And… Another one bites the dust

Another day… and another broken 360 camera. These things are so fragile it is ridiculous. I go through a couple a year it would seem, which is why I stopped shooting with the Ricoh Z1 because they are now over a grand a pop and started using the “cheaper” Theta X which are “only” £800 a time. And now I have gone further and started sourcing second hand ones for £400! It is infuriating - the slightest drop and the lens is either shattered (Z1) or scuffed and barely usable (X). I have found some lens protectors now for another brand of camera and I am going to order a set up and see if they work for the X and whether they offer enough protection to be worthwhile, the alternative is a hard shell that goes over the whole camera (not cheap… but £60 a time is better than £400 a time), I am just not sure on the size and bulk of that. I did consider a dive case… but Ricoh want hundreds of pounds for one and the third party options don’t cover the more pro-grade cameras.

Otherwise it has been a productive kind of a week - had a decent amount of work on… but that success has been marred by an agency client that I work through to cover a few estate agents pulling a fast one and refusing to pay me the vast majority of the money owed for a job out in Fraserburgh last month. This is infuriating - they pay poverty wages anyway but when doing a days work costs £100 or so MORE than they are paying it becomes an absolute joke. As a result of this I have now withdrawn any further services from them until a satisfactory resolution is in place, because I would rather stay home than be treated like that. On the other hand - and which re-enforces this viewpoint really - I have been told by several unconnected people that my work is brilliant this week, and… this is a big step for me… I haven’t muttered something incomprehensible and wandered off! I am not good at accepting complements, my self esteem is just way too low for that… but it was nice, and given the mood that this national agency have left me in it was very much the right words at the right time.

Anyway - I am rambling. It’s been one of those weeks! Next week is a bit of a jumble due to 2 vet trips… but even with that, and not fulfilling said agency work… between the 5 jobs booked in… I am earning twice what I make of “F” Agent in a month. Perhaps it is time to give that the heave-ho. I just worry about the quiet times….

But then there is another side to this too. If I am not doing mindless low income work I have more free time to investigate other, more exciting, opportunities. Be that drone surveys, topographical mapping, fine art photography, portraiture or any of a myriad of potential revenue streams that would expand my client base out from the property market and bring with it some extra resilliance, perhaps? I have felt that this year was going to be a turning point, but I wasn’t expecting it to be so driven by external factors!

Lets see what the next week brings.

Here is a selection of some of the commercial work I have done this week.