If you’ve read my previous posts you will know that I am part of a great Facebook Group – the POD Central Website Facebook Group. September 2019 saw the inaugural #septcho19 challenge. This was a fun way to inspire us and to get us creating with a daily theme. Partcipation was optional and, although the challenges were set in September, there was an open time frame – some are still completing it!
Well September is almost upon us and the 2nd challenge is about to begin. I’m looking forward to seeing what themes are set to test our creativity this year.
Ok, so the saying goes “Better late than never!” and that’s exactly what this post is.
I posted the first part of this challenge almost 12 months ago now and in that time a lot of personal stuff has taken place leaving me unable to contribute to this website. I am now in a better position to create my Empire lol!
So as the new challenge is about to commence shortly in which I was about to make a post, I thought I’d better do Part 2.
WEEK 3
Day 11 – Black and White ✔
Day 12 – Create a new Store Header
Day 13 – Pink ✔
Day 14 – Adversity ✔
Day 15 – Hope, Love, Life – Typography
WEEK 4
Day 16 – Halloween
Day 17 – Thanksgiving
Day 18 – Decemberish ✔
Day 19 – 2020
Day 20 – The Future
So as you can see I didn’t complete too many however it still can provide inspiration at some point in the future if ever I need it. It was fun to do and hopefully 2020’s Challenge will see me participating a little more.
The above designs are available in my Redbubble store. The Christmas Peace was created specifically for a 2019 Planner which I will update for this year.
So now it is almost time for this years challenge – see you then!
I am part of a Facebook group which encourages, inspires and supports one another. It has become more than a group of strangers with a common interest, willing to share their knowledge but also there to learn. It has now become a group of friends with whom I can share not only (what little!) knowledge I have, but to share thoughts, opinions & stories in our everyday lives.
I became involved in Print on Demand in 2016 in a hope to sell my art and designs on an array of products. After not very much luck and only enough effort that I could afford to give it, I decided I sucked! However I did not abandon a sinking ship but rather put on the life jacket and dived in. Research was key. I have followed Youtube videos, reads blogs and then came the Facebook groups.
One in particular is my favorite. The POD Central Website Facebook group. It is the one I refer to in my opening paragraph and the one that this post is about. As part of a teaching unit (all optional) we were given a challenge for September. Create a piece of art inspired by the day’s theme. Each day is given a specific theme and nothing is mandatory. We just create when we get the time, post it to that day’s thread and then like the post to show we participated.
Week 1
Day 1 – Green ✔
Day 2 – Music ✔
Day 3 – Controversy ✔
Day 4 – Summer ✔
Day 5 – Flash Back Friday – This was take an old product design and recreate afresh.
Week 2
Day 6 – Abstract ✔
Day 7 – Peace
Day 8 – Light & Dark Autumn. Not just your usual colours.
Day 9 – Fake Advertising – Create an imaginary item, movie, band etc the advertise it!
Day 10 – Food
So we are now into week 4 and I’m a bit behind but the beauty is there is no set time frame, which is a great thing as I am not known for speed. Slow and steady wins the race. Here is a few of the designs so far.
There is a gathering looked forward to every year. A gathering of landholders, both large and small, from the massive station owners to the small hobby farmer. A gathering of primary producers, men, women, husbands, wives and kids, all looking forward to a much deserved day out. Then there are the day trippers from the nearby towns, children on school trips, the 3 day eventers who visit for the duration, country folk from far and wide, a few city dwellers too and travellers from around the globe.
Attracting over 100,000 visitors from around the nation and overseas, this gathering of people is one of the few events rural Australia has on such a large scale. This gathering just happens to be only an hour’s drive for me and, given that events in the region are very few and far between, it is one I was looking forward to. A day to get away, relax and take some photos. This gathering is AgQuip, one of the largest agricultural events in the world. It is also the premier primary industry field days in Australia with over 3,000 trade exhibitors.
John Deere Machinery
Why would you go to AgQuip if you’re not a farmer? Now in it’s 47th year, AgQuip has become more than just a field day to showcase the latest tractor or tillage equipment. The tractors, combine harvesters (or more colloquially a header!), cotton pickers and more are still there to entice those on the land with a bevy of agricultural implements needed to farm efficiently, but these are bigger, better and with new technology. Like the vintage tractor of yesteryear, the ageing farmer may feel overwhelmed by all the automation, however the younger generation are all too eager to learn all about the new high tech features of the huge agricultural machinery, compare booster equipment for greater mobile reception or grab the latest dog collars with GPS trackers!
