A physics instructor once told me, "Ignorance is okay. Continued ignorance is not." This is the first reason for not having my own website. It is ignorant to think that my photos are "click and buy" material. Some photos are that, but a website needs 100 percent of what I would call "super-high quality," the kind of photo that is ultra-crisp when blown up to 20" x 30".
The fact is- I am not set up for professional photography. No expensive lights, no "pro" tripods, second-rate gear, and a workflow station that is dinosaurish. My laptop is a mish-mash of Dell, HP, and Toshiba parts. Sure, great photos exist without professional gear. But, to shoot everyday, and produce timeless images, exquisite gear is a necessity.
Tripods, tripods, tripods. This is a problem, as the tripod I use is nice, but lightweight and not a pro setup. I paid $15 for it after I gave away a SLIK tripod that was useful, but not worth the $80 I paid. A professional quality tripod will cost between $200-$500, at least.
My fourth reason is not only is there no pro tripod in my house, there is no pro memory card, no lighting, no studio, and no advertising. I shoot a heavily used Canon 7D, and a T3, and my pro camera is a ten year old Canon 5D with a 24-105L on it. Sure, it is nice, but it is just that. Nice.
Is street photography a professional gig? You bet it is. But, not mine...
Halfway there, but who is counting? A professional photographer knows the gear. There is no time when the gear is confusing or inoperable. I once saw my neighbor with a sweet Canon 5D II and EF 50mm f1.2, and he was confused about the functions. That is too much gear to be confused. Canon makes the Rebel cameras for those folks, with settings like "Sports" and "Flowers." I know my gear, but not to the point of metering perfectly. Nor do I use the Custom Settings, as I should...
Experience is the best teacher. I have been shooting a lot for three years now. The learning process has evolved from aperture studies to experimenting with flash. When I become adept and silky smooth, that is when photos will come naturally. I chase many photos intensely, and sometimes I succeed. A pro simply succeeds more often.
Exposure, pardon the pun, means everything to a professional photographer. Word of mouth and social media, along with a devout following, are the keys to exposure these days. The Yellow Pages are gone, in their place a megaphone of internet options that is group-sourced. I have a small following on social media, but nowhere near the requirements for a pro. I get a few "likes" on Facebook. Other than that, nobody really knows me.
Nature is fabulous, whether you have a camera or not. To get awesome, professional shots, much is needed. Money to travel, accommodations, and the means to get into the wild, is essential for wildlife photography. I am a displaced carpenter, and a hobby photographer...expensive trips to chase wildlife is out of the question.
The tenth reason for my not having a website, is just plain grumpiness. I told a computer repair buddy, "I don't want PayPal." And I want a gorgeous, super-clean website with no ads. He laughed...
The next step, is to reach a satisfactory point with my comfort zone when taking photos. Sure, I am confident. But, the pressure to take timeless photos is real. I like the challenge.
Thank-you for viewing! To see more of my work, I store jpeg files on a photo-sharing website called Flickr, https://www.flickr.com/photos/ronaldborstjournalism/.
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