Free Learning Opportunities Abound

One thing that's been happening
is the heat. These geese know

where to go.

I love learning. I had a goal to do a Marketing class online, and I did it. Marketing was relatively easy for me because of my psychology background. However, today, without the help of any free resource whatsoever, I learned a very quick and practical lesson: I learned that PST is three hours later than I thought it was - well, if I'd have noticed that the online "Selling Your Work" webinar said PST and not EST, I would have known it was going to be at 2:00, my time, and not 11:00. So really, I learned to read more-carefully. But now I have a few extra minutes to write about what's been happening around here.

To put it simply, I've been very busy just soaking in information. There are so many free resources out there for learning about business and about photography. The Metrix classes have been great so far. I have been taking notes and being serious about every word, so I am learning a lot. I have completed three business-related classes and am now working on my first photography class.

Another good resource for learning about a photography business is Zenfolio. I'm waiting (sheepishly) for my 2:00 EST (11:00 PST) webinar on selling my work on Zen. I hope they also incorporate bringing in Facebook and other tools to strengthen exposure to my "business". I'm very tempted to shell out $120 to upgrade my Zen account so I can make a profit from selling prints there, but maybe I should wait until I actually sell a print - or better yet, make back the $40 I spent on the more-basic account that I already have there. Maybe I can sell a few things before the August renewal date comes up.

The last free-learning mention of the day goes to Cambridge in Color. This is an amazing website that has tutorials on just about every photography subject imaginable. The guys who put it together are professionals and are visible in the forums, setting up contests and just generally being helpful. This is my go-to site for learning about my camera and photography in general.

Speaking of Cambridge, I am off to see if the private message waiting for me is from them. I asked about them offering a calendar showing their various contests. I want to start entering them, not just on Cambridge, and my global learning style begs me to have a more-centralized listing so I can find what I need easily.

More on contests later. Meanwhile, check out my Zenfolio page here.

Business Notes to Self, 101

Hi, it's me, in a state of confusion about technology. Weird.

I took the U. S. Small Business Administration self-assessment for people interested in starting a business today, and somehow the assessment figured out that I'm not ready to start a business. Maybe it was my answer to the first question, "Are you ready now to start your business?", to which I answered No. I really have little to no idea what I'm doing, aside from how to compose a good picture. That, combined with my introversion and lack of organization skills, hubris and competitive spirit, pretty much sealed up the coffin.

In addition to the gentle message that starting a business isn't for everyone, the results included a starting place for those who aren't ready to give up, which was to take a free, online course called "Small Business Primer: Strategies for success". I found the course (which oddly is aimed specifically at American Indians but I decided that, aside from my not qualifying for specific funding, the course would probably apply to anyone) and decided to give it a go. (Ok, maybe I am more ready to start down this path than I give myself credit for.)

About three slides in (and after realizing that the course is more informative with the audio unmuted), I realized that I need to take notes because some of the information was both pretty good and new to me. But where do I take these notes? I think I have OneNote on my smartphone, and I think that's the app for taking notes, but my phone is small and I can't type 60WPM on my phone, so I looked up the computer version. Hmmm. It's Microsoft software and it's $80. Next idea please. This brings me around to explaining the first line of this essay: Hi, it's me, in a state of confusion about technology.

People have been taking notes since before there was paper, never mind computers, so why is this a technology issue? I could just use a notebook. It's because of my (lack of) organizational skills. I would certainly lose a notebook, or at the very least, not have it with me when I need it. If it was small enough I could keep it in my camera bag, but events over the last several months have led me to not even having my camera with me at all times. Plus, given the choice between my camera (fun, easy and creative) and a notebook (focus on the more difficult aspect of the photography business), I would probably choose the camera.

So what are my requirements for this technology application?
1. Un-losable.
2. Accessible from anywhere (internet).
3. Easy to create non-linear notes.
4. Free.
5. I can't decide whether I want it public or private. I guess it doesn't matter.

I could use Blogger, but it's not non-linear. Ditto Google Docs. I'm out of ideas. But rather than wait for the epiphany (and in the spirit of entrepreneurship) I will do two pro-active things: I will post to Facebook to ask for ideas, and I will just make a Google Docs file to use for now. Once those things are done, I may just reward myself with a little camera time.

What Does it Mean to See?

As a photographer, one looks, frames, considers... I've been thinking about how much time and money I want to invest in photography. Do I want it to pay me back? Do I want to build up my equipment in hopes of selling more pictures? What do I do with the thousands of pictures I already have? Why haven't I printed more pictures and why aren't they hanging up in my house? Can I make a living doing this some day? What do I tell my students who want to become photographers?

