Well, this is quite the achievement. Today, I officially reached 5,000 pictures on my photostream and though I am no pro when it comes to taking pictures, I have seen where I have drastically improved from where I was when I first started back in 2012. And what a ride it has been, I've seen many 'faces' come and go on Flickr and I've also seen a bunch of newcomers recently hop on to the retail photography bandwagon. I also remember seeing two fellow bloggers on Flickr for the first time. Ironically, it was these two that inspired me to create a retail blog of mine as a celebration of my 5,000 picture milestone.
And its no wonder why so many people joined on the fun since 2015 has definitely been a historical year in retail when you think about it. First, Deb announces bankruptcy, followed by Radioshack. Then Target announces CVS will take over its pharmacies. Now A&P, the historical supermarket chain, is the latest victim of bankruptcy. Not to mention the fact that Kmart and Sears keep closing stores, and will likely continue to do so until they cease to exist.
Here's a little story of how I became interested in retail. The first ever pictures I ever took was of my local Kmart in Olean, NY. I soon followed about a week or so later by visiting the Wellsville location. Eventually, I found myself going a little further and further to take pictures. (It should be noted though that I had visited some of these further away places before I took pictures.) I remember reaching the 200 picture limit for non-pro members that was in place at the time and I was a little frustrated because I would delete pictures to allow for the newer ones I had taken. Thankfully, it was around that time that Flickr gave 1 terabyte of picture space to everybody for free. That encouraged me to take more pictures.
As I've said before it was because of the dead Warren Mall that got me interested in pictures outside of Kmart. I thought it was weird to see such an empty mall and the pictures I took got the attention of fellow Flickr users at the time. I only had maybe two or three people following me at the time. After a couple months of no pictures, I returned with a bang. Pictures from Williamsport, PA and surrounding areas gave even more of a boost in attention. Then came parts of Erie, PA and Jamestown, NY on a separate trip.
Eventually I started to get more and more followers and soon enough I became one of the people to expect retail photos from on a regular basis. I got to thank I_dawg2000, MJBarnes and Nicholas Eckhart for being with me for quite some time now. And though Bradley Memphis isn't active on Flickr, I still have to thank him as well. And if you are new or a longtime viewer that I didn't mention, thanks for taking an interest in my pictures! I got lots more to come, so don't go anywhere!
Unless any news happens, the next blog post should occur on the first week of August.
Well I may not have been there for all of your pictures, but thank you for being there for all of mine so far! I look forward to more uploads from you :)
ReplyDeleteYour welcome. I understand that feeling of being the new guy. Though you got attention a lot quicker than I did. Took me about two years to get where I am today. I know I didn't mention you specifically, but you and Albertsons were hinted at. If you keep it up, you are definitely on the path of retail photography success.
DeleteThanks, and don't worry about not mentioning me!! I shouldn't be, yet. In my opinion, tenure matters!
DeleteI got the reference. Thanks for that, even if it wasn't by name. 5,000 photos in three years is quite the achievement! It's amazing how many new retail photostreams/blogs have popped up in the last year, and how many people have began to take an interest in this. Anyway, keep up the good work!
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