What to do with all of these photos, help!!!!!!!!!!

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gpsman

gpsman

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I go out and shoot birds all year long. Generally 1-2 times per week. I love walking at sunrise at Great Meadow in Concord, MA. I am usually out about 2-3 hours each visit and take between 50-100 photos per visit.
Now, I think my photography has improved. I started with a D610 and now shoot a D850. Hard to believe, that is now “ Old School”. In any case, I now have accumulated 1000’s of photos. I create greeting cards with what I consider my best. I basically give them to family and friends. I used to sell my pics, but just can’t be bothered with that anymore.

What else is there? I have “zero “ wall space for my own photos. Photo albums are expensive, I am 70 and find it difficult to motivate toward some production mode. And so, the photos sit on my 2tb external hard drive. I have a website, but, I have over 200 pics on it and find it difficult to justify adding more pics.

So tell me, what’s a photographer to do?

I won’t stop shooting. I love it too much. What types of outlets do you all have. I am truly interested in production alternatives.

Thanks in advance for any feedback.
 
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I mostly post on social media. I also ruthlessly delete images I don’t care for as well. Even so, the vast majority of my pics will never see the light of day to anyone other than perhaps my wife. It took me years but I accepted that it’s for my enjoyment basically. Doesn’t matter what happens with the pics. When I pass someday they will probably be deleted anyway. They aren’t that special :) that’s how I deal with all the years of pics.
 
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Here are a few ideas that immediately came to mind:

* As painful as it is to go through old photos, sometimes it's helpful to prune what you have. The "keepers" from years ago may not look so good vs your more recent ones, due to better equipment and more skill and experience. I personally go through a brutal culling with Photo Mechanic software on shots of similar types, and it's surprising how one's assessment of a great photo can change with time. That may help you trim and upgrade both your website and your wall hangings.

* Give away some of your framed photos as gifts. Family and close friends might appreciate them more than you (especially if you cull ruthlessly!).

* Create photo books of your favorite images. That way you can do a "Best of 2023" and so on, giving yourself a fun outlet for what to do with new photos, and also creating a visceral way to see your progress over time as a photographer.

Just some grist for the mill...
 
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TurtleCat said:
I mostly post on social media. I also ruthlessly delete images I don’t care for as well. Even so, the vast majority of my pics will never see the light of day to anyone other than perhaps my wife. It took me years but I accepted that it’s for my enjoyment basically. Doesn’t matter what happens with the pics. When I pass someday they will probably be deleted anyway. They aren’t that special :) that’s how I deal with all the years of pics.
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I think I am in agreement with you. It is for my own and my close friends and family’s viewing pleasure. I think I am just in that transition phase and get frustrated. Thanks for the feedback.
 
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One other idea I’ve toyed with and will try sometime is to create (at my expense) calendars or something to be used as a fund raiser. For example my son is severely autistic and I’ve thought about putting something together to raise money for a local housing agency that is specific to helping autistic people live independent and semi-independent lives.

Other ideas might be similar for a philanthropic cause, a religious one, or for something else that is important to you.
 
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"What else is there? ..." Only you can answer that question? !!!

WHY are you creating images? For your own satisfaction? To give away? Or ????

If you are improving, then you are always creating better images than you had created in the past. By definition your portfolio should be improving. By increasing your skills, you should be creating better images. AND you start expanding your range of subjects! So - you could be replacing prior images with better ones and adding new images! I am ruthless about deleting images that are not sharp, interesting, etc. I try to keep only the best of the best!

My portfolio is on SmugMug (link below) and I update it often. It covers 30+ years of photography! My website covers underwater, landscape, wildlife, birds, architecture, wildlife, macro , B&W and Infrared! I have improved a LOT over 30+ years....but am still improving.

I have no children or family who cares. I simply enjoy sharing images of our wonderful world.

WHY do you create images? HOW can they be valuable to / valued by others?
 
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On a cold rainy day review some of your old work. Chances are you will ask yourself why did I keep that. Or since memory is reasonably, do nothing. Do nothing, when the day comes and every shot is a Pulitzer winner. Your family can look at your life in your pictures and motivate and inspire grand, great grandchildren to follow your dreams.
 
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Consider adding your pictures to databases like ebird.org and other organizations that are using them for scientific research and other purposes. Ebird data is helping conservation immensely by helping to understand the movement of birds in our environment.

Another idea is to document locations for native plants. I upload photos of native CA plants to a database called calflora. It's really fun to find a rare plant in perhaps a new location and document it for others to enjoy.

Inaturalist is another venue you could add your photos to. If you're a skilled photographer, you will add a lot to the quality of the representation there. You don't even need to know what you photographed, others will id. INat is used extensively by researchers as well. Bioblitz events use it to record their data sometimes.

Having location information is important for all of these. That's why I am thinking of getting a gps device or a camera with gps, to make that easier. I do it on my phone for now.

These are some of the things I do besides sharing the ones I like with friends and family.

