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Author Topic: How do you earn a living?  (Read 20961 times)

Rocco Penny

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Re: How do you earn a living?
« Reply #20 on: March 02, 2013, 08:53:08 am »

A usurper...

Interior finishes contractor,
lucky to have provided many top shelf personalities with their built environments.
February 2008 changed the game.
I retreated to the hills and commune with nature and spirits now.
It doesn't pay, but I'm rich as a "Son of these hills"
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Ken Bennett

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Re: How do you earn a living?
« Reply #21 on: March 02, 2013, 09:20:49 am »

I work at a university, too, but as the staff photographer in the publications/news office. That way I don't damage too many impressionable young minds :) I get to work with a terrific group of designers, writers, and web developers. This is not your run of the mill "in house" unit, these folks are something special. Been here 16 years, before that I was a freelance news and corporate photog for about ten years, after starting my career at a small newspaper (fresh out of college with a degree in economics.)
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HSakols

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Re: How do you earn a living?
« Reply #22 on: March 02, 2013, 09:46:21 am »

I've enjoyed reading all of your responses.  Welcome snowbanker.  I find locking myself in my studio after a rough day of motivating 10 and 11 year olds is excellent therapy. Back in 2002 or 2003, my school district had technology trainging money available for teachers. My colleagues were taking lame courses in excel and powerpoint so asked the district if I could take a class in digital imaging from Rich Seiling from West Coast Imaging. Before taking that class my digital darkroom was a Canon FS4000 scanner and a Mac 7200.  It was slow but worked! A few years later I took Charlie Cramers class.  Now I spend too much time making landscape photographs that I store in a archival cabinet that once was in the Ansel Adams Gallery.  No I did not steal it, but got it from the Yosemite Mountaineering School where they used it to store maps.  My problem is I keep making prints, but sell very few.  Instead I donate a few every year to my small community of El Portal.  Since 2001, every sixth grade student I have had has been given a small matted print during their promotion.  I grew up in Palo Alto, CA and still go back to the area to visit family.  During my visits I'm reminded how much of a Luddite I am.  My brother is disgusted that I still do not own a cell phone and our truck is dirty. Hopefully my hobby is teaching me some transferable skills that I might use in the future.  I think I understand color management better than many yet I'm no engineer. I've shot one wedding at the Ahwahnee in Yosemite Valley.  It was quite fun.  A couple of locals got permission to come dressed in the most gaudy outfits including some mighty fine brides maid dresses. Oh and the brides father came in drag. The minister was priceless.  
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Ben Rubinstein

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Re: How do you earn a living?
« Reply #23 on: March 02, 2013, 12:25:26 pm »

10 years as a wedding photographer shooting fine art on the side. My legs have given up on me just as I hit the height of my career :( and I'm now managing a repro studio for a museum and teaching in a local art college.
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dgberg

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Re: How do you earn a living?
« Reply #24 on: March 02, 2013, 02:20:52 pm »

40 year corporate pilot. Presently flying Cessna Citation CJ3
Custom furniture and cabinetry business owner 1987 to present,part time since 2009
Opened printmaking and mounting studio in a vacant 1000 sq. ft. of my cabinetry shop which takes up the rest of my time.
« Last Edit: March 02, 2013, 07:39:00 pm by Dan Berg »
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Johnny_Johnson

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Re: How do you earn a living?
« Reply #25 on: March 02, 2013, 02:53:14 pm »

40 year corporate pilot. Presently flying Cessna Citation CJ3
Custom furniture and cabinetry business 1987 to present,part time since 2009
Opened printmaking and mounting studio in a vacant 1000 sq. ft. of my cabinetry shop which takes up the rest of my time.

Nice plane Dan! Is the cabinet shop where you lost your fingers?

Later,
Johnny
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dgberg

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Re: How do you earn a living?
« Reply #26 on: March 02, 2013, 03:49:45 pm »

Nice plane Dan! Is the cabinet shop where you lost your fingers?

