Why would you retire if you have pretty much done what you wanted to do the last 40 years. Being primarily a photographer would tell people I retired years ago and took up photography. But society says you hit a certain age and you retire. So this is now my retirement career website. It includes things that I have been doing that I still hope I can make a buck at. That include photography, jewelry making, fine crafts, handyman work, adventuring, guiding and consulting. Pretty much what I have been doing. But the difference is can be more choosy on the projects I take and judge them by the fun factor they offer.
Photography
I took to heart many years ago the old saying “ a picture is worth a thousand word.” A strong visual image can convey so much information and emotion that there were times a photograph has changed the course of human history. I haven’t yet created any photographs on that scale but I have created plenty that have helped clients sell their products or a magazine to convey an editorial idea. Even though a search engine cannot read a photograph to help your search rankings people can. In this busy world being able to tell your story quickly in a photo has great value over hoping someone other then a search engine robot will take time to read a thousand words.
I remember when I started I wanted to be a photographer and create photographs on film. Photographs rich in detail and depth of color that someone could study it for a long time. Now I have an all-digital workflow and doing image acquisition. I am engineering an image deciding what to do in camera during the acquisition process and what is best done in Photoshop after capture. There are some marvelous capabilities this process offers but the color fidelity still sucks compared to transparency film. But because the media an image will finally be displayed on today also sucks and everyone has come to accept that, it all works out OK. Besides the viewer is only going to look at photo for an average of five seconds on the Internet so great depth color and detail is not needed. Fortunately, it still works out if you create an image with enough visual impact and concise message that five seconds is all you need to start the process of getting a looker to become a buyer. And at the bottom line that is what commercial photography is all about.
I would like to think after this many years I could do a great job of photographing anything but the reality is my work has concentrate in a few areas. You can follow the links below to take you to portfolios that show samples of the work I have done. http://jewelryphotographs.com
Jewelry & Craft
Ever since my metal shop classes in junior high school I have love to work with metal. Because of conflict of interest I would have with my client I have been kept from doing it. Retirement ended that. This change has allowed me to finally have a chance to actual get my hands on the metal and start bringing my creative ideas to life. I showcases some of my evolving work here. I have been having a great time learning, exploring, sometimes failing but always moving forward. I am drawing on my years in the jewelry industry bring my jewelry up to contemporary standards. I look forward to displaying my newest designs here.
You can all of what I am doing at my jewelry website Van Rossen Designs.
Adventure
I love to get out and explore. This often means getting out for a hike or a snowshoe into the wild and beautiful place in Oregon and Washington. Living in Portland gives access to so much of natures beauty. Living in Portland also gives access history and culture to be discovered. I look forward to doing more of this as I get more time.
As part of this adventure side I have taken on a personal project of building a website for those looking to visit Portland and those who new here and want to know more about their new home. More can be seen at Visit Portland.
I have two other website where I post what I a doing. For hikes and other outings they are at Daniel’s Treks. For exploring Portland Micro Beer brewing seen it is at BrewpubsPDX.