AgQuip has surpassed the title of an agricultural field day. You can now browse a new house, get the latest solar panels, purchase a composting dunny (Australian for toilet!) and the backyard landscaping is not forgotten with the pool, spa, fire pit and timber furniture to relax away the hot dry summer. For those itching for adventure there are motor homes, caravans, camper trailers and all the camping equipment you could need.
Murray Grey Bull
Once a gathering of male dominated farmers, it offered little for the ladies. Now there are trade show pavillions and the smaller trade stands scattered along the many aisles. Stalls of clothes, soaps, fudge, wine, household items and handmade goodies. Too many to mention here but I will say if you love food you can get the best steak sandwiches (usually with the breed of choice watching you eat their long lost pal!) afternoon tea with the Country Women’s Association or snack on an array of food from the many different stalls.
Why would you go to AgQuip if you’re not a farmer? You go to AgQuip for the day out, a chance to catch up with people and soak up the atmosphere. You go to shop for the latest equipment after a good year, you go to support the retailers in a bad year. We are in the midst of our worst drought on record. In the small rural towns of Australia no one has any money to spare, if the farmers don’t spend, it has a carry on effect to the local businesses. What we country folk do have is support for each other in the tough times. It’s not just about spending money, it’s the networking, the professional relationships built, the chatter at the bar with an old friend, a chance to forget the hard times for just one day and when the rain comes, and the drought breaks, we will once again visit AgQuip with heavy wallets in hand.
This is my very first post. I started this blog to showcase my images & designs. I’m just a beginner learning the ropes and I have no idea what I’m doing!!! I’m an amateur photographer trying to delve into the world of Stock Photography. I’ll tell you what Stock sites I’m with, how I got accepted & hopefully let you know what I’ve sold (fingers crossed!).
I don’t just want to do Stock Photography. I love Black & White imagery, macro shots (even the creepy crawlies) amazing landscapes, stunning sunsets (no sunrises as I’m no early bird) & wonderful wildlife although this last one I consider the hardest as what animal wants to stay still while you shoot them, certainly not my dog or the birds that come to visit!
I’m also intrigued by the world of digital design & photo editing creating wonderful stories in pictures whether it be concept Art or Graphic Design. I’m yet to explore this area but as my skills in photography & editing increase I hope to challenge my creativity & open up a whole new world of possibilities.
This is a new beginning & a journey I’m happy to share with you.
I have a lot of photos!!! How can I turn my photos into cash? Where can I sell my photos?Would people buy my photos? These were the questions I was asking myself in an attempt to earn money from home.
After I was made redundant in April 2016 I was not in a hurry to return to the work force! I have no qualifications & the only thing I considered myself good at was my photography (realising now that I am not as good as I thought I was!) and I wanted to see if I could earn an income from home.
I did a lot of research & discovered that there are websites for selling your own photos. You can use creative sites like Zazzle or CafePress to create your own wall art, clothes, mugs & other goods to sell using your images. However my new best friend was going to be the stock photo web site! Stock Photography is uploading your photos to a Stock Photo Agency and once approved they become available for customers to purchase earning you a small commission. Now with all this web browsing I discovered there are a LOT of sites for submitting photos for sale.
The most popular of the these sites is Shutterstock. This is my first stock photo that I submitted to Shutterstock – not very exciting! However it did get me accepted as a contributor on the first attempt at submitting photos for stock use. How did I do it? By following these simple steps.
Research – There is heaps of info out there, blogs, Youtube videos, forums. I read as much info as possible to gain the most knowledge I could. Shutterstock has it’s own Contributor Guide with lots of information and advice.
Edit – before submitting my image I made sure it was perfect. I checked my image was sharp by zooming in to 100%, making sure there were no artefacts, dust marks, blemishes and noise.
Submit – After joining Shutterstock I had to submit 10 images for approval. If all images were approved I would be accepted as a contributor. However I accidentally hit submit after I had only uploaded the one image!!!
So had I stuffed my chances of being accepted into Shutterstock? Having heard & read of so many being rejected on their first attempt I was 100% certain I was going to be rejected as I had only submitted the one image. To my surprise I was accepted and could now begin my journey as a Stock Photography contributor.
Karen McFarland Photography, Art and Design 