We don’t like to always be so obvious
Those of you who’ve been around a while have seen us go through a lot of changes over the past few years. We once used this site to tell stories, pieces of short fiction to match the photos we were taking. Slowly, we have evolved to the point that we’ve replaced the fiction with non-fiction, focusing more on real events and things that actually affect our lives. We’ve evolved.
At the same time, though, we’ve suffered some serious setbacks. My health has deteriorated so that I’m no longer able to do eight to ten new shoots a week. In fact, I’ve lucky if I manage to get in one new shoot a month this past year. I’m not happy about that situation, but we’ve adapted to it.
In adding the 5 Things You Need To Know this morning, we’ve had to completely refigure how I spend my time. Not only am I up early every morning to write the copy and produce the video, I have to spend several hours the night before, combing through the news, separating fact from speculation from outright misinformation. Roughly eight to ten hours of work goes into those 8-minute segments you see each morning.
We’ve always been able to do enough paid photo work to cover expenses, but we’re having difficulty doing that now, especially with the new format. I’ve always tried to avoid having ads on our site, but now that seems inevitable and necessary.
Before we go signing up for something that just slaps random ads on our pages, though, we want to give you a chance to participate. You can help sponsor 5 Things You Should Know each morning for as little as $50 a week if you don’t mind sharing the space. If you want the whole thing to yourself, we can arrange that, too.
In exchange for your support, we’ll give you banner space on the website, right there where it can’t be missed, as well mention in the videos. That’s not counting the tremendous amount of appreciation you’ll receive from us, if that’s worth anything.
I know no one wants likes to see a lot of ads and we’ve tried to avoid that for as long as possible. Like everyone else, though, we’ve bills to pay and those bills like being paid on time. We could use a little help.
So, thank you for reading and watching. Thank you for the times you’ve shared. If you’re interested in being a sponsor, just use this form to let us know. It could make all our lives a lot better.
2021 In Review: The Final Year
Our last year started slow but ended with pictures to carry into 2022
This was the year that broke the proverbial camel’s back. After 37 years, we decided that the costs were too high, the effort too great, and the frustrations too often to bother continuing as a photographer. Officially, we pull the plug on New Year’s Day, but barring some exceptional occurrence, we’ve already taken the last picture. The camera is safely stowed in case I decide to pull it out again, but it’s out of the way, out of sight, and hibernating. One of my chores today is to remove the lights from the back of the car and store them out in the shed along with my tripod and reflectors. We’re done.
Sort of. As slow as this year started, the last six months have been full of activity, much more than we’ve had time to process. Much of this was intentional. I wanted to have enough new material to still enter juried shows for the next couple of years (assuming they survive). As a result, I still have several hundred unprocessed images waiting for my attention. I won’t release them as regularly as I have before, and when I do it may be a single image rather than a full set.
From a public perspective, we’re taking this website into archive mode. There will be no information about booking or hiring. We’ll re-work the portfolios and they’ll take a dominant position on the front page in video format. New material will be toward the bottom of the front page and most easily accessible through social media posts.
Can I be coaxed into shooting again? Maybe. We’ll see how it goes. If I do, it will be on a shoot-by-shoot basis. The concepts need to be original and enticing, something I’ve never shot before, and the people involved need to be exciting. And it will cost more. Just getting everything checked and out the door is going to be more of an effort, so the price is going to be higher. No, I still won’t shoot your wedding. I’ll officiate if you ask (yes, I can do that), but I won’t take pictures.
So, here’s a brief glance back at what we did this year. There’s not a lot. Jan-April was pretty slim. We didn’t post anything the entire month of May because there wasn’t anything to post. That’s largely what prompted this decision. As always, click on a thumbnail to view to collection full screen on your device. Thank you for all the years you’ve watched, encouraged, and commented. We’ll miss you.
-charles
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