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Comments

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  Michael Danley April 6, 2011 at 9:41pm

  I'm good and don't regret the blog.  It gave me insight to different perspectives.  You were most helpful and I appreciate the insights you shared.
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  Geoff Coe April 6, 2011 at 8:39pm

  So, Mike:  How are you faring with the advice you received in this post?  And with what we talked about?
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  Martha Giberson February 25, 2011 at 10:43am

  Michael - I don't know where in FL you moved to but I've been traveling a lot to Ocala in the past two months and this is horse country. There are some very pristine, affluent, beautiful horse farms and then abandoned rundown farms. All on the back roads, not something you'll see along I75. Kind of a strange place for a New Englander like me, lots of country, beautiful farms, private race tracks, abandoned horse farms, gated retirement communities in the middle of nowhere and it seems like all the homes are new and look alike. Good luck. - martha
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  Michael Danley February 25, 2011 at 9:10am

  I'm fine.  In the past I have used my artistic talents as a supplement to my regular job.  I now see how people's attitudes would be different when it is their main source of income.  Though I was surprised by the responses, I understand why it happened.
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  Nels Johnson February 25, 2011 at 6:23am

  Michael, if things get a little too rough here--you know, getting missives from Holly, Munks, Michael Stipek and me, can be earth-shattering--well anyways you could probably go back to your old stomping grounds in Kansas and hide out with William, in his cave.  I hear he has lots of rustic accoutraments there.  William used to be on our site, but he left, rather quickly--something about he couldn't stand the music--whatever that means.  It is good that Jackie and Barbara, and Alison offer some counterpoints.  Well, I hope you sort it all out.  You are very lucky to have this site, it is a treasure trove.  When I started there were no easy ways to get info about our circuit.  I just went out and dug, and oh, did I put a few miles on my van looking for the magic image.  Good luck, Nels.
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  Barbara Westlake-Kenny February 24, 2011 at 12:33pm

  I agree with everything that Jackie Jones said. St. Augustine is indeed a photogenic town, and not only is it Florida's oldest town, it is the oldest continuously inhabited town in the United States. Cedar Key is very quaint old fishing village off the beaten path. Also, check out the little bitty towns in the Everglades and the land of the 10,000 Islands. The Florida panhandle also has some pretty little towns, but the most distinquished ones are NOT on the beaches! Good luck with your photography. I was a travel writer and photographer before I became a painter, and I understand your angst. Sorry you were jumped on for your simple question.
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  MICHAEL ALAN STIPEK February 24, 2011 at 10:15am

  Right on, Holly!  Every media has become an extreme "blood sport" when it comes to getting into shows.  We compete with ourselves to do the best quality and new work possible.  We compete with other artists for that treasured slot in a overly crowded market.
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  MICHAEL ALAN STIPEK February 24, 2011 at 10:10am

  And, Michael Danley, perhaps life shouldn't be a competition, but it is.  Competition for artists to get into art shows is extremely, I repeat, extremely competitive.  When you have perhaps 150 photographers applying for maybe 10-15 spots, that borders on a blood sport.  Our financial and mental lives depend on getting into a certain number of selling shows every year.  So many artists have dropped out of doing art shows just because they can't make money at the biz; many of these artists are excellent, but not getting into shows or not selling at the shows they do get into - that's a career killer.

  When you have three photographers in a show with the same Tuscan images, who wins?  It's nothing but competition.  But out of all of this, how you compete with other artists, how you act toward the other artists - are you a nice guy or a meanie, an originalist or a copycat?  You are still a competitor, but you will be judged by your peers based on how you treat others.

  And I have done a lot of art shows in Kansas, a great state, but the competition, as in all other states, can be rough and tough.  
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  MICHAEL ALAN STIPEK February 24, 2011 at 10:00am

  Jackie, maybe I came off a bit strong, but as Nels and other photographers will no doubt back me up, at an average art show, I get probably 5-10 guys (always guys, with giant phallic cameras hanging from their necks) asking me the secrets to my locations, time of day, type of equipment, camera settings, how to get into the art show business, how they're going to do shows after they retire, how their work is just like mine, how their work is even better than mine.  And so on.  And they always seem to elbow in when I'm talking to a potential customer.  So, etiquette, in any form, is much appreciated.
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  Alison Thomas February 23, 2011 at 8:59pm

  It has no buildings but Picayune Strand by way of Janes Scenic Drive is really cool.  It is the former site of the great Florida land swindle.  The roads are still there, complete with stop signs.  You'll need 4 wheel drive if it is at all wet.  I think that saddest place in Florida that I have seen is Belle Glade on the east side of Lake Okeechobee.  Plenty of weathered paint and rusty metal there.