Later,
Johnny

Still have all my fingers but my lead craftsman cut one of his almost off.
They sewed it back on but he missed 6 months work.

Johnny_Johnson

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Re: How do you earn a living?
« Reply #27 on: March 02, 2013, 03:53:03 pm »

Still have all my fingers but my lead craftsman cut one of his almost off.
They sewed it back on but he missed 6 months work.

Sorry Dan, must have been thinking of someone else. Glad that you've still got them all.

Later,
Johnny
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ThomasR99

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Re: How do you earn a living?
« Reply #28 on: March 02, 2013, 05:29:51 pm »

Hospital pharmacist here, been practicing for 25+ years.  I find the job to be very 'right brained' dealing with med issues and staying current with the latest medical/p'ceutical research, and managing the staff (somewhat akin to herding cats, but the eclectic personalities keep the days interesting). I find photography lets (ok, forces) me get out into nature here in the Pac NW (US) and stretch my legs and get the 'left brain' back in gear after being suppressed the rest of the time.  Interestingly, I think it may actually help in the job as well...being creative, thinking in a new way, trying to 'see' something in a way I never have before may help with the job.  I sometimes get 'creative' ideas that oftentimes work surprisingly well. 
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Rob C

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Re: How do you earn a living?
« Reply #29 on: March 02, 2013, 05:59:02 pm »

Hospital pharmacist here, been practicing for 25+ years.  I find the job to be very 'right brained' dealing with med issues and staying current with the latest medical/p'ceutical research, and managing the staff (somewhat akin to herding cats, but the eclectic personalities keep the days interesting). I find photography lets (ok, forces) me get out into nature here in the Pac NW (US) and stretch my legs and get the 'left brain' back in gear after being suppressed the rest of the time.  Interestingly, I think it may actually help in the job as well...being creative, thinking in a new way, trying to 'see' something in a way I never have before may help with the job.  I sometimes get 'creative' ideas that oftentimes work surprisingly well. 



Get 'creative' in a British hospìtal and you'll find yourself on the cover of at least two tabloids by the next morning. You'll  be facing a class action by that lunchtime.

;-)

Rob C

Jaffy

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Re: How do you earn a living?
« Reply #30 on: March 02, 2013, 06:13:21 pm »

I've been a highways/traffic engineer for 30+ years, surveying, road safety, traffic signals, etc, I liked the irony of being a prat on motorcycles at the weekend and then going into the road safety dept on Monday. Currently I deal with highways problems, so always immediate, always different, and photography is therefore a good way to relax and contemplate life around me.
I'm good at spotting potential problems but not so good at seeing solutions, so working as part of a team is good for me and the thought of running my own business fills me with dread; I'll never be rich but will get a pension.
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David Eckels

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Re: How do you earn a living?
« Reply #31 on: March 02, 2013, 07:29:29 pm »

I'm a professor and have been doing biomedical research and transplant related clinical work for over 35 years. When you hear that someone "found a matched kidney or heart" we're the guys that do the laboratory work for that. When I was a kid, I dreamed of being a professional photographer. I loved the darkroom and when I joined my high school yearbook team as Sports Editor, I was in hog heaven: all the film and chemicals and paper I could ever imagine and the Journalism Department paid for it! Had to leave the darkroom when I started having allergic reactions to the chemicals in my late teens. A while back, my dad suggested I have a look at the digital darkroom and photography has once again become my passionate obsession! Somebody mentioned the left/right brain thing above and I think there is real truth in that, but the science of digital imaging is also completely fascinating. I am devouring Jeff Schewe's "series" right now (Image Sharpening, Digital Negative, Digital Print when released); anyone who has not read it...highly recommended! It was probably good that I didn't get to be that pro photographer from some of the stories here, however. The intense criticism I received from the study sections at the National Institutes of Health over a 25 year continuous funding run, prepared me for the crtiques I have been getting here ;) ;) Seriously, I have enjoyed meeting this group and enjoy the "community" immensely. So many interesting people, so many intriguing stories, and some great photography!
« Last Edit: March 03, 2013, 10:25:54 am by David Eckels »
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orchidblooms

