General – Page 6 – Riccarpics

Clarendon Dock

In recent years Clarendon Dock has been rejuvenated and is one of Belfast’s premium business areas.

City Quays 1 and 2 have been completed and have attracted some prestigious tenants. Plans are under way for the construction of City Quays 3 and 4. The AC Marriott Hotel nearby is nearing completion and is to open early this year.

While the new offices house mostly young computer literate people working in the digital, world the two original Clarendon Graving Docks remain. The first was completed in 1800 and the second in 1826. They contrast with the modern buildings and offer a reminder of how previous generations earned their living when life, although simpler, was much harder than than it is now.

Guinness and flowers

I’ve written previously about the Duke of York Bar in Commercial Court and included a photograph of an old sign at the rear.

This is one of the many old signs at the front of the bar.

Victoria Square

Victoria Square is the premier shopping area in Belfast. Opened in 2008 it is the biggest and at a cost of £400 million, one of the most expensive property developments in Northern Ireland.

About 3000 people were involved in the construction and roughly 3000 people are now employed by the various retailers and service industries operating within the square.

Victoria Square will celebrate its 10th anniversary in March 2018.

If you build it….

…they will come.

This building stands in Bedford Street, Belfast. It was originally an office block called Windsor House and at one time was the tallest building in Belfast. In 2015 it was acquired by the Hastings Hotel Group and It will be opening soon as The Grand Central Hotel.

In recent years the hotel business has been booming. A quick search on Google reveals that in March 2017 (the latest figures I could find) there were 27 either under construction, have received planning permission or have applied for planning permission.

The city has been named the top place to visit in 2018 and one of the safest cities in the UK. Tourism has kicked off over the last few years and it is difficult, even on a cold January, to walk any distance without hearing accents from mainland Europe and much farther afield.

Also owned by the Hastings Hotels Group, The Europa is the most well known hotel in Belfast. At one time it was famous as the “most bombed hotel in Europe” or the “most bombed hotel in the world”. Things are much quieter now.

Old signs

The Duke of York Bar is in Commercial Court, Belfast with the rear entrance in Exchange Place. The front of the bar is always colourful with something going on. The rear is quiet with old signs.

Foggy Bangor

You come to Ireland for the friendly people, the scenery, the craic, the food, the Guinness. You don’t come for the weather.

These images show a misty afternoon in Bangor when the temperature was around 4C. The newspapers often feature weather pictures so these three along with others were sent to Alamy Live News. If any are used I’ll post them.

Bangor mist — People on the promenade on a foggy afternoon

The DIY Route

Since leaving Photoshelter I’ve been looking at similar but less comprehensive, less expensive alternatives.

I tried Lightrocket and at first thought it would be a reasonably good fit. Unfortunately it wasn’t.

I’ve looked at both Smugmug and Zenfolio. Zenfolio is around the same cost as Photoshelter for what I would want, while Smugmug is cheaper.

Thinking on the inconvenience and the time spent when I withdrew from Photoshelter I’ve decided to regain control and attempt to administer my own site.

To do this while keeping it simple I’m thinking of using WordPress. I’ve looked at a few photographer’s sites based on it and I’m impressed.

The DIY route is a lot less expensive and the site will have that independent feel that sites on Smugmug/Zenfolio or others never seem to manage.

It looks like this site is going to be a work in progress for longer than I originally thought!

The way forward?

I haven’t posted for a while.

I had originally intended that this would be the final post on jorrphotography.co.uk but as the changes I had to make were more far reaching than I had hoped I decided to do an edit and make it the first post here.

I’ve made some changes that will impact on the operation of my previous site, the main issue being cancellation of my Photoshelter subscription. This means that links from the site to images or galleries on Photoshelter no longer work. Photoshelter is an excellent service but more than I needed.

There was no way, that I could think of, to fix this without spending considerably more time and effort than I can justify just now and the thought of a new start with a new site also appealed. So here we are!

I’m in the process of moving images from Photoshelter to somewhere else. I’m looking at options and although Smugmug looks good I haven’t decided yet.

I still submit most images to Alamy and some to Age. Recently I’ve started to submit photographs to Picfair, mainly prompted by their royalty commissions and ease of uploading. They allow you to set your own prices and add 20% commission. I haven’t made any sales yet but it’s very much early days and a company that gives the photographer most of any image royalty received deserves support. I also sell prints from Fine Art America.

I’m looking at adding other outlets as people more knowledgeable than me advise selling through as many sites as possible.

I hope be able, to some degree, to index or connect my images Fine Art America and wherever else I decide to this site. For me it’s a daunting task. I’m in the process of researching and planning it but I’m not sure as yet what way it will develop, if ever. Its something to be worked on during the winter evenings.

I’ve been shooting some video clips and having modest success. As more and more news and information move from print to online delivery and internet speeds increase it seems the sensible thing to do. Its a big change from shooting stills and I’ve had to learn new skills but Its early days and I’m learning as I go. I’ve been encouraged with a few sales.

I was told when I started with video that if I went somewhere intending to shoot video then I would find it difficult to shoot stills. I doubted this and had visions of happily alternating between the two both but I was wrong. I’ve found I usually shoot either one or the other.

My Pixels -Fine Art America site is here.

As usual any advice or opinions will be very gratefully received so please leave a comment below.