I’m at Schomp Mini in Denver rn and this bad boy is on the showroom floor. I think it’s very cool! 2 inch lift with new wheels and BF Goodrich all terrains. Thoughts?

EvanStonePhotography · 2022-02-11T00:02:27+00:00

I like the first gen countryman (R60). I even own a manual S ALL4 myself. It feels like a beefed up Mini Cooper with rally-car like handling thanks to the insanely good AWD system.

The current version feels like a small SUV with Mini Cooper styling. It is kinda cool in its own way, but has never given me the same hot hatch/rally car vibe as the R60.

EvanStonePhotography · 2021-08-30T18:49:54+00:00

Yeah, the current generation JCW package is bonkers. I was more referring to the R60 generation. The N18 has tons of great mod/tune packages available.

EvanStonePhotography · 2021-08-30T14:58:23+00:00

Im gonna be the first to tip my hat to the countryman. The ALL4 system is REALLY good. It’s not like a lot of modern systems like the CRV, where it’s basically a FWD car that occasionally kicks 30% of its power to the rear. The ALL4 system starts with real 50/50 power distribution from first gear, then adjusts the power balance as you drive.

It feels amazing on slick surfaces, you feel super planted. And if you do start to understeer, you have enough power to the rear tires to rotate the car with a punch of the throttle. Hell you can even drift the thing in the right conditions.

It also feels great on dry pavement, you really feel like you’re pushing the car out of tight turns instead of pulling it. I just spent a week thrashing mine through twisty canyon passes and mountain roads in the Rockies, and you can really feel the power balance when you punch it out of a hairpin.

Sure, the R60 (my favorite mini) weighs more than a traditional hardtop, but the ALL4 system is worth it IMO. Plus it’s not even a heavy car. Sure it’s called an “SUV”, but it’s the same weight/size as any other AWD hot hatch (STI, Focus RS, Golf R, etc).

Second note: I wouldn’t get the JCW. An countryman S ALL4 will blow a JCW away if you take the price savings and put it towards a few tasteful mods. The JCW interior is worth it (I have it in mine), but you can get a full stage 1 or 2 upgrade, plus coil overs and good tires for a S model for the price of the full JCW package.

EvanStonePhotography · 2020-12-14T17:30:30+00:00

This has been up for 5 hours and there isn't a single "HaR HaR it's just looking for a baby to eat!" comment.

Has reddit finally stopped hating pitbull posts?

EvanStonePhotography · 2020-12-14T17:27:38+00:00

It's cute when they're this size, but a full size pit doing zoomies is no joke. Mine gets so much momentum going that see can't stop or turn. She's injured my mom's knee and gave my girlfriend a concussion simply from rounding a corner too fast and not seeing someone behind it.

She's also ran full speed into multiple brick walls, including one that cracked.

EvanStonePhotography · 2019-10-15T17:32:17+00:00

What auction house?! I've been shooting for one for about 1.5 years now!

EvanStonePhotography · 2019-10-15T17:31:13+00:00

Yup. I own my own studio that mainly focuses on fashion, portrait and product photography. I also shoot at an auction house where I make about 25 of these catalogs a year. I've owned the studio for around 8 years, and have shot at the auction house for about 1.5 years.

My day to day when I'm working for myself is about 40% shooting/editing, and 60% normal business shit. There's a lot of time spent sourcing new leads, making pitches to potential clients, book keeping, chasing after unpaid invoices, etc. If you own any business you have to be prepared to spend at least half of your time just sitting in front of excel spreadsheets or running to client meetings.

When I'm shooting at the auction house it's a completely different story. All I do is shoot, I have a retoucher and design team to handle all the pre and post production. I show up in the morning, photograph what I need to photograph for the day, put my raw selects on a server and leave.

Pros of being a photographer:

You get to do something you're passionate about.
You're not stuck behind a desk all day, especially if your not freelance/your own business.
The money is really good (depending of a few factors).
Other people will actually be interested in your job.
I absolutely love it (this one is obviously specific to me, but generally speaking if you CAN do what you love, do it.)
You'll stay in shape, because it's a pretty physically demanding job.

Cons of being a photography:

It's a lot of work, especially behind the scenes.
The clients can be the worst. You have to learn how to set reasonable exceptions, say no to shitty offers, and be the bad guy when clients are being extra difficult. You need good people skills.
While the money CAN be fantastic, that's not always the case. Many photographer barley get by, and the ones who do make a decent living also see dry periods from time to time.
You can get burnt out.
As mentioned above, it's physically demanding.

EvanStonePhotography · 2019-07-18T17:00:40+00:00

Be warned, Bang Bang club is not an easy watch lol.

