Monday, January 4, 2010

With KnappImages.com, The Offlede opens for business

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Purchase a print | If you'd like to buy a print of the above image of a rainbow touching down during my Maine foliage vacation in October, click on the link and click the "add to cart" button on top of the photo.

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Purchase a print | Another one of my more popular photos of the year: shuttle Atlantis lifting off in November.


With the economy like it is, it's high time to find an alternative source of income. A new camera won't buy itself, especially with my employer, Gannett, imposing furloughs again in the first quarter of 2010. And there are several items on the "need" list, including a new door handle for my 2000 Chevy. So that's why I'm asking the people of the World Wide Web to help a desperate newspaperman.

My donors will be getting something in return, of course. This isn't the give-me-money-if-you-want-to-see-more-blog-posts deal. I'm just using The Offlede as a way to showcase my ever-evolving photographic works in hopes that someone would pay a few bucks for a print. I started this blog two years ago on a trip to New Orleans, mainly to write about the post-apocalyptic happenings there. Photography took a back seat the whole way, as a mere illustrative supplement to my musings.

In the past few years, however, the tables have turned. My writing has gotten considerably worse, and my photography has improved. Lucky for me, people are willing to pay good hard cash for photographs but squat for words on paper. That turnabout appears to be working in my wallet's favor.

That's why I've set up a new Web site, KnappImages.com, which takes orders for photos, does the printing and ships them to you. Not all photos seen on The Offlede will be available for sale. I'll choose the ones I think are the best, upload them to KnappImages.com and let you know in each post which photos are for purchase through a link in the caption. But if you spot a photo you'd like to buy that isn't in the store, please e-mail me at andrewknapp@offlede.com, and I likely will make it available.

Coming soon, I'll post my best photos from 2009, many of which will be available for sale. As a sneak peek, this page contains most of the photos already for sale.

I'm doing this on a trial basis. If it proves not to be worth the monthly fee for PhotoShelter's Web hosting, I'll stop. My prices also are introductory and probably will be adjusted. The site itself has not been heavily designed yet. I'm still working out some bugs in that department. For now, it's simply for purchasing. Eventually, it will become my portfolio.

In addition to prints of pretty landscapes, weather and animals, my services also are for sale. At this point, I'm specializing in candid outdoor portraits of families. I also can photograph indoor events such as children's birthday parties or other celebrations. Not weddings quite yet, though. If you live on Florida's Space Coast, give me a ring at 321-501-9531, and we'll talk details.

Below, check out a few examples of my outdoor family portraiture. Both sets of photos feature two of my dear co-workers' families.

It's a difficult world for the modern photographer, with good cameras for relatively cheap and digital media to allow inordinate snapshooting. It's my mission to stand out, though, and bring a different angle to the same old square. I can only hope that it's worth something.





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