Then I am confronted with a beautiful photograph, most unexpectedly. In a setting where I am not expecting to even be looking at photographs. Almost excused away by a brush-off comment, though maybe as a way to protect the self. And as part of a collection of photographs, just "pictures I took of myself... I wanted to try it. They are nudes, but nothing is showing..."

Flesh, metal and glass. The photographer hiding from view in this one, shielded by the camera which does the seeing for her. Legs - tripod, human - intertwined. Fingers curled around the camera, almost clawing, caught in the act of arresting the moment for those not present. And everything dependent on a mirror which sees but cannot be seen.

What to make of it? I want to buy it, but do I need to? I can still see it. And it wasn't offered for sale, only as evidence of a private, courageous moment. So true, for the photographer. For me, the viewer, a hopeful student of the art, something different altogether. In this photograph I read the Photographer's struggle to display, to hide, to check, to capture, to reveal, to pose, to reflect, to measure, to learn, to grow... And now, a few days later, what am I left with? Inspiration? A new benchmark? Alas, more questions. But I know for sure that this was an amazing photograph.

Drowning!

Yes, I'm doing it again. I often do this - I get excited about something, give myself too many choices, make things too complicated, try to start in the middle instead of the beginning, then quit.

Well, I haven't quit yet. And I'm glad. I really want to make this work.

Ok, so what have I done so far? Let's start with what I wanted to do.

"1. Print some photos. (I could break this step down into about 10. Let's just say for now that I will probably use my Zenfolio account to print them so they are professionally done and won't fade like the ones I print myself. Also, before I even print them I'd want to take some specifically for selling on my parents' hay farm. I have some like this already, but a few more probably wouldn't hurt.)
2. Find (online) materials I can use to matte and package them.
3. Make business cards. I wonder if Zenfolio has a link for that.
4. Figure out how to price my pics. I don't want to start too low."

I skipped #1. It's too complicated right now.

For #2 I found www.clearbags.com. I spent a day hemming and hawing about what to order. I was set on a basic mounting kit for 8x10s (with matte boards, backer boards, hinge tape and mounting corners), when I got to the checkout and discovered that there was a minimum order (if I didn't want to pay a service fee), and that my shipping was going to cost over $15! I did a quick search of Michael's and Staples to see if they had the kind of art bags I needed and didn't see them. Then, as usual, I changed my mind and instead of going with mattes, I scaled down the packaging and got bags that just fit the photos, without mattes. I nixed the hinge tape and mounting corners, but got bags and backs for three sizes of photos instead of just 8x10s. Then I ordered them! Then they came in the mail!! Then it took me 10 minutes to open the box (granted, I was using scissors instead of a box knife to cut the tape) and I wondered if the whole idea was crazy. Once I got the box (it was actually two taped together, which had been part of the problem) open, it was like Christmas! All these art supplies. Time to get moving.

#3 My business cards are printing as I type. And I'm proud of them. They almost got the best of me, but I didn't let them. Earlier today, as I sat down to get #3 done, I started flooding myself. Business cards... I had already bought the paper, now I needed a template. Should be easy, I've done it before. Wasn't. Now the flooding: Publisher has a place for a logo. I don't have a logo. Maybe my son can design one. How much should I pay him? What if I don't like it? What about my daughter, who is planning on going to college (next year!) to study art therapy? Should she make the logo? What about the font? It should say something about me. What should it say? I thought I wanted it to be formal but I'd go to work (at my day job as a teacher) in jeans and bare feet if they'd let me. Surely if my business card was formal and a client met me in person they would think I was a fraud. I tried out some fonts. I built, in my head, an advisory board of everyone I know whose opinion I would value about my personality and art. I set up tiers of assistance so that my boss, whose daughter went to art school, didn't have to come to all the meetings... I think I'll call the weather service and ask them to give a name to this flood that I made all over my computer station. (Deep breath here. Breathe.)

#4 I tossed around some ideas about how to price my photos. I was thinking $10 for a 4x6, $15 for a 5x7 and $20 for an 8x10. Nice and simple. Then I considered that I might give a free 4x6 of the same print to everyone who buys an 8x10. What would they do with a duplicate photo? Give it away, of course! Along with my business card, which will be packaged inside.

To be honest, I did do some work with the actual photos today. I uploaded more to Zenfolio. But I think I did too many. I am going to take some down, because they are not all fantastic pics. If I'm not going to print them to sell, they shouldn't be up. I also uploaded some to Snapfish. Prints on Snapfish are much cheaper, and since it's been a while since I've logged on they were trying to entice me with 50 free 4x6 prints. I couldn't figure out how to redeem my 50 prints and it annoyed me until I figured out they were only going to cost me $4.50. But again, I didn't order any because I want to limit the prints I'm offering at first and I'm not sure which ones I like best yet.

