The launching of my online shopping cart last week represents a kind of watershed in this new venture, after a year of preparation and several months of technical work behind the scenes.
Update, late 2016: we’re now using a new, improved version for the shop.
The Eighties Vancouver shop/gallery (separate from the portfolio gallery, under “Projects”) represents the first foray into click-through shopping, with other selections to follow in the new year. Hovering over thumbnails presents the option to add selected print sizes and greeting cards to the shopping cart, or simply click on the ★ like icon to compile a favourites list that you can forward to me, if you are seized by the urge. Seriously though, doing so helps me get a better sense of what kind of images are popular. There’s also a choice to append comments. Be kind 🙂
It would not be a stretch to say that, in some ways, this new site is the culmination of a long and winding photography adventure that began as a childhood hobby, led to a small commercial studio in Vancouver, at the beginning of the eighties, took me to the catalogue sweatshops of Toronto, back to Vancouver, and to relative solitude on Vancouver Island.
Although I do not discount my commercial work — as a superb taskmaster, instructor, and incubator of creativity — the work I value now is most often that created outside of business hours.
As 2014 draws to a close, and now that the heavy-lifting in the construction of the shop is complete (prompt, comprehensive technical help from the good folks at ProPhoto should be acknowledged), it’s time to think of where I want this project to go.
Look for more galleries in the short term, including urban and wild landscapes, as well as more blog posts, where I’ll continue to tell stories behind the pictures, as well as some technical essays.
What would you like to see here? Tell me in the comments.