Wednesday, August 30, 2017

A Walk Through Discovery Park


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I was wrong when I decided that the weather was going to keep me from heading out to shoot photos at a city park. Two hours later the skies, though still cloudy, looked good enough to take a chance.

Discovery Park is a very popular Green Valley neighborhood park that is jam-packed with almost every amenity you might desire. Picnic area, 2 playground areas, a softball field, tennis courts, volleyball courts, basketball courts, and lots of paved walking paths to enjoy. Although I did not see a dog park people were there with their dogs. Most dogs were on leashes. Those that were not on leash were right there with their human parents.

For directions and more info on Discovery Park click here.

Better World Media strives to provide great event, travel, lifestyle, and stock photography. I will return to Discovery Park on a less cloudy day, but I did get enough photos to start a nice gallery on Better World Media. You have no obligation to buy anything, but I would like to invite you to browse the web site. I have shot at more than a dozen parks in the area where I now live, and I plan to keep shooting city parks all over the Las Vegas Valley for the foreseeable future. And, once the weather cools down I hope to start shooting along the hiking and biking trails throughout the valley. Other subjects that I plan to shoot are museums, memorials, community events, open mic events, and small venue music events. There are older galleries of these subjects already posted on Better World Media, and there is more to come.

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Wednesday, August 23, 2017

A Long Trail and a Small Park


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Yesterday I started a walk that will take me a few days to complete. St. Rose Parkway Trail is several miles long, and my legs are not ready for it. So, I am simply going to walk it a mile or so at a time, depending on where I can park my car along the trail. And, for every mile I walk up the trail I will have to return back down the same mile. This first mile had very little to photograph. I hope to have more to photograph in the miles to come, but I think the path is a wide bike path that stretches up through business district along St. Rose Parkway.

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This afternoon I found Cactus Wren Park. It is 3 or 4 miles from my home. We had a good hard rain earlier in the day, and it was still cloudy. The good part is that it was cool (for the Las Vegas Valley) because of the rain. I used my cell phone and took some photos. I will go back on a better photography day to get some better shots. Cactus Wren Park is a small park, with one playground, a dog park, a baseball park, picnic tables, a skate park, basketball court, a cement walking trail around the park, and 1.5 mile Cactus Wren Trail runs through it from Eastern Avenue to St. Rose Parkway.

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Friday, August 18, 2017

The Reality Of Trying To Do It All By Yourself



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The reality comes when you realize that you have so many projects going at one time that all of them suffer to a degree. Stark reality has managed to slap me in the face today. It appears that I have spent so much time on my photography that my work with music and the travel industry has all but disappeared into my archives. That changes today.

I will start posting new music stuff on this blog very soon, but if you would like to see more of my work with music now please visit Better World Music @ https://bwm702.blogspot.com/

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Saturday, August 12, 2017

A Day in the Life




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Clicking the shutter is the easy part, of course. However, it is easy to forget everything you know about lights, camera and action if you do not work with it every day. You realize that very quickly once you are back in the field. And, I am getting to know my camera manual again.

But, now that you have clicked the shutter what else do you do if you are trying to make a living as a photographer?
1. Keep a record of every cent you spend.
2. Keep a record of every thing you see.
3. Watch how your photos are recording via the histogram.
4. Wrap the trip up. Make sure you have everything you came with.

Now comes the fun part.
1. Upload your new photos to your computer.
2. Review them. Discard what you definitely know you don't want to work with. This should be a very small amount of files.
3. Export the files that you want to work with right away.
4. Batch edit the exported files. This will give you less to work with in the long run.
5. Edit (pop) your files. Get them ready to post and/or turn over to you client.

All of that stuff is the easy part. A 2 hour shooting session can easily give you a full day lab work, and possibly 2 or 3 days of lab work. And, this is your day when you are only working on your projects.

But, what about getting clients? And, what do you do with them when you get them?
Long before you click the shutter for clients you have a mountain of work to even let them know that you are in business to serve them. You have to target your audiece for the style/specialty of photography that you do. Research is the name of the game here. Magazines, manuals, books, walls, galleries, newpapers, etc. - they are all important resources. You have to find people that use your style of photography. Contact those people. Get samples of your work in front of them so that they can see what you do. Tell them how you can be productive for them. Nudge them good, but don't push them. They have the money.

So, now you've got the client. Now you have done the shoot. Now you have edited the shots, and sent them to your client. Now what. Well, I ask for a review of my work from my client. And, then I go home and think about what I did right, what I did wrong, and how I can do better. And, I do the bookkeeping for the shoot. After that I go to work trying to find more clients, and trying to sell my stock photography. It is a never ending process that drives me crazy, and I love it.

Friday, August 11, 2017

Looking Forward


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This week has moved exceptionally fast, and I have finished at least one major project. So, now I can move on to better, more fun and more challenging things.

