So what else have I been up to?

© jmillerphoto.com - Carolina Chickadee

This blog was on hiatus for a long time.  This is one of three blogs that I write for/manage, with this one very much devoted to the selling of my images and the promoting of my appearances at art shows, arts & crafts fairs, and public exhibitions.

I blogged about my quandry of whether or not to do shows this year back in August.  By mid-September I made the call not to do any shows because I had foot surgery coming in early October.  Well, early October turned into early November with some scheduling difficulties by my surgeon.  As I sit here at the start of December, I know without a doubt that as it turned out not doing shows was the correct decision.  The pain still has not subsided from the procedure and I imagine that trying to do a show now would have been nearly unbearable.

That’s not to say that I stopped shooting.  If you read my Assorted, usually Photographic, Ramblings blog, you will know that I have been doing my best to build up the portfolio again.  A quick look at my Lightroom catalog shows 19 days of shooting since I returned to Texas, though granted a number of those were on my brief trip to Ohio in August.

On the horizon is an increased stream of images coming your way in the next couple of weeks, an exhibition in early spring, and maybe (just maybe) a arts & crafts show appearance in May.  Thank you for staying with me and thank you for staying tuned…

New Image: Twelve-spotted Skimmer

© jmillerphoto.com - Twelve-spotted Skimmer (HDR)

Wow, it has been a while since I’ve been able to say this, but there is a new image in the gallery for sale.  This is image of a Twelve-spotted Skimmer is one of my absolute favorites from my time in Ohio.  It is unfortunate that I waited as long as I did to make it for sale, but I made this image late in the summer as I was getting ready to focus almost exclusively on completing my thesis.  So images for sale went on the back burner.  For a while…

But this is the first image back and it is ready to go.  It is available in sizes up to 11×14 and I can say with confidence that even at that size the image is beautiful.  How?  Because it is hanging on my wall at that size right now.

A little more about this image.  This is my one and only High Dynamic Range (HDR) shot in the gallery right now.  For those unfamiliar with HDR, it is done by combining a minimum of 3 shots done at the same time of the same subject.  One shot is purposely underexposed, one is purposely overexposed, and one is done at the correct exposure.  If it sounds like Goldilocks and the Three Bears, you’re probably not too far off of the mark.  The images are then combined, allowing detail in both the shadows and the highlights to be seen closer to how the human eye could have seen it.  If you own an iPhone 4 or newer, your camera in the phone can do this automatically.

Normally HDR is reserved for landscapes, architecture, flowers, and other reasonably static objects.  Dragonflies are usually far from static.  I was very lucky to get three consecutive shots put together without the creature moving.  The results speak for themselves.

As I said before, this image is now available in the gallery at a very affordable price for Christmas.

Working Hard to Once Again Work Hard

Still another quick note while I’m trying to get things situated again.  If you’ve been reading my JAUPR blog, you will know that I’ve safely returned to Texas.  The nearest gator to the boat has been getting the house set up.  That task is pretty much done, down to getting the grill setup and being able to break bread with friends, new and old.

With that gator wrapped up, it is now time to get the digital darkroom up and running so I can get to work again.  That is proving to take more time than expected, but we’re almost there, too.  My hope is that once this weekend is consumed by the ticking clock that I will have put the final touches on it and will be able to devote a couple hours each night to refining some of the images I made last summer and making them available for sale.  I also have some administrative things I need to do with my new zip code before I can be fully functioning again.  Hoping to get that done in a week or so as well.

If all goes as planned, by the end of August I will be firing on nearly all cylinders again.  I’m still undecided about doing any art shows this Christmas.  Normally by this point in the calendar I would be prepped and ready to hit the kick-off events in September.  Obviously I’m not there yet.  But we’ll see.

It goes without saying that there will be no calendar this year.  Three days of shooting to date will not cut it.  The images I am reworking and/or creating now will be aimed towards next year’s calendar(s).

And I have a new camera on the way which I’m really excited about, too.

To quickly recap… I’m back in Texas.  I’m getting ready to start working again.  More to follow soon…

The Quick Hello

Just checking in with y’all. I am at the schooling that my employer so generously sent me to and am up to my neck in trying to get smarter. The camera gear and the good computer stayed with friends so I could concentrate on this venture so there isn’t a lot going on photographically.

But I am still with the living, just not making a living behind the camera right now. Stay tuned.

Almost out of the woods

© jmillerphoto.com - Eastern Amberwing

As I mentioned over at Jim’s Assorted, Usually Photographic, Ramblings, I have successfully defended my thesis (insert applause here).  All that is left now is taking care of the minor administrative issues that effectively is the victory lap of getting my Masters degree.  Yes, that was a 400 pound weight you just heard hit the floor–it had been on my shoulders

That being said, business activities are still more or less on hold.  My full-time employer has one more academic endeavor for me to complete immediately after graduation.  This one will also require an enormous amount of focus, so my business-related activities will still be severely curtailed until I can finish the upcoming schooling and get settled back in Texas.

