Issue #5
Roving-Eye Gallery update and newsletter for August 2020

Hello to all and thank you to the new subscribers this month.. welcome aboard!

This month I managed 21 new images spanning all subjects from the starry heavens to our feathered friends and all perspectives from way up high to inches above the sand and waves! A little bit of something for everyone!

Go check them out at https://www.roving-eye.com/whatsnew

It's getting towards that time of year.. thinking about the 2020 Calendar.

While the actual end of the year is still a little way off production considerations and a lead-in time means starting to look at calendar providers now.

Last year was a neat desktop format and the quality was certainly there, but it was perhaps a tad smaller than ideal but was the main option at the time.

This year I am thinking of an A4 size for wall hanging to give that little bit of extra size and "presence".

My policy for calendars is to use only images from the previous 12 months only, so its always fresh and new and as you can see from these monthly updates there is plenty to choose from!

Pricing isn't finalised yet as looking at a new provider where I won't get unit pricing until I ask for a quote for a batch minimum, but my aim is for something very reasonable and great value also considering the original photography included! Any shipping will be a modest add-on.

If you fancy a calendar, or maybe a number of them as great gift ideas, then please get in touch to give me a heads up and that will be much appreciated to help with planning and print run commitments! 

Just email me at hello@roving-eye.com

If you're interested in equipment being used I have a page that discusses it here https://www.roving-eye.com/gearlist

There is something of a saying amongst photographers "Gear doesn't matter". I've seen it quoted in a few different contexts but it mainly seems to me to be a bit misleading..

It's usually used to say its the photographer that matters and not the equipment but that's not entirely true either as you can most definitely be limited by what your camera and lens is capable of and no matter what you do that's where it ends.

On the other hand you can buy top of the line gear but that doesn't mean you produce top of the line results either if you're not putting in the time, effort and skills to go with it.. the truth is it's lots of persistence and trial and error, making mistakes, and noting what didn't come out as planned, and whittle away at that for your next tilt and each time you do you get that little bit better and more consistent in producing what you had in mind.

I've had it said to me at the markets quite a few times now "You must have a really good camera".. and I'm never quite sure what to make of it.. I assume mostly a compliment but also in there is a whiff of a "justification" as it were.. that *unless* you had a "really good camera" you couldn't create the images they were admiring.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

Until very recently my core gear was decidedly very budget.. The camera body costing no more than $500 and a single zoom.. that's it. To that you may add supporting items such as a tripod and selected filters.

That's all you need to be able to cover a wide range of shooting styles since a modern camera is a marvel even at that price point and the rest comes down to putting in the effort, get up early out of the comfy bed, stay up late in the dark, getting wet, getting cold, getting blown about, and maybe coming back with not much for your time and discomfort.. and then one time it all comes together and something beautiful comes from your persistence and that keeps you going aiming for the next one!

So no matter what you have, if you want to, go and make the most of what you have and see what you come back with, there will be disappointment at times, of that you can be certain, so go analyse why, what needs to change, make the tweaks needed, avoid any mistake made earlier and go try it again.. if you do you will get the results you're after.

After a while when you want to push yourself even harder then go get some new gear.. you'll be pleased you did because you can build on what you've done so far and keep going even further if that's what you want. There is no end to what is possible if you set your mind to it and back that up with the gear and making the effort.

Well it seems like I've babbled on enough and thank you for reading this far!

Thank you again for being a subscriber and I hope you are liking the images coming out to the gallery each time!

Don't forget.. all newsletters are available in an indexed archive so you can go and (re)read everything published to date at any time! .. just go to https://www.roving-eye.com/whatsnew-index

'Till next time.. take care!