Up until now, while getting settled in my new home my only project in photography has been to visit the local parks and trails in and around the Las Vegas Valley. And, that will continue. In the future, however, I plan to start (and soon) shooting at small venue music sites. I will shoot open mic events, busker shows, and in the bars and cafes where musicians are honing their crafts and maybe making a few bucks. And, hopefully, I will find musicians who are open to playing and recording songs that I have written. Also, there are community events like art fairs, walkathons, political rallies, hot air balloon shows, car shows, and other events always happening all over the Las Vegas Valley, I plan to shoot at community events of all kinds. And, of course, Las Vegas is the convention center of the world.

I have now lived in Las Vegas since May 2 of this year. Yet, I have only been to The Strip 2 times spending a total of about 4 hours there. Primarily I have had too many other projects going to dive into photographing The Strip. Doing so will come, but it will come on my leisure time. If you are a people watcher there is always plenty to photograph on the strip. And, I find that the best way for me to do it is to find a place to sit down and let the photo moments come to me. However, on these preliminary trips I am touring The Strip just to see the changes that have been made. And, there has been a bunch of changes.

Although I will, from time to time, post about The Strip it is not my primary purpose for coming to Las Vegas. I have been visiting Las Vegas since I began a 35 year career in the trucking industry in 1974. I have watched it grow, and grow, and grow, and grow. And, I have watched The Strip change, and change, and change, and change. But, the one thing that does not change is the kind of people who move there, and stay. They are dreamers, and they are doers. And, they stay with a determination that I seldom have seen anywhere else. It is the locals of Las Vegas that make Las Vegas what it is. Las Vegas is a place where people can visit for a weekend and do things that they would not dare to do at home. Las Vegas is not a place where most dreamers will accomplish their dreams, but it is a place where people can bring their dreams, hone their crafts, and learn from the real professionals. In other words, the pay is not much, but the exposure can be priceless.

Finally, the following photos are from yesterday mornings walk for Vivaldi Park to Sonata Park, my second leg of Seven Hills Trail. There are spurs from this trail that lead to the Lord only knows where. Maybe someday I will explore all of them, but I do have the desire to expand my activity beyond photographing city parks. But, I want to show that there is more to Las Vegas than slot machines and strip joints. I still have a little more editing to do on a couple of photos due to residue on my lens, but that will come before they go onto my web sites.


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Monday, August 7, 2017

The Strip - 2017/08/05

I made it to The Strip again on Saturday evening. My first trip, the previous Saturday, started at Tropicana Avenue, and I went north from there. This trip I walked on the south side of Flamingo Avenue, but did not go as far south (Harmon Avenue) as I wanted too. That will have to come later. My legs will only stand so much walking.

The area in front of Bally's has completely changed since I was there 3+ years ago. It used to be an open promenade. Now it is filled with boutique sized shops off all kinds. Personally, I think they should have left the area open. There are more than enough shops all along The Strip.

The Bellagio has also completely changed the Conservatory/Botanical Gardens. But, the flowers are still there. They have simply changed the theme for the gardens. https://www.bellagio.com/en/entertainment/conservatory-botanical-garden.html.


I was walking from the gardens through the casino when The Fountains first started, and I did not stick around to photograph them this trip. There will be other trips.



My biggest disappointment in my first two trips to The Strip is that the musician buskers seem to have disappeared. My first trip, as far as buskers go, was a complete dud. This trip would have been the same, but I found a busker on the crossover (Flamingo Avenue) going from The Bellagio to Ceasars Palace. Maybe I'm just there at the wrong times for them, but the non-musician buskers I saw appear to be no more than "no talent" street urchins that have pulled discarded costumes out of the dumpsters behind the casinos.




On my next trip to The Strip I hope to get my first closeup view of the (https://www.caesars.com/linq) The Linq.

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Friday, August 4, 2017

Pucinni Park to Vivaldi Park Walk


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After stopping to photograph and enjoy the scenery I would estimate that I walked a good 1.5+ miles this morning on Seven Hills Trail. I walked the trail from Pucinni Park to just past Vivaldi Park. I walked along the street on my trip back to Pucinni Park. I do believe that at least 50% of the walk was up hill and about 20% down hill. For my next trip to the area I plan to walk from Vivaldi Park up to Sonata Park on the trail, and back to Vivaldi park along the streets.

I have not been able to do these walks every day since I have been here. I have a boatload of projects going right now. But, I am getting in better shape, and I have lost 10-12 pounds since I made it home to Vegas.

My first outing in the Las Vegas Valley taught me some valuable lessons: (1.)  Always bring water, and pay attention to your hydration level. (2.) Wear good walking/hiking shoes. Hopefully, by this Fall I can leave the city parks once in awhile and hit the hiking trails that are abundant around the Las Vegas Valley.

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Life Is Good!!!

Thursday, August 3, 2017

Desert Bloom Park, Las Vegas, NV.

Located just one block south of the I-215 freeway on Maryland Parkway Desert Bloom Park almost all of the amenities for outings with family and friends. Basketball courts, 2 baseball fields, walking path, a sand volleyball court, a great little playground, open space, and ample picnic areas. I have seen dogs on leashes each time I have been there. However, at this time there is no dog park. However, there is an empty field adjoining the park on the west side. By the looks of that field I would say it is city owned. Hopefully, more amenities and a dog park is in the future. There is shopping nearby for what you may have forgotten or run out of. And, what this park does not have can be found nearby.







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