment, a slice of time that inspires and shows the wonder of the world. But eventually, you have to sell to keep doing it. Publish or perish.

I remember the first time I had a nature image published. It was very exciting. I think I got $50 for it. It was a cow moose from Algonquin. That image is no longer in my database of images. I probably still have it somewhere but it is not as good as the moose images I have now. Still, it was the beginning and holds a special place in my memory. I'm still a regular contributor to that magazine 20 years later.

There is an energy that is released when you get published. It's validation and yes; it helps the ego although it is best to keep that in check. You must remember there are so many great images out there. I am just a very small part of a very large industry.

St. Lawrence River - Click for larger

(Above image published in the May 2012 issue of Canadian Geographic Travel magazine)

I often don’t get to see my published images. If they are sold by one of our many agencies, we get a quarterly statement and a cheque. The statement indicates what image sold, what rights where sold and how and where geographically it was used. It does not list the company or publication. So we rarely see most of our images in print. If we sell it directly to a client, we ask for copies. However many of our sales are through an agent.

Killarney Provincial Park - Click for larger

Many years ago, a photographer friend of mine saw the above image in the United Airlines in flight magazine. Photographers often read the credit line. He noticed my name and grabbed several copies for me. He knew it was very important to have examples of published work and I'm grateful that he sent them along.

We continue to establish new clients on our own:

Meadowlark - Click for larger

(Above image published in the October/November 2011 issue of National Wildlife magazine)

Getting and keeping new clients is what it is all about when it comes down to business. That takes time and hard work. There is no way around it.

Selling your work changes the dynamic of your photography. In some ways it takes some of the fun out of it. In other ways, it adds joy and a sense of accomplishment.

Dinosaur Provincial Park - Click for larger

(Above image published online at: National Geographic Travel Trip Ideas)

Whatever you do, there is a cycle. The cycle of photography is not really complete until you show the image somehow. Whether it is published or printed and hung on the wall, it all starts with your eye and what is in front of you.

After all these years, the process is still fun, challenging and rewarding.

The Waiting Game

You know the old saying, “I have all the patience in the world, I just don’t have time to use it”. Nature photography is often a waiting game. Sometimes it’s worth waiting and sometimes it’s not. Do you have trouble with this? I know I do. If the light is good and nothing is happening in front of my eyes, I often want to cut and run to the next location. But sometimes if you just sit tight and wait, you can get that extra special image. In the first example (above right), I was shooting in Southern Saskatchewan and spotted this Richardson’s ground squirrel at the side of the road. I used a 500 mm lens and shot from the window of the van using a bean bag for support. The light was still good but it was nearing the end of the morning shoot. I had taken what I thought were good images when I noticed another ground squirrel coming out of the same hole. After about 10 minutes I was able to take the next image (left). Now that’s a little more interesting. The voices in my head start to speak a little louder now. “That’s enough, I’m hungry, and the light is getting harsh…..”.



But wait there is a third head poking up, so I keep shooting. Finally the second and third squirrels are up and they form a nice grouping (right). Now I would love to say this always happens when I force myself to sit quietly somewhere and wait but it doesn’t. Nine times out of ten nothing interesting happens at all and I’m left wondering what I missed down the road.

What about that other side of the coin? What if there is something better down the road? It’s enough to drive you crazy if you let it. Sometimes you just have to listen to your gut and go with it. For example, I was in Brockville, Ontario during last year's Thanksgiving weekend and got up early to shoot some scenes in this picturesque town on the St. Lawrence River.

I was in the old section of town and was shooting just as the sky and city lights start to blend together. It was okay, some good stock shots but nothing dramatic. I could see the sun was just about to clear the horizon and the voices in my head started to speak. “Look there’s mist. This could be interesting”. I decide to listen to the voices and head down to the river. As the sun came through the mist it was quite dramatic. I shot a few frames and checked the histogram for exposure. (image below)
I could hear a boat coming and got myself ready to shoot as it passed the highlight in the water. (see image below)
But when I heard the rowers coming I really got excited. (see image below) So sometimes you are rewarded by staying put and sometimes you are rewarded by moving on.
How many times have you run into a photographer and they say “you should have been here 5 minutes ago”? I hear it all the time. I guess you can’t get them all. A lot of your decisions will be based on a number of factors such as how long do you have (an hour, week or month?) and how well do you know the area? This is where research and scouting locations ahead of time becomes very important. If you know where to be when the light hits, you know your options and can make more informed decisions. The more informed you are, the more you can trust those nagging voices in your head.