40 Years of Photos in My Creative Space

For months we've been sorting through all our belongings in the treasure bus. We're trying to reduce our possessions to just necessities. There are several reasons for this, some practical, the shear fact we are fed up with moving stuff; some philosophical, why do we have or need so much stuff; some financial, if we sell something it helps pay the bills, some selfish, we want to travel again, and are looking for way to achieve that.


In my creative space today, we now have boxes and boxes of photographs piled in my studio; I am shocked at the sheer number of them, so I'm reaching out to my blog friends to see what ideas they might have on what to do with these. I finally found the photo of the Mexican Federale and I standing on the dock in Cabo San Lucas in 1974. There are photos taken in Golden Gate Park like the swans photo below, ghost town photos from all over the Southwest, landscape and floral photos from all over the country, vintage cars and trucks, cityscapes, Gary's Vietnam photos and films, jeep and motorcycle photos, camping photos, travel photos, and so much more - so much history.


I'm wondering how to consolidate all this photographic history into a space saving format. How can I consolidate slides, photos, prints into a digital format? Do you know or have experience with changing slides, films, photos into digital format? Please let me know I'd love to hear about your experience in this area. We're talking 35 mm slides, 35 mm negatives, prints, 8 mm films and so on.


Look at all these photos, there must be a use for them? We have seven boxes full of photos, slides, and prints. I hate to have them just sit in the folders collecting dust. Maybe I could put together a traveling photo show. These photos are a documentation and history of our travels and our love of photography, of our love of America's back roads, deserts, mountains, and countrysides.


The second photo above took honorable mention in a show in Carmichael California years ago. I entered that photo and one of Gary's. Gary won first place, his is the first photo in this post. The photo of the rustic window and door I took in Cambria, California and it received honorable mention at a Sierra Foothill art show.


Here's how it usually goes. I prepare Gary's and my photos in the format acceptable to the particular show requirements, usually a black frame with a white mat, sometimes photos mounted on canvas are acceptable. Remember Gary said he doesn't have an artistic bone in his body. After I submit the paperwork and photos to shows, Gary usually takes first place and I usually get an honorable mention. Anyway we both have a ton of photos we want to share with the world and generate a little income along the way.


But I'm wondering is there a way? Is there a need, is there a desire in others to see the world from my eye, from Gary's eye? And, will someone purchase that work which will enable us to keep photographing, traveling and documenting. What do you think? By the way, the photos you see here are quick digital photos I took of actual photos in frames under glass, so there are reflections and the quality isn't how they look in person, but I've shown them here as examples.


OK, now I'll be frank, can I somehow generate income from all these photographs? Can I sell photos or prints of photos and to whom and where? There's etsy, but with thousands and thousands of pieces of art, what are the chances anyone would notice Gary's and my photos, even in prints at a reasonable price, in such a cavernous sea of art?


There's a lot of good stories behind most of these photos too. The next post will be one such story, so please come back to hear about another one of my adventures. Thanks for stopping by and reading. I really appreciate your comments, so please let me know if you've any thoughts about photographic art or prints. Oh gee, I can't believe this, I just had an idea and I already have the materials, more later, so stay tuned.