I continue to enjoy a good following of my stock photos. Right now, and for the past 6 months, this photograph of the Crystal River with Chair Mountain in the background has been very “HOT” on all of my sales outlets. I really like this photo, I have a large 20×30 canvas wrap of this image hanging over the fireplace in my house. But I don’t just like it for its popularity, I like it because it reminds me of the person who was traveling with me when it was made. My old and now deceased friend, Merlin Peck. When I look at this photo, it takes me back to an exact place and time, that often feels like it was just yesterday.

Landscapes are a hot subject for me in the stock photography world, probably the hottest genre of image at the moment. Bison and Blue Heron have been popular lately. I think the Blue Heron are a seasonal thing, due mostly to this being their breeding season. Bison, not sure what drives sales of bison photos, but they seem to always be in the mix. Train photos have been doing really well, I’m seeing them constantly sell on all the stock sites. Moose photos are amongst the usual sales, but not what I’d call hot. They are just staple images. You’d be hard pressed to look for a stock moose photo and not come across my images. I’ve sorta saturated the market with those images. There’s a reason I’m called “The Moose Whisperer.” There are not many photographers out there who’ve covered the subject with more vigor than me.

Over the past 5 years or so, I’ve concentrated my photography efforts on subjects that I felt would make good stock photos. I’m sorta changing my approach this year. I now have a solid stock catalog of about 5,000 images and I think that will hold me in good standing for a while, but I’m finding this approach to photography is getting a little boring to me. It’s limiting my thinking and efforts to something that is becoming a bit repetitive. I’m changing things up for a while, taking on new projects and subject matter that isn’t going to be shoehorned into a “stock photography” mindset. I’ve done this type of thing in the past, taking on various subject matter, from weddings, head shots, events, dead babies (yeah, that’s right), travel photography. I think it’s important to change things up every now and again. This year will be a year of change for me.

Every so often, I feel it is important to change the way I do things. First, it can help me to be more efficient and productive. I have an innate need to be constantly learning and adapting to new ways of doing things, I am able to get more done in less time. This can save me time and money, and it can also help me to be more successful and personally satisfied.

Second, changing the way we do things can help us to be more creative and innovative. I try to be open to new ideas and new ways of doing things, with the hope it will make me more likely to come up with new solutions to problems. This can lead to new subjects, new friends, and new ways of thinking about the world.

Of course, changing the way we do things can be difficult. It can be scary to step outside of our comfort zone and try something new. However, it is important to remember that change is inevitable. The world is constantly changing, and if we want to keep up, we need to be willing to change as well.

At least that is what I’ll keep telling myself. Your mileage may vary.