Another idea is to use your photography skills to help with community or educational events, or in some civic ways. Good photography is a powerful way to communicate and express yourself artistically, consider entering photo contests (even just low key fun ones). Our Audubon group has fun photo contests and we share them at meetings.

Also, maybe share them on forums like here, I've seen fantastic ones here!
 
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A primary thing I use my photography for is to help me understand and learn about the natural world. It helps me id birds and plants I'm learning about.
 
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gpsman said:
...I won’t stop shooting. I love it too much. What types of outlets do you all have. I am truly interested in production alternatives.
Click to expand...
Why so interested in "production"? Particularly if not for sales. Sounds like what you enjoy is being in the field.

For me wildlife/landscape photography is a spiritual experience. Studying the beauty and design in the images afterward on the computer enhance that experience. I think that sharing those images with people that I love is an attempt to share that moment in time. Which of course is impossible. Sharing with other photographers derives a sense of comradery. Donating prints for sales by charities is useful. Commercial sales take a lot of work in a saturated market. Beyond that.... ?
 
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gpsman said:
I go out and shoot birds all year long. Generally 1-2 times per week. I love walking at sunrise at Great Meadow in Concord, MA. I am usually out about 2-3 hours each visit and take between 50-100 photos per visit.
Now, I think my photography has improved. I started with a D610 and now shoot a D850. Hard to believe, that is now “ Old School”. In any case, I now have accumulated 1000’s of photos. I create greeting cards with what I consider my best. I basically give them to family and friends. I used to sell my pics, but just can’t be bothered with that anymore.

What else is there? I have “zero “ wall space for my own photos. Photo albums are expensive, I am 70 and find it difficult to motivate toward some production mode. And so, the photos sit on my 2tb external hard drive. I have a website, but, I have over 200 pics on it and find it difficult to justify adding more pics.

So tell me, what’s a photographer to do?

I won’t stop shooting. I love it too much. What types of outlets do you all have. I am truly interested in production alternatives.

Thanks in advance for any feedback.
Click to expand...
Just enjoy the experience of witnessing and capturing nature’s glory, and forget about the rest. I’m in the same boat as you, and long ago stopped trying to justify or figure out what to do with it all. I‘m content to savor the moment. As Rachel Carson wrote “those who dwell… among the beauties and mysteries of the earth, are never alone or weary of life.”
 
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TurtleCat said:
One other idea I’ve toyed with and will try sometime is to create (at my expense) calendars or something to be used as a fund raiser. For example my son is severely autistic and I’ve thought about putting something together to raise money for a local housing agency that is specific to helping autistic people live independent and semi-independent lives.

Other ideas might be similar for a philanthropic cause, a religious one, or for something else that is important to you.
Click to expand...
I often donate framed images to favorite charities for their fundraisers. Everyone gets something out of it.
 
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I'm in a similar situation and have found that posting to social media brings me some joy and my friends seem to like seeing my photos. I also volunteer to monitor/photograph nest sites for conservation organizations, which helps them and gives me the opportunity to contribute to their efforts. I live near you (Peterborough, NH) ; maybe we should get together.
 
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gpsman said:
I go out and shoot birds all year long. Generally 1-2 times per week. I love walking at sunrise at Great Meadow in Concord, MA. I am usually out about 2-3 hours each visit and take between 50-100 photos per visit.
Now, I think my photography has improved. I started with a D610 and now shoot a D850. Hard to believe, that is now “ Old School”. In any case, I now have accumulated 1000’s of photos. I create greeting cards with what I consider my best. I basically give them to family and friends. I used to sell my pics, but just can’t be bothered with that anymore.

What else is there? I have “zero “ wall space for my own photos. Photo albums are expensive, I am 70 and find it difficult to motivate toward some production mode. And so, the photos sit on my 2tb external hard drive. I have a website, but, I have over 200 pics on it and find it difficult to justify adding more pics.

So tell me, what’s a photographer to do?

I won’t stop shooting. I love it too much. What types of outlets do you all have. I am truly interested in production alternatives.

Thanks in advance for any feedback.
Click to expand...
I think this is, to some degree, the "question of the day" for today's photographers. I ponder often what to do with all my work and I know when I die someone will simply unplug the computer and toss it. I do sell work, in a local gallery, and that's not too much trouble and actually kind of fun...I get to engage with other artists and try out new ways to produce my work, one being that I recently ordered several 6x6 inch prints on canvas and I love how they turned out: I think this type of print will make a nice Christmas gift for some friends. They are on a stand in the gallery. I also make cards for the gallery and friends. Recently I did a little something different with a card, I put the usual large photo on the front and then put six small images on the back and then, using PS, I created text to name the images, and put that at the bottom of the card. I want to share animal images with people who never get to see these animals and I think telling them the name of the animal is important in that case. I also make photo books, the larger coffee-table size, and those are for me for when I one day quit photographing and I think some wildlife lover will laugh with glee when they find the books at my estate sale for only $5 a book ($80-$100 to make)! Ha! Ha! I also make presentations to groups. In your case, your local Audubon group might like to see what you've done or even a senior center or retirement community. I do slide shows on LrC for this. I also have two websites, and post on Instagram and Facebook. Mastering technology comes easy for me but I know it can be difficult for some but I love the challenge of learning. You might consider trying a book, there is a lot of online software that makes it easy. And, I sit down at my computer on an almost daily basis and look at pictures and recall each trip and the wonder of it and that is the most important part for me.
 
