tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78684762009-05-18T14:22:24.213-04:00This is a blog about my photography, including techniques, equipment, experiences, and samples. I'm more of an enthusiastic and aspiring professional rather than an experienced pro, so my posts here will probably be more a collection of things I learn rather than sage advice. My primary interest is in landscapes and older architecture (barns, covered bridges, and especially lighthouses).Ron Frazierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00837119718002987952noreply@blogger.comBlogger127125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7868476.post-58311017989989696032008-11-24T13:39:00.006-05:002008-11-24T15:30:30.676-05:00

Yesterday I posted a review of the Tamron 1.4X and 2.0X teleconverters. As I mentioned there, I was quite happy with the test results, but I also wanted to compare them to the Canon teleconverters to make sure there wasn't a significant difference between the brands (and if there was, I could exchange them before my return period ended). Well, I got in touch with my friend Wayne Fisk, who

Ron Frazierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00837119718002987952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7868476.post-25455295837184012102008-11-23T23:00:00.003-05:002008-11-24T15:27:48.837-05:00

Since switching from my Sigma 70-300mm lens to my Canon 70-200mm, I've been happy with the results I get, but I do miss some of the extra range in that last 100mm. Even with the 70-300mm, there were times when I couldn't get close enough to the subject. I've been thinking about getting a teleconverter for a long time. After hearing good things about the Tamron Pro (SP) line of teleconverters, I

Ron Frazierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00837119718002987952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7868476.post-74259215230428690552008-10-31T06:00:00.001-04:002008-10-31T06:00:01.243-04:00

I've decided to no longer accept American Express credit cards at my shows. After long and careful consideration, I've decided it just isn't worth it. I originally signed up for American Express after hearing stories from another artist who said large sales increased after he started accepting AmEx. I was hoping it would do something similar for me, or at the very least, have zero impact. Instead

Ron Frazierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00837119718002987952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7868476.post-91669372195607855342008-10-30T06:00:00.003-04:002008-10-30T08:27:48.421-04:00

For the last 2 years now, I've been intending to take a trip to the Upper Peninsula to photograph the fall colors that are so talked about up there. However, each time, factors conspired against me and I never made it. A few weeks ago I finally got the chance to do it, and it was an incredible experience.Planning the tripMy wife and I took 3 days off work so that we would have a 5 day weekend. I

Ron Frazierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00837119718002987952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7868476.post-85313087814303857082008-10-29T12:04:00.003-04:002008-10-29T12:48:52.524-04:00

It's been a while since I posted much. I've got a number of things to post about. I'll try to get to them over the next few weeks. However, for now, I just want to touch on how my art shows went this year. In a few word: not too good.This year, before things even got started, I could see the writing on the wall with the economy (especially here in Michigan), and I wasn't too confident that things

Ron Frazierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00837119718002987952noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7868476.post-59193700762838523642008-08-03T22:24:00.005-04:002008-08-03T22:54:14.910-04:00

In the course of an art fair, many people will come into your booth. As they enter, they typically know very little (if anything) about what it is you offer. As the manager of your business, you need to decide how to introduce your customer to your work. Opinions on the topic vary greatly, ranging from sitting in a chair on the other side of the street doing nothing, to standing in the booth and

Ron Frazierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00837119718002987952noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7868476.post-51619792550792531702008-07-12T07:42:00.005-04:002008-07-12T10:06:33.314-04:00

Late last year I started adding a few canvas wraps to my collection. They went over quite well, so I decided to add some more this year. When I made my wrap last year, I simply stretched the canvas using my bare hands. That accomplished the goal, but had 2 problems. First, it's extremely taxing on the hands trying to grip the canvas and pull it tight. Second, while it got decently tight, it was a

Ron Frazierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00837119718002987952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7868476.post-13565790134347423042008-06-27T06:25:00.001-04:002008-06-27T08:50:50.686-04:00

About a month ago, I received my new propanels to replace my old homemade panels made from electrical conduit + grid wire. I got to use them for 2 shows now, and I must say I like them a lot. They look so much more professional than the old burlap covers I made for the homemade panels. They setup so much easier, are more rigid, and a tiny bit lighter in weight. But the biggest thing I like about

