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http://www.photothemes.com

Photothemes

Welcome to the new, improved, and chattier PhotoThemes. I say "improved" because this second edition of my website represents a big change in my goals – I'll call it an effort to recapture and share the fun and excitement of my photographic "youth," which began all of 14 years ago when I was a kid of 60. (This photo of me was taken only five years ago, so of course my appearance hasn't changed; but in the interest of full disclosure, I'll post a current photo as soon as I get around to it.) And I say "chattier" because I'm going to be writing far more commentary than on the original version of PhotoThemes. I'll try to keep the comments entertaining and informative. Just click "Blog" on the navigation bar under my banner photo at the top of the page. The short history is that my earliest digital photography (1999, in Orlando) really "caught on," by my modest standards, and before long my framed prints and note cards were being carried by galleries, gift shops and bookstores in Central Florida. By the time Barbara and I moved to the mountains of Western North Carolina, in 2003, I was representing myself as a decorative / fine-art photographer. And in truth it was rarely difficult to persuade gallery and shop managers to carry my work (the tally over the years adds up to eight galleries, eight gift shops and four bookstores, plus photos in magazines and brochures). Of course every decision has positives and negatives, and one price I paid for selling my work came at the expense of my spontaneous creativity: I began looking at photo opportunities more in terms of what would sell rather than my own creative impulses. So I started rejecting a lot of photos that I would have snapped up, so to speak, in my "youth," knowing there was no market for them. It wasn't all about sales, of course, because I was also becoming more discriminating at the same time. My Artist's Statement (click on "About"), written eight years ago, pretty well expresses my mindset then and up until my recent epiphany. One aspect of that epiphany was the realization that I was not pursuing photography as a livelihood, not in the focused way some of my much younger photography buddies were. My style was more an on-and-off-again approach befitting a retired senior. The passion for making good artwork was there, but not the focused commitment to marketing and sales. In other words, a serious hobby. But I was still thinking too much like a professional when I went out to take pictures. So what has changed? Not much and quite a bit. The biggest change is that marketing and selling my work is now definitely an afterthought, not something I feel any pressure to be working on. Call it an attitude adjustment, a reality check, whatever; the fact is I'm free to enjoy the endless and elusive pursuit of creating artistic images without the pressure. Not to make it sound like a big deal – many people make similar decisions all the time. It is actually easier for me because I never was into it as a full-bore livelihood. Anyway, setting up this web site offers a perfect opportunity to reboot, go back to my roots, put fun and spontaneity back at the forefront. I'll still be offering my work for sale but with a new attitude born of greater knowledge and experience. So for now, if you see an image you might be interested in buying, contact me at bludlow@charter.net and we'll work something out if possible (not all images are for sale). Eventually, when I get around to it, I'll tag the images that are for sale and provide information about sizes, media options and, of course, prices. But I'm not there yet – this is just the start of a work in progress . . . and as I said, sales are no longer a top priority. So here's hoping you'll enjoy the images and maybe find time to drop me a comment or offer some suggestions. And sure, I'd be delighted if you bought one, two or ten of my photos. (Until I get all the features up and running, you can contact me at sirreal@me.com.)

https://photos.smugmug.com/MyStuff/My-Album/i-37bvgc9/0/9c9b850e/L/Me-L.jpg

@SmugMug

Welcome to the new, improved, and chattier PhotoThemes. I say "improved" because this second edition of my website represents a big change in my goals – I'll call it an effort to recapture and share the fun and excitement of my photographic "youth," which began all of 14 years ago when I was a kid of 60. (This photo of me was taken only five years ago, so of course my appearance hasn't changed; but in the interest of full disclosure, I'll post a current photo as soon as I get around to it.) And I say "chattier" because I'm going to be writing far more commentary than on the original version of PhotoThemes. I'll try to keep the comments entertaining and informative. Just click "Blog" on the navigation bar under my banner photo at the top of the page. The short history is that my earliest digital photography (1999, in Orlando) really "caught on," by my modest standards, and before long my framed prints and note cards were being carried by galleries, gift shops and bookstores in Central Florida. By the time Barbara and I moved to the mountains of Western North Carolina, in 2003, I was representing myself as a decorative / fine-art photographer. And in truth it was rarely difficult to persuade gallery and shop managers to carry my work (the tally over the years adds up to eight galleries, eight gift shops and four bookstores, plus photos in magazines and brochures). Of course every decision has positives and negatives, and one price I paid for selling my work came at the expense of my spontaneous creativity: I began looking at photo opportunities more in terms of what would sell rather than my own creative impulses. So I started rejecting a lot of photos that I would have snapped up, so to speak, in my "youth," knowing there was no market for them. It wasn't all about sales, of course, because I was also becoming more discriminating at the same time. My Artist's Statement (click on "About"), written eight years ago, pretty well expresses my mindset then and up until my recent epiphany. One aspect of that epiphany was the realization that I was not pursuing photography as a livelihood, not in the focused way some of my much younger photography buddies were. My style was more an on-and-off-again approach befitting a retired senior. The passion for making good artwork was there, but not the focused commitment to marketing and sales. In other words, a serious hobby. But I was still thinking too much like a professional when I went out to take pictures. So what has changed? Not much and quite a bit. The biggest change is that marketing and selling my work is now definitely an afterthought, not something I feel any pressure to be working on. Call it an attitude adjustment, a reality check, whatever; the fact is I'm free to enjoy the endless and elusive pursuit of creating artistic images without the pressure. Not to make it sound like a big deal – many people make similar decisions all the time. It is actually easier for me because I never was into it as a full-bore livelihood. Anyway, setting up this web site offers a perfect opportunity to reboot, go back to my roots, put fun and spontaneity back at the forefront. I'll still be offering my work for sale but with a new attitude born of greater knowledge and experience. So for now, if you see an image you might be interested in buying, contact me at bludlow@charter.net and we'll work something out if possible (not all images are for sale). Eventually, when I get around to it, I'll tag the images that are for sale and provide information about sizes, media options and, of course, prices. But I'm not there yet – this is just the start of a work in progress . . . and as I said, sales are no longer a top priority. So here's hoping you'll enjoy the images and maybe find time to drop me a comment or offer some suggestions. And sure, I'd be delighted if you bought one, two or ten of my photos. (Until I get all the features up and running, you can contact me at sirreal@me.com.)