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I probably average about 100 images a day each and every day -- and cull ruthlessly, probably keeping between five and ten percent. I donate photos to non-profits and use some of my photos on my blog -- https://forestandfield.blogspot.com/ . Currently I'm on my fifth photo-a-day-for-a-year project. I've sold or licensed a few images for publication but no longer sell prints as I've found it more trouble than it's worth. Quite a few people use photo sales to finance their photography purchases, something that has never interested me. After I'm dead and gone my nature photos will go to two of our granddaughters who are natural resource professionals, they may be able to use some of them, they'll also go to a favored non-profit to do with as they wish, others I suspect will be trashed.
 
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Carmel Nikon said:
* Create photo books of your favorite images. That way you can do a "Best of 2023" and so on, giving yourself a fun outlet for what to do with new photos, and also creating a visceral way to see your progress over time as a photographer.
Click to expand...
I have a friend that does this. It's a great idea. She makes several each year. As with most of us when we pass away all the images will most likely go in the bit bucket. Her books will be passed along to family members, and could viewed and enjoyed by future generations.
 
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I have a SmugMug account and site. There is a Lightroom plug-in for SM that makes it pretty quick and easy to add a gallery of pics to my website. So now, when I finish going through a shoot, I pick the top ones and create a SM gallery on my website. Friends who want to see more pics, I send them a link.
 
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gpsman said:
I go out and shoot birds all year long. Generally 1-2 times per week. I love walking at sunrise at Great Meadow in Concord, MA. I am usually out about 2-3 hours each visit and take between 50-100 photos per visit.
Now, I think my photography has improved. I started with a D610 and now shoot a D850. Hard to believe, that is now “ Old School”. In any case, I now have accumulated 1000’s of photos. I create greeting cards with what I consider my best. I basically give them to family and friends. I used to sell my pics, but just can’t be bothered with that anymore.

What else is there? I have “zero “ wall space for my own photos. Photo albums are expensive, I am 70 and find it difficult to motivate toward some production mode. And so, the photos sit on my 2tb external hard drive. I have a website, but, I have over 200 pics on it and find it difficult to justify adding more pics.

So tell me, what’s a photographer to do?

I won’t stop shooting. I love it too much. What types of outlets do you all have. I am truly interested in production alternatives.

Thanks in advance for any feedback.
Click to expand...
On your web page replace some with better photos, more action, for example. Easy for me to say since I fall into the same trap
 
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I wish that we had a better market for digital photo frames. I don't like the selection out there now, which is varied, some from questionable manufacturers, and too expensive.

I think what a lot of us would appreciate is a simple device that has a decent quality and sized screen, and basic storage options (SD card or wifi to a home-network shared folder), with a simple slide-show app with some basic features. And then we could enjoy all of our photography, no need to limit the number with the low-cost of storage.

I actually have a couple (one used for portrait orientation, the other for landscape), but they're both very small.

I sometimes think I should just build one, one of those mini PCs (hidden) with a monitor attached and mounted to a wall.

Chris
 
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I agree that the Meural is pretty expensive, but compared to what I have spent in photo gear and trips? Relatively small investment.... The image quality is amazing, and it looks great on the wall. And I can rotate art work or photos, depending on the mood. Wish it was bigger and cheaper, but that will always be the case!
 
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M y passion to photography is linked primarily to my love to wildlife and nature. Through my photos, I want people to see the way I see nature so they can protect this beautiful treasure. I believe everyone of us will defend and protect what we love.

What I do with my photos to reach and educate the public? I do educational exposition. I did already expositions about Galapagos, Hawaii, and about our Oceans. Now I am working on an educational exposition about Africa. My exposition about « Ocean » was supposed to be for a month, but at the end it lasted 4 months at the demand of the organizer because it was so popular. Through my expositions, I sell my prints and all the money goes to organization that defend nature, it is my way to give back to the most precious thing to me, because it gives me a lot.
I also use my photos to make books. I am actually working on a serie of books about some species. These books will also be given to organization that defend nature that will help them to continue their work.

But most importantly, taking photos for me is the most enjoyable moment in my life. Witnessing the natural interaction among individuals between the same species or different one is priceless to me. That what keeps me going everyday and not caring so much about how many photos I am taking, or how many terabyte I am filling and what I would do with my photos. Living that instant in the animals life is so fulfilling and I won’t give up for anything in this world.
 
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Perhaps put a copy of your work and some other items into a time capsule in the hope it will be found. As a pay-it-forward repository of the most interesting times we lived. 2 TB external flash drives are very reasonable prices and reliable.
 
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