Ron Frazierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00837119718002987952noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7868476.post-68576858073175169942008-06-23T23:04:00.003-04:002008-06-24T00:22:35.167-04:00

I had another show this week. This time it was the Northville Art in the Sun show. The gist of it is, I did a bit better...made a small profit, but still nothing to get excited about.Setting UpThis was attempt number 2 at setting up my new booth. Unfortunately, this show only had a morning setup (no option to setup the night before). On top of that, my wife ended up having to work at the last

Ron Frazierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00837119718002987952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7868476.post-57961061992422260972008-06-19T06:34:00.000-04:002008-06-19T10:06:02.742-04:00

Once again I'm off to a bad start for the year. Last weekend I did the Livonia Art From the Heart show, for the third year in a row. It ended up terrible...I lost money. However, it was good practice with some of my new equipment, so not all is lost.History of Livonia Art From the HeartJust to recap a brief history, Livonia was my first show ever, and ended up as my best show the whole first year

Ron Frazierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00837119718002987952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7868476.post-31807743048438505462008-05-26T21:09:00.002-04:002008-05-26T22:40:22.329-04:00

In getting ready for another year of art shows, I'm addressing some issues I faced last year. One of those issues is a lack of color consistency throughout my workflow process. Last year I learned all about color profiling and got OK results by using generic paper profiles from various sources. This year, I've decided to address the issue further. After researching various options, I decied to

Ron Frazierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00837119718002987952noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7868476.post-79036137242380208442008-05-03T15:15:00.004-04:002008-05-03T15:43:02.411-04:00

2007 ended up being a pretty decent year for art shows. After getting off to a bad start, things turned around and I had several of my best shows yet. However, in the process of all of that, with the preparations and improvements being made, I didn't have a lot of time for much else. After finishing my last show in September, I decided to take the winter off, and I haven't done much photography

Ron Frazierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00837119718002987952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7868476.post-67731567300948507702007-10-22T19:01:00.000-04:002007-10-22T19:07:35.054-04:00

Back in May I mentioned how the mirror on my camera broke and I did the $5 MacGyver repair to fix it. Well, a few days ago I went for a quick mid-afternoon photo shoot and discovered that my 18-55mm lens is not acting up. Anytime I'm zoomed between 18-24 mm, if I have the aperture set to anything other than wide open, the picture fails and the camera gets an error 99 and locks up until I power it

Ron Frazierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00837119718002987952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7868476.post-58043685443142295502007-10-14T07:58:00.000-04:002007-10-14T09:10:32.135-04:00

The Northville art show that I did almost a month ago was my last show for the year. After a somewhat disappointing 2006 (where my first show was good, but everything went downhill from there), and a disappointing start to 2007 (where my downward slide continued for the first few shows), things eventually turned themselves around, and I had a pretty satisfying year.I did eight shows this year,

Ron Frazierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00837119718002987952noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7868476.post-83899229999321016142007-10-05T06:30:00.000-04:002007-10-05T12:52:59.870-04:00

I know I haven't posted in a little while. My last post was the day before my South Haven show. The following weekend I was sick, and then the weekend after that was my Northville show. I planned to post an update here, but I had a few things to catch up on around the house, so that came first. Then, to completely distract me, my computer suffered a hard drive failure. And not just a single

Ron Frazierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00837119718002987952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7868476.post-65266980869102333672007-08-30T06:30:00.000-04:002007-08-30T08:34:45.270-04:00

My Trimline tent arrived a few days ago, and I've had a chance to set it up. Well....sort of.Like building the jugsaw puzzle?Not at all. Assembling the pieces and figuring out what goes where wasn't so bad. I've heard lots of reports that it's quite confusing, even after you've done it many times. In fact, at one show earlier this year, there was an artist working on his trimline when I arrived,

Ron Frazierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00837119718002987952noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7868476.post-77602368603277009592007-08-21T20:29:00.000-04:002007-08-22T09:23:36.025-04:00