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Re: How do you earn a living?
« Reply #32 on: March 02, 2013, 09:11:37 pm »

surely an interesting group here...

i like schewe's

...I really don't do much of anything for money, but everything I do tends to produce money. One big factor is to have multiple streams of income from multiple sources and always keep busy doing something productive....

this is my M.O.

i have been self employed since the day the 1st space shuttle exploded - walked off the job thinking... 'there has to be more to life and living'

i have been doing landscaping - irrigation - lawn service - snow service - and since 1992 involved with my now, late mother the 'orchidlady' (orchidblooms.com) working with our family flower business

i develop software for ecommerce - as part of our flower / nursery business - we sell tropical flowers and orchids shipped from farms 2 of which i have interests,  in hawaii

i have loved photography from a very young age - as a youngster 7-8yo i would use my dads press camera!

i also have become a savvy investor

i love the thrill i get every time i press the shutter!

great thread

p.
« Last Edit: March 02, 2013, 09:13:18 pm by orchidblooms »
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Rob C

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Re: How do you earn a living?
« Reply #33 on: March 03, 2013, 04:14:55 am »

surely an interesting group here...

i like schewe's

...I really don't do much of anything for money, but everything I do tends to produce money. One big factor is to have multiple streams of income from multiple sources and always keep busy doing something productive....

this is my M.O.

i have been self employed since the day the 1st space shuttle exploded - walked off the job thinking... 'there has to be more to life and living'i have been doing landscaping - irrigation - lawn service - snow service - and since 1992 involved with my now, late mother the 'orchidlady' (orchidblooms.com) working with our family flower business

i develop software for ecommerce - as part of our flower / nursery business - we sell tropical flowers and orchids shipped from farms 2 of which i have interests,  in hawaii

i have loved photography from a very young age - as a youngster 7-8yo i would use my dads press camera!

i also have become a savvy investor

i love the thrill i get every time i press the shutter!

great thread

p.


Maybe punctuation?

;-)

Rob C

Tony Jay

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Re: How do you earn a living?
« Reply #34 on: March 03, 2013, 04:23:02 am »

Really a very interesting thread.
Fascinating variety of contributors and occupations so far.

To continue the left/right brain thing, although for me I am ambidexterous which is helpful when doing tricky medical procedures in the ICU, I have also never been able to bring a truly analytic approach to problem solving in medicine preferring a more synthetic inductive apporach. This can be handy for making very rapid decisions with resuscitation-level patients.
The photography angle for me has no real connection to my occupation.
Instead, it has grown as a natural extension of my love for the great outdoors.
The possibility of an income from photography is there but will currently take more time to develop than I could easily devote.

Look forward to reading others contributions.

Tony Jay
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Stan A

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Re: How do you earn a living?
« Reply #35 on: March 03, 2013, 07:36:56 am »

I've been a highways/traffic engineer for 30+ years, surveying, road safety, traffic signals, etc, I liked the irony of being a prat on motorcycles at the weekend and then going into the road safety dept on Monday. Currently I deal with highways problems, so always immediate, always different, and photography is therefore a good way to relax and contemplate life around me.
I'm good at spotting potential problems but not so good at seeing solutions, so working as part of a team is good for me and the thought of running my own business fills me with dread; I'll never be rich but will get a pension.

Prior to being a cop I was a power lineman, which led me to a decade of building traffic signals, which then led me to working a couple years as a traffic signal technician, which then led me to being a cop for the last 15 years for the same city.... Had a lot of fun doing the traffic thing....now I stop people for running some of the same lights I built... ;)
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RSL

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Re: How do you earn a living?
« Reply #36 on: March 03, 2013, 08:24:06 am »

I was a professional soldier (USAF) for 26 years and then a software engineer for 30 more. For fun I did a bit of computer science teaching on the side at Colorado Tech but was losing money for every hour I taught, and had to give it up. I folded my little corporation in 2008 and finally retired.