That isn’t to say that I’m just sitting on my wallet.  I am reviewing images I have worked on over last summer to see which ones are going to be the newest adds to the galleries–I’m pretty sure the Eastern Amberwing headlining this post will be in the first few that make it up for sale.  I am also gathering my images again for a possible showing of my images late in the summer, pending a few other things falling perfectly into place.

And maybe, just maybe, I will be able to get out this coming weekend and make some images.

Good things on the way… Stay tuned…

Blip…Blip…Blip…

© jmillerphoto.com - Halloween Pennant

It has been a couple of weeks so I figured I should probably poke my head in here.

Everything related to the photography business has been on hold since I returned from my time in Texas.  As mentioned then, almost all of my energies have been pointed towards doing those things that will get me towards graduation.  And except for a quick two day break doing other business related to my day job, nearly all of my energies have gone to writing, editing, creating, and graduating.  Priorities…

That isn’t to say I haven’t been thinking about the photography business.  If anything, the thoughts in the back of my head are 99 44/100% photography and photography business while the thoughts in the front are 98% schoolwork.  It helps that I have one of my images looking right at me on the monitors at school–there’s that motivation to push my towards the academic finish line so I can get back to my creative passions.

That isn’t to say I’ve been completely silent online.  Over at Jim’s Assorted, Usually Photographic, Ramblings I have posted three short entries, to include my initial impressions of  the Manfrotto 190CXPRO4 tripod, and a new series that I’m doing on some of my favorite places to make images at (see…I am thinking about photography).  But I know that if I get swimming in the business end of the pool that the water is very enticing and I could spend hours when I only have minutes.

I am about two weeks out from the big, Big, BIG, BIG deadline so maybe I’ll get more into the business of photography then.  Until then it is back to the grindstone, making gold out of lead, and dreaming of getting the camera back around my neck and making some images.

Back on the grid, but…

© jmillerphoto.com - Cooper's Hawk

It is good to be connected to the grid again.  Once finals were over for the quarter I all but unplugged from the grid.  No facebook, no blogging, limited cell phones, etc.  I flew back to Texas and spent some needed solid time with my kids and an extraordinarily long Hunnadew list to be erased.  Got the kid time, not so much on the Hunnadew list, but hey…priorities.  I got a little photography in, though not much.  My second venture turned out reasonably well and I will blog on that trip likely over at the other blog.  But hey, I’ll share the image now

I returned to Dayton today and was greeted with a little over 1200 e-mails.  Most will hit the shredder pretty quick, but it will take a while to sift through them.  For those who e-mailed me, please be patient.

The next 6-8 weeks is crunch time for me.  I’m on the final lap of my thesis race and hope to have that thing done and defended by the middle of February.  Then it is close up shop, graduate, and get ready to head to the next job.  But until the thesis is in, that is top priority.

I will poke my head in a couple of times between now and then.  I received a new tripod for Christmas (thank you B&H wish lists…  she got me exactly what I wanted) and I used it a couple of times when I was back in Texas.  Pictures coming soon.

So please, a little patience dear readers and some degree of sanity will be restored soon…

Still here…

I’m still alive and kicking.  It has been very busy at school and things photographic have moved to the back burner until the quarter is over and I can return some sanity to the situation.  More to come soon…

Happy Thanksgiving

© jmillerphoto.com - Wild Turkey

To my friends near and far, I wish you and yours a very happy and safe Thanksgiving holiday.

No turkeys were harmed to produce this entry, but the cousin of this fella is sitting in the oven at 325ºF…

Stuck in Neutral…

© jmillerphoto.com - Black-throated Sparrow

…and that describes photography this week to an exacting detail.  The hoped for photo shoot did not materialize as other school-related priorities jumped ahead of making images.  My weekend was a no-go for photography as well–Saturday became a “do everything I would normally do Saturday and Sunday” day and Sunday was reserved for some things that needed to happen before going to the hospital this morning.  The weekend extended into this morning as I went in for my procedure and have since come home.  I’m here, but the drugs they used to ensure my comfort during the procedure now have me pretty darn awake well beyond when I would normally be asleep.  Hopefully I will get some sleep before I have to return to the grind tomorrow morning.

This week I’m going to do a fraction of what I had hoped to do last week.  The phrase “Get real” has entered my vocabulary.  I will try to pull an image out of the library this week and discuss what went into making it (both on site and possibly in the digital darkroom) and why I enjoy it and/or choose to show it.

But for now, hopefully I can convince myself into some sleep so that my Tuesday is more productive than my Monday.