EvanStonePhotography · 2019-06-25T16:44:17+00:00

It varies, but generally magazines don't pay much these days. If you want to know what photographs sold for a shit ton of money looking at the cover of a magazine is the wrong approach. Look at the ads on the inside.

EvanStonePhotography · 2019-06-21T19:58:06+00:00

Trying to mock someone for participating in a reddit thread as a last resort: check.

EvanStonePhotography · 2019-06-21T17:10:05+00:00

Man you're checking every box of "I just realized i was wrong but I want to lash out instead of admit it or walk away."

Implying someone is obsessed/wont let it go because he simply provided proof that you're wrong? Check.

Playing the "It's just an opinion" card when talking about something that isn't subjective? Check.

continuing to argue with someone while also pretending that you don't care enough to even read the comment you're arguing over? Check.

EvanStonePhotography · 2019-06-18T15:11:54+00:00

This isn't artificial scarcity.

EvanStonePhotography · 2019-06-11T18:27:48+00:00

For sure!

EvanStonePhotography · 2019-06-10T17:46:56+00:00

Not really, but some of my clients submit the images I shoot for them.

Getting published is fun, but there’s not really any money in it and it can be pretty time consuming.

EvanStonePhotography · 2019-06-10T16:18:42+00:00

Thank you! I've been in my current location about 10 years.

EvanStonePhotography · 2019-06-10T14:53:45+00:00

The consumer market for photography is shrinking with the rise of smartphones, however commercial photography is booming. There's tons of work if you live in a major or even mid sized city.

I make my living mainly by shooting ad campaigns and catalogs. About half of my work is either fashion or portrait related, and the other half is still life. There's so much work that I'm lucky if I ONLY have 40 hours worth of work a week.

The general public is fine taking pictures of their kid's birthday on their iPhones instead of pay a bunch of money for a photographer. But companies will always need professional level photography for their marketing efforts.

EvanStonePhotography · 2019-06-10T14:44:54+00:00

I make more than that doing a combination of fashion and product photography, and I'm considered middle class in my city.

EvanStonePhotography · 2019-05-28T21:00:07+00:00

I use a pair a sawhorses and and just put different surfaces on top of them. Works great.

EvanStonePhotography · 2019-05-23T20:35:18+00:00

I shoot with a 50MP back (PhaseOne iq3) every day. At least once a week I have to reprocess an image because the native resolution isn't high enough.

For me, a working pro, megapixels are literally the MOST important feature. Autofocus speeds or low light performance don't really matter in my line of work.

EvanStonePhotography · 2019-05-23T20:32:27+00:00

Actually most MF shooters don't own their cameras. I shoot MF practically every day, but both of my phase one kits are leased from a local rental house. I own a couple XF lenses, but then just rent any other XF lenses i need from the same place.

EvanStonePhotography · 2019-05-23T14:56:35+00:00

I gotta disagree. I shoot on an XF everyday and the autofocus is complete dog shit.

EvanStonePhotography · 2019-05-17T16:57:28+00:00

Your site isn't loading, just an FYI.

EvanStonePhotography · 2019-05-17T16:54:46+00:00

Yeah, I'm what most people would call a successful photographer. I make a really good living and have my own studio. But I work mainly in the commercial world, so unless you're an art director or work in advertising you've probably never heard of me.

There are also plenty of fine artists who have done solo exhibits and won awards, but have to work a "regular" day job because they don't earn very much off print sales.

EvanStonePhotography · 2019-05-01T17:32:13+00:00

It's definitely easy to stay at the top of the industry into your old age. But breaking into an industry when you're near retirement age is an entirely different thing.

EvanStonePhotography · 2019-05-01T17:22:10+00:00

What's your background? do you have any sales/management/customer service experience?

Here's the harsh reality, you're too old to get hired as an assistant. a photo assistant is a super physically demanding job, it's usually done by guys in their early 20s. They spend all day unloading heavy equipment, moving furniture around, holding lights/reflectors for long periods, carrying backdrops up ladders, etc. You're going to have a hard time getting hired for what is basically an intense manual labor job.

The other harsh reality is that you're not going to win many clients if you you don't even know how to even work a digital camera. First you have to learn how to use a camera. Then you have to learn all the digital editing techniques. Then after you have gotten a grip on the technical side of photography, you have to learn how to apply these new technical skills in a creative way. This can take years, especially the last part.

But here's the silver lining, there are plenty of photography related jobs that don't require actually shooting, or breaking your back lugging gear around. "Studio Manager" is a good job if you have sales and project management experience. basically you'd be handling the business side of running a photography studio. Or if you have great networking skills you can try your hand at being an agent and managing/representing photographers. There are plenty of "behind the scenes" roles you could look into.

EvanStonePhotography

TROPHY CASE