I've been a photo nut since about 1943 when I brought up my first print in the darkroom I'd built in a fruit cellar. I started getting serious about it in 1953 when the Korean war ended and I was flying F-84's out of Taegu. I started doing weddings and other work for pay in the mid sixties. I considered resigning my commission and taking up photography as a business, but found I hated having to make the sort of clichés the work called for, so I quit doing it.

Since then I've been a happy amateur who makes an occasional print sale out of local galleries. Nirvana.
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Russ Lewis  www.russ-lewis.com.

orchidblooms

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Re: How do you earn a living?
« Reply #37 on: March 03, 2013, 11:02:30 am »


Maybe punctuation?

;-)

Rob C

Rob - this is perhaps some of my best writing

:)

i am a horrible spellor - fast typer - oftem my hands are miss-position on the keybords so words are nonsensical...  sometimes i catch this - and well....

glad you took the time to point out what you perceive to be my shortcomings...

btw - what is wrong with...

there has to be more to life and living? 

perhaps i could have written 'there has to be more to life than just living' ... ?

that line.... came to be in my minds eye at the time, however, when i was angy, upset and was thinking exactly what i posted.... you see rob,  as i  walked out the door with cnn covering the space shuttle challenger tragedy... playing it over and over...  i was thinking.... there has to be more to life and living....  as everyone on the challenger - was obviously, dead.

so now you have the backstory -

i have never looked back

phil
« Last Edit: March 03, 2013, 11:13:48 am by orchidblooms »
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Rob C

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Re: How do you earn a living?
« Reply #38 on: March 03, 2013, 11:51:29 am »

Rob - this is perhaps some of my best writing

:)

i am a horrible spellor - fast typer - oftem my hands are miss-position on the keybords so words are nonsensical...  sometimes i catch this - and well....

glad you took the time to point out what you perceive to be my shortcomings...

btw - what is wrong with...

there has to be more to life and living? 

perhaps i could have written 'there has to be more to life than just living' ... ?

that line.... came to be in my minds eye at the time, however, when i was angy, upset and was thinking exactly what i posted.... you see rob,  as i  walked out the door with cnn covering the space shuttle challenger tragedy... playing it over and over...  i was thinking.... there has to be more to life and living....  as everyone on the challenger - was obviously, dead.

so now you have the backstory -

i have never looked back

phil



Phil,

If what you write above is the real deal, then I'm sorry for bringing it up. Just seems unlikely you can develop software but not use commas, capitals and periods. I can't develop software.

;-)

Rob C

orchidblooms

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Re: How do you earn a living?
« Reply #39 on: March 03, 2013, 12:46:48 pm »



Phil,

If what you write above is the real deal, then I'm sorry for bringing it up. Just seems unlikely you can develop software but not use commas, capitals and periods. I can't develop software.

;-)

Rob C

rob... no biggie...

i started writing my own php ecommerce apps for our flowershop in 1998 - there simply was no such thing at the time - i simply rolled up my sleeves and figured it out...  started using an open source app back then called phpshop - it was feeble and very basic... learned how it worked and took ideas from that app and started to write my code for our apps....

our app was the first in USA/ probably the world, for florists, to offer a recently view items feature!

there have been many iterations of our apps over the years

we now service over 200 florists in USA and some in canada....

i am now in about the 7th version,,, rebuilding our whole app using a framework called laravel - best bet is spring 2014 for rollout...

when i am in app mode - it is in office - in the dark planted infront of monitors for as long as 30 hours in a sitting - with the doors closed - no interruptions - nothing like what i do here...

:)

p.
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