In my last post, I discussed the many reasons why I decided to upgrade my canopy. The next step in the decision making process was deciding which tent to order, and then which options to order it with.The field of candidates wasn't very large to begin with. My starting options wereTrimline (by Flourish)Craft Hut (now owned by Flourish, also)Light Dome (by Creative Energies)Finale (also by

Ron Frazierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00837119718002987952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7868476.post-63782191385567848222007-08-20T18:07:00.000-04:002007-08-20T19:25:21.273-04:00

When I started preparing for art shows a few years back, my objective was to minimize my entry investment so that I didn't lose too much money if things completely flopped on me. In order to achieve that goal, I had to make sacrifices in several areas. One of those areas was my canopy. With the better canopies running $1000 and up, getting a cheap ez-up style canopy for $200 was a great way to

Ron Frazierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00837119718002987952noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7868476.post-89381717712832774372007-08-13T06:30:00.000-04:002007-08-13T10:57:48.410-04:00

In the couple years doing shows now, I've been fighting with the trick of rolling up the wall tarp of my canopy. When my wife is there to help, it's not a problem. However, when I end up having to open by myself, it can be a real pain.Previously, the way I did it on my own was to:1) Start rolling up the wall at one end.2) After you roll it a few times, you'll see that the other end of the wall

Ron Frazierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00837119718002987952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7868476.post-65858188220541283282007-08-13T06:15:00.000-04:002007-08-13T10:58:02.987-04:00

With regards to my Sterlingfest show report and the credit card that I mentioned was declined, I am happy to report it has been taken care of. On Friday, I received a check in the mail for the full amount, so that made Sterlingfest officially my most profitable show yet.However, that title wasn't long lived. I did another show this weekend and beat my sales record by $10. In addition, expenses

Ron Frazierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00837119718002987952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7868476.post-88190487365083388642007-08-10T06:15:00.000-04:002007-08-10T09:16:06.619-04:00

After going through the first year of shows with declining sales, and then starting this year with the worst 2 shows yet, I then had my best show ever. Now this past weekend, I've continued this positive trend by having another great show. It almost squeezed its way past the Wyandotte show to become my new most profitable show, but one thing didn't pan out, so it will be my second

Ron Frazierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00837119718002987952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7868476.post-69294287947737994902007-08-01T06:30:00.000-04:002007-08-01T14:35:58.191-04:00

I just returned from a vacation a few days ago and realized I never posted my show review. Better late than never.After starting the year off with my worst 2 shows yet, I went into my next show in Wyandotte a bit concerned, yet hopeful and with a promising gut feeling. When it was all said and done, it was a long 4 days, but my best show yet.Setting UpWhen I went to setup Tuesday night, it was

Ron Frazierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00837119718002987952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7868476.post-14944063126021479362007-07-15T08:30:00.000-04:002007-07-15T15:08:38.329-04:00

I just finished up a 4 day show, and it was a great success. I'll talk about my experiences there in a few days, but for now I want to talk about something thats fresh on my mind: marketing my work, and actually taking on the role of salesman. Over the last 8 shows (since my first show ever in June 2006) I've noticed how some changes to my selling style have impacted the results of my

Ron Frazierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00837119718002987952noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7868476.post-56346898418342907002007-07-10T06:45:00.000-04:002007-07-11T22:27:56.973-04:00

Following up on my last post comparing Crescent and Bainbridge, this time I'd like to present a comparison of another pair of companies I dealt while choosing new materials for this years product line. In choosing frames, I looked at a number of options, but based on a number of factors (price, style, flexibility, etc) I narrowed my choice down to 2 frame suppliers: frameusa.com and

Ron Frazierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00837119718002987952noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7868476.post-21540199314844025302007-07-02T06:45:00.000-04:002007-07-02T11:07:21.618-04:00

As I wrote about several weeks ago, one of the things I was trying to do was change some of my matting. In trying to evaluate the different matbaord options available and choose a color, my ideal plan was to obtain corner samples of the Crescent RagMat, Michael Graves, and Moorman Suede series. However, there in lies a problem. CrescentIn looking around, very few places sell matboard corner

Ron Frazierhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00837119718002987952noreply@blogger.com1