Modestly Operating

We all see the PR announcements and subsequently read the reviews of all the latest equipment with all the shiny, new, show stopping features. This is all fine and dandy. It's healthy to lust after new gear, is it not? Well, sometimes no.

I have a tendency to decide that I "need" something in order to carry on and then obsess about it, getting nothing done in the process, until I have it. A short burst of productivity ensues and then I find that I "need" something else. Thus, the vicious cycle repeats itself.

Of course, it would be easy enough to say: "I don't need anything else; just keep on keeping on." But that isn't true either.

That's the catch 22.

I do need the new gear. I do need new lenses. I do need a new camera. I do need more strobes and modifiers. I do, absolutely and desperately, need a new computer.

What I need to learn and beat into my skull, is that whilst I need all of these things, I also do need to carry on with what I have, because if I don't, then there will be no productivity whatsoever.

Fact: I have no disposable income worth mentioning. Thus, it is quite literally impossible for me to make any significant investment in gear or equipment. So the conclusion must and can only be that I have to either make do or give up.

I'm not giving up. I'm not.

So here's what I have to work with to carry on in this journey. Hopefully I will be able to add to it in the future, but for now, this is what I'm taking with me on my quest to become a full-time professional photographer:

Photographic Equipment:

1 x Canon EOS 30D
1 x Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6
1 x Canon 50mm f/2.5 Macro
1 x Canon 80-200mm f/4.5-5.6
1 x Canon 430EX
2 x Tripods
1 x Bowens Espirit Gemini 500
1 x Bowens Beauty Dish
1 x 40" Translucent Umbrella
2 x Portaflash 336VM
1 x Portaflash Softbox
1 x Portaflash Silver/White Umbrella
1 x Portaflash Silver/Gold Umbrella
1 x Portaflash 5-In-1 Reflector
1 x Background Stand
3 x Background Paper Rolls (Grey, Black, White)
1 x Dedicated Studio Space in my Loft
1 x PC with broadband access
1 x eeePC with mobile broadband access

This may seem a lot to some people, but please trust me, when your taking your inspiration from the likes of Vogue and you have to regularly produce varying images for model portfolios and what not, the limitations of this set-up are quite abhorrent.

But I will not let a lack of what I think I need to hinder me any further. This is what I have now and will likely be what I have for a while, so we shall see how I carry on in the near future!

Getting it Together

For too long now have I stated to myself that I would take this photographic obsession-cum-passion to the next level. For several years now, I have continually told myself that this is what I want to do for the rest of my life. I have talked and ranted, incessantly, to those around me to the point that they refuse to listen any more. I have dutifully and miserably drudged my way through several years of soul destroying manufacturing work only to deprive myself of energy and motivation. This has long been my main excuse for not taking myself to the places I want to be in life. No longer.

This is it. It is time for action.

No more excuses, no more procrastination, no more.

This blog is here purely for me to chronicle this journey I am about to set myself on. It is a place for me to, centrally, collect my thoughts, display new work and, most importantly, detail all of my successes and all of my failures and all of my strengths and shortcomings in order to better myself along the way. Ultimately, it will also serve as information to others who would walk the same path. After all, if someone can learn from my many, many mistakes, all the better!

There will be a myriad of content in the various posts here. I will talk about burning issues that I have my own opinions on. Obviously I will regularly post photos. I will discuss my favourite Photoshop techniques and I will also try to feature links to people's work which inspires me. So, hopefully, there will be a great deal of value for time for anyone who decides to stop by!

Let's roll!