Kansas Photography

The way I see it, there are two paths to making money in photography.

The first path is that of the business-person.

The photographer following this path is usually the one that has all the latest and greatest gear; the most expensive, top-of-the-line stuff. This is the photographer who spends countless hours learning each and every latest photographic fad so that he can deliver a specific “look” at his clients’ whim. This photographer unfailingly delivers exactly what the client wants no matter what. His prime objective is to please the client.

This is the model of business that I followed from 1999 until 2008. There isn’t anything wrong with this model, if that’s what suits you. But it does not suit me, it burned me out. It took something that I loved, and turned it into something I loathed. I had to pull the plugs and reboot.

That’s when I discovered the second path, the path of the artist.

The photographer following this path does not necessarily have the latest and greatest gear, they simply use what they like. This photographer will use anything from ancient classics, to toy Holgas, to Leicas, to oatmeal cartons or shoeboxes with pinholes punched in them. This is the photographer that spends countless hours just out photographing, often with no apparent purpose. This photographer unfailing delivers what he wants. And his prime objective is to please himself.

The problem comes about when someone wants to follow the path of the artist and make money, that’s the hard part.

But — in this internet age — I don’t think it’s as hard as it once was. Gone are the days when you had to have physical stock to show to prospective buyers, and a physical store to show it in. You can show your work online at very little cost. The biggest problem now is making yourself stand out from the crowd, because there are a lot of artists out there and they all want to be seen.

Why fine art color photography of Kansas? Short answer, because I love it.

Now for the longer answer.

When I quit the newspaper biz last year I was burned out. I sold every piece of camera gear except for one old film body with a 50mm lens. I was convinced that I’d never touch a camera again.

But after a while I’d start grabbing the little point and shoot and go out and shoot some photos. Then I got the itch to have a little more control so I started grabbing the SLR. Then I bought another lens for the SLR. And before I knew it I was taking photographs again.

I told myself this was to be a hobby only. No making money from it. This was going to be something I could do purely for the pleasure of it. Well that didn’t last long. Professional photography has been a part of my life for so long it’s hard to imagine not using these hard-earned skills to earn at least a part of my income.

So then now I have to decide what kind of involvement will I have with making money from my photography? Will I go back into journalism in some manner? Will I shoot portraits? Weddings? I didn’t particularly like any of those ideas. In fact I’d get rather depressed thinking about the different possibilities.

And of course there were all the myriad little things to worry about. Do I shoot film or digital? Color or black and white? On and on and on, ad nauseam.

All this time that I was obsessing over what to do with my photography I was often just wandering about making photographs with no apparent purpose. And it was making me happy.

But I didn’t really clue into that. My photography had to have purpose and meaning! Not there’s anything wrong with photography of that sort, it’s just that it isn’t for me at this point in my life.

But the past week or two I’ve really been noticing what it is that I shoot. And what it is that enjoy the most while shooting. And I’ve also realized that the photographer’s whose work I enjoy seeing the most are the ones that simply (at least so it seems) wander about shooting whatever catches their eye.

And I realized that I really do need to pursue this art primarily for my own sake. So I set up this blog in order to help keep me focused in my new direction. Photographs seen here are available for licensing or as fine art prints. But I’m not going to obsess over it anymore. If folks contact me so be it, if not that’s fine as well. I’m fortunate enough to have a job that pays the bills and allows me plenty of time to shoot.

So I hope you enjoy the photographs you will see here. And I hope you will put up with the occasional rant that I might write as well.