Oh! And two people besides my mother have checked out the Zenfolio site! They both signed on within two days of when I put it up. No one has looked at the site since, though. But two people!

So I have 30 business cards and enough materials to package 100 4x6s, 100 5x7s and 75 8x10s. Now I just need pictures!

But I have the best intentions...

Determination, dedication and hard work. Yes, of course. All three will surely lead to success. Someone recently hinted that I have none of these, or at least not enough to make it as a photographer or writer. Or maybe she was trying to encourage me. I guess I don't know.

Yes, you have to put in hard time to make it in any creative field. But if you don't, does that mean you're not determined, dedicated and working hard? Well, I guess if you don't do the work you're not working hard. But what about the other two? I'm determined to make it someday. The problem is, I can't predict when my death will be. Today, being in relatively good health, I certainly have all the time in the world so tomorrow works just as well.

And am I dedicated? The problem is, I'm dedicated to fear. Or, fear has  bound me in "What ifs". What if I write the wrong thing and lose a follower? What if no one buys my line? Or the dreaded, what if I can't do it?

I have perfectly-thought-out responses to the first two questions - responses that I would use with my students or friends. "So what if one follower doesn't like something, you will probably gain two more." "If no one is buying your chairs (see the movie Phenomenon) then at least you have enjoyed putting them together." I know both of those things are true. But for the last question, of course, there is no answer. First of all, "do" what? Become famous? Become rich? What do those words even mean? Write every day? Take a photograph every day? Upload writing or a photo every day? Hook 20 followers? 200? If I don't even know what I'm trying to do, how do I know I haven't done it?

Maybe I should make a ladder of goals for myself so I can see exactly what it is that I am trying to do. I will also add a short description of why I want to do it or what it means to me to each rung. Maybe that will help. And I can post it here, so not only will I be able to visualize what I'm doing (always a good strategy for me), but I will also have some writing to post!

As for the title of this post, it was nearly a year ago that I set up this Blog to catch my random, ADD-inspired writing. Yes, I had good intentions. But today is a new day and I have the phone number of my one  followers, so if she has forgotten about my blog I can just call her and tell her I'm starting again and I know she will read it (thanks, Mom).

One final note: we never understand our path until we've arrived. Maybe I've been doing exactly what I'm supposed to have been doing all along. I thought my teen age daughter sabotaged her employment search when she added a wrinkle to her visual presentation - she got a Mohawk. Then, fifty three weeks after she started looking and one week after the haircut, she got a job. Who knows - maybe the confidence she exuded by boasting a haircut she loved is what got her noticed. Maybe my melancholy angst and procrastination will help my journey somehow... or maybe I should just renew my ADD meds and get to work.

An Introduction

No matter which side of the evolution debate we believe in, we all probably agree that thousands of years ago, or maybe fifty years ago in backwards New England, there were whole civilizations that relied on hunters and gatherers to put food on the table. The hunters were strong, focused individuals who could follow the scent and signs of an animal for many miles, never deviating or becoming distracted, until their stones or arrows or clubs met their marks.

Gatherers, on the other hand, were less-than-focused on the path ahead. They were more naturally inclined to peer off into the woods and look under bushes for stray berries or a squirrel's stash of nuts.

I'm sure you know what I'm talking about. The hunter is the teenage girl on her way to the record store to get the latest Lady GaGa CD. The gatherer is the three year old brother being dragged along and possibly sworn at as he bends down to examine every bug and blob of gum on the sidewalk. At the grocery store, the hunter is the man who goes to the grocery store with milk and eggs on his list and leaves with milk and eggs. The gatherer is the woman who goes into the grocery store with milk and eggs on her list and leaves $100 poorer but with milk, eggs, and a score of other things she can also probably use.

I am definately a gatherer. "Focused" is not a word that I would ever use to describe myself. I am more creative and even distractable. I thought an entire day about what I might say in a Blog, and about who might want to read it. I am a teacher, a parent, a step-parent, a daughter, sister, friend, and lover. I love to take photographs and to write, to look things up and to learn about everything.

That's why this blog is called Scatterings. On any given day, I may write about any of these things or about something else entirely. The one thing that will always be true, though, is the fact that I am a gatherer. When something is interesting to me, I have to check it out. Sometimes I will photograph it, sometimes I buy it or try it out, and here in Scatterings, I will write about it. Some days you might agree that what I have written is worth your time and sometimes you won't, but I hope you will wander down my road often and take a look.