11th Hour

Man I had awful feeling taking pictures the morning of March 13th. I tend to stay aware of what is going on globally in a general sense, because there are things that have a butterfly effect with an infinite amount of variables.

Taking photos this morning was to help rid my anxiety of what was about to happen and should have happened sooner. I understand the economics in scale. Obviously my work as a photographer and driver are greatly impacted.

The next morning I quit hauling people after a couple rough nights. I was giving people rides that had no business being in public and rated them accordingly. One of my last rides I saved the day by doing nothing as a wrong way driver passed slowly by us in the next lane.

It’s been two weeks since I had to sell my camera to pay rent. It was apart of the short plan if worse came to worse. Who would have imagined the enormity of that statement back in October? Me. It’s just how business works and I had more than one set back with this being a pretty hard blow. Still rocking hardware for photo and video editing (my son) and looking into online contracts along with driving for a living.

We are all dealing with a lot right now. This was my productivity for today so far and fingers crossed for paying work. Think I’ll just listen to some Pearl Jam for now though.

Killer Bees & Desert Lavender

Went out for a quick hike and captured a great series of photos with Bees and Lavender the other day. I was feeling relaxed, calm, cool and calculated in a light swarm of bees feasting on brittlebrush, creosote, and of course lavender. Some of these might make a nice coffee table book if found in the annals of stock photography on Dreamstime.

I got a nice confidence boost from my local bee lovers in the AZ Photography group and feel these are sweet enough to attract more than a few people. Which makes me think of how specific animals have a niche market. Bees, Ladybugs, birds, fish, etc. It means I need to add a better telephoto lens that meets 2020 image standards.

Still figuring out the keywording for most stock websites as I help catalog plant species in the Sonoran Desert. It’s such a specific market most of what I am taking is just waiting for a few people rather than many. Time will tell if this was a personal epiphany. In the meantime feel free to use the cover photo for non-commercial use. If you have an idea for profit let me in on it.

Link to Purchase Killer Bees & Desert Lavender on Hartshornphoto.com

A Photographer’s Niche

I started this journey a couple years ago and find myself now saying I need to find my niche. I think it’s obvious what I am passionate about though. Needed to exercise and release some stress first and foremost.

This has been a great year for sunsets in Arizona. This one in particular is just on the edge of a storm blowing dust northward. Not the most epic one but enough to create a soft glow.

Southern View with Eastern Valley Cities
Southern View with Eastern Valley Cities
Western view - The  Phoenix skyline almost looks like another mountain.
Western view – The Phoenix skyline almost looks like another mountain.

The cover photo is available for sale here.

Largest format available @ 16 bit 11900 x 3940 Pixels