So how is this post relevant to Photography? It isn't, it is an excuse for absenteeism. That's not to say I haven't been taking pictures, or making images, etc... I have!
(Post was started in December of 2018)
I remember watching the movie "Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension" when it was released in he theaters back in 1984 and one line from the movie, delivered by Peter Weller, stood out. He said, "No Matter Where You Go, There You Are." I recall laughing at the time, but not really comprehending what that statement really meant, philosophically. Fast-forward 34 years, I now find myself remembering that line as I pack up all of our possessions and wait for the arrival of the moving company.
I remember watching the movie "Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension" when it was released in he theaters back in 1984 and one line from the movie, delivered by Peter Weller, stood out. He said, "No Matter Where You Go, There You Are." I recall laughing at the time, but not really comprehending what that statement really meant, philosophically. Fast-forward 34 years, I now find myself remembering that line as I pack up all of our possessions and wait for the arrival of the moving company.
The past two years have been hectic for my girlfriend and me, a proverbial "roller coaster" and now that we are in our Middle Years I decided that living in Bakersfield no longer made sense.
We discussed moving elsewhere in California, but with the Cost of Living skyrocketing along with home prices, it didn't make financial sense to stay.
We looked at other places, such as Teresa's hometown in Bellefonte PA, but we both agreed that living in the snow is not enjoyable.
During all this time, I did manage to take photos documenting our Move and transition to becoming Las Vegans. I participated in Photo-walks, Scooter rides and even bought a piece of gear; but more later in another blog post, I promise.
We also talked about the West Coast of Florida as Teresa lived there for a few years and I travelled there for work, too, but with her job, she wanted to be somewhat close to their NorCal Headquarters and in the same time zone as her co-workers.
After several discussions, we decided we would look at one of our favorite Travel Destinations, Las Vegas, Nevada, especially since we have a Timeshare there and my youngest son was accepted into UNLV's Hospitality Program.
After finding our house and a relatively quick process of Selling and Buying a few of our properties, we officially moved into our new home in December of 2018.
Although I started a Photography Business, specifically Drone Photography for Commercial and Residential properties, at the beginning of 2018, business was good, but not profitable. So, I decided to go down the YouTube "rabbit hole" once we moved to Vegas. Here is a link to my Channel: Las Vegas and Beyond, which consumed my time from March of 2019 up until July 2022.
Becoming a "content creator" took me several months of learning and practicing to get comfortable in front of the camera, proficient with videography, post production, and marketing my channel or building a "brand", lol. I still have "Merch" available for my Channel
If I recall, it took me just under one year to reach 1K subs, get monetized and my see my channel slowly grow. However, YouTube Earnings wasn't fast enough or robust enough to meet my Financial obligations, while putting in 70 - 80 hours worth of work on a weekly basis, while relying on my girlfriend to "foot" the bills.
By May of 2022, I began job hunting and in June I was hired by a local Casino to provide Systems Operational Support. That position was ground level, but it provided a consistent revenue stream and allowed me to get my foot in the door for working in Casinos. Three months later, I was contacted by a National Casino group and was hired to provide Mid-tier and Upper Tier Operations Support and I'm still there, as of this post.
During all this time, I did manage to take photos documenting our Move and transition to becoming Las Vegans. I participated in Photo-walks, Scooter rides and even bought a piece of gear; but more later in another blog post, I promise.
Do I enjoy living in Las Vegas more than SoCal/Central CA? Yes, for several reasons, but mainly for the somewhat lower cost of living, traffic and the sheer expanse of this state to explore. I definitely miss some things in California, places like the Central Coast and Northern Coastline (Monte Rio and above), and of course, friends and family.
Back to Photography, there are a couple things I didn't research about moving and living in Vegas and that was 1) the Drought situation and on a more personal/selfish issue; 2) Disposal of Photographic waste chemicals, specifically "spent" Fixer. This is the only reason I haven't been shooting film and developing it at home.
In Bakersfield, they have a Hazardous Waste drop-off and they'll accept up to 5 gallons of liquids, including used Fixer. Figuring that some parts of Vegas, Boulder City and Henderson were dumping grounds for Mining waste, they would some form of Hazardous Waster treatment, but apparently not. So I've postponed developing my own film as "All" water is Recycled and pumped back for Home use.
With my limited funds, I'd need to have my film developed somewhere. Thankfully, there are two Labs in town that Process film, but only C-41 and Black and White (once a week). The cost isn't too bad, about $8-$10 to develop and about $4 for HD scans. The Labs are Photo Shack and Alien Film Lab, along with a couple other smaller labs.
This explains why I haven't posted in over 6 years, or at least rationalizes why I haven't. Enjoy! Thanks for reading and I'll be posting soon. Sooner than 6 years.
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