Having An Eye

I remember someone saying a long time ago "Boy DArcy you sure have an eye for photography". I think I was flattered but as I've gotten older I realise that rather than haveing an eye I simply dove into the whole thing. I would read everything I could find (I still have hundreds of issues of major photographic magizines. I remember working on a specific subject matter (depth of field for instance) until I was happy with my understanding of it. I believe that first you have an interest then you develop the passion.

Ataining Success In Photography

There have been times when I got side tracked, when making money was what it was all about. I became involved in photography not because if thought I'd get rich but because I was passionate about all things photography. I've learned over the years to be true to myself, to not sell out, to only make the pictures that I wanted to make for the reasons I wanted to make them. As far as success goes; I don't know I had no expectations no visions of grandeur, I simply loved making pictures - sales and admiration simply fueled the flames. The mark-up on a photographers work is ridiculous, a $3.00 8X10 will sell for $25.00 easy. No wonder the public is buying up digital camera's and thumbing their noses at the "pro". Do I think that a Photographer is not worth such rates - depends on the quality of work and if the public is willing to pay it. As for me I get a bigger kick out of selling a souvenir magnet to a lady in Japan or a sweat shirt of an image I made in Oregon to someone in Ohio. These people paid good money for work that I did, the image had to stand on its own, there was no fancy selling techniques. I did and do want to be the best that I can be for me, this is a business that is continually evolving. It's funny that after 25 years when I have the camera set on the tripod I still become engrossed in the image and loose all track of time and place.
I guess in the grand scheme of things I have been successful, the passion is still there, I have visitors to my website from all over the world. My images have been purchased by customers from many different countries. I guess that's the natural progression of things - if your passionate about anything in life you simply gravitate in that direction.