A new studio in ABQ with a friendly owner and cool equipment!
Through the photographer’s grapevine, I heard of a new studio opening up in the Nob Hill area of Albuquerque. The owner, Campbell, invited me to come check out YDS Studio for a personal tour. Campbell was so friendly and the studio space was so great, I used my own money to book it for two hours for me and another photographer friend, Tiffani, to go try out and basically just have fun in with all the different photography options only a bigger studio like YDS can provide. We started out with some headshot style photos of Tiffani showing her my usual setup. From there we got out the gels and chairs, as seen here, both orange for some personal branding photography. We finished with actually jumping around the studio! It was a great time getting to use the YDS Studio space and to be able to get creative with a friend in the studio, without the pressure of working with a client. I have already since used YDS Studio for a client and am now offering it as an option in addition to the JCP Home Studio. Thank you Campbell for having such a great space for photographers to use, and to Tiffani for being so great in front of the camera, and showing her photographer skills by actually getting a halfway decent photo or two of me!
A recent visit to Colorado did not go exactly as planned, but we were still able to take in some views on the famed Million Dollar Highway that is north of Silverton. What a fantastic driving road with views that go on for miles. At least in the summer, there are no lack of amazing mountain towns to visit in a sports car to take advantage of all the sweepers, hairpins, and twisties on the roads in between all nestled in stunning setting after stunning setting.
Waking up Saturday morning and not wanting to spend a hot weekend in Albuquerque just sweltering, I headed to Santa Rosa with intentions of swimming in the natural spring they have there, called the Blue Hole. I actually first saw the Blue Hole five years ago, but returning from a 2 month road trip, I just wanted to make it back to ABQ dry. This time I was ready with swimsuit on from leaving the house! However, it was overwhelmingly busy upon first arrival, but after 5pm there were only a few people left and I finally had my chance to make the jump. People of all ages were jumping in, including kids, and I am a very strong and confident swimmer. Nevertheless, upon standing on the rocky overhang, which of course looked much higher up once actually on it than it did from the angle you see above where I took the photo, I felt a bit of hesitation. It is definitely not nothing jumping in from up there! I jumped in feet first and the 61F felt refreshing as I made my way back up to the surface then swam to the steps.
If you are a mountain biker in New Mexico, the trail name Dragon’s Back is probably known to you. It is my single favorite trail to ride in the state that I’ve found so far. If you just like to explore hidden gems and hike, this is also one of the most incredible landscapes in the world, not just New Mexico. Check out the range in topography and geological features the aerial drone photos reveal for this area. It truly is an alien or martian landscape. Is it hard to hike this trail? Not at all. After a bit of a steep incline from parking lot to trailhead, the tail is mostly a rolling trail that even a beginner hiker could do an out and back on. Pack for a longer hike and do the full loop to see the other side. This was also my first time flying my brand new DJI Mavic 3 Cine drone! It was really windy, but you could not tell that from the drone footage. I would like to come back with the drone and better light, and more practice flying it, to really show you what the Dragon’s Back Trail is like and how it definitely is a New Mexico True experience.
Well, somehow I have made it 12 years as a full-time professional photographer. Like most businesses, it has not been a smooth, linear progression going ever upward, but rather a roller coaster. Jason Collin Photography as an official licensed business started in June 2009. However, I was first paid for photography in 2008 when I still lived in Tokyo, Japan. In 2009, having returned to Florida, circumstances convinced me I needed to create my own job, and I made the bold leap into being a full-time photographer immediately, no keeping a part-time job or anything.
Thank you for all your support of my local small business in ABQ
Well, I bet for pretty much everyone 2020 did not go even as remotely as planned. I feel incredibly lucky to be the type of photographer that was only minimally impacted. Photographing events & conferences was only about 15% of my business in 2019. Much of my work is rural land real estate which is out in the middle of nowhere and drone work of course does not require getting close to people or being in an enclosed space. In fact, thanks to all my great repeat clients, and fantastic new clients in 2020, I feel very fortunate indeed. Thank you everyone for supporting a local small business owner, and know my philosophy remains as always to try and top the last shoot I did, the last drone flight I did, to continue to bring better and better photos and drone video to my clients in a Covid-19 safe way. I look forward to seeing my business networking friends sometime soon in 2021!
It was not at all like how I thought my first home buying experience would be, but after a 3-month long ordeal, I am now a first time homeowner! We had been renting this house for a year and agreed to sign another 1-year lease. Well, just before we could do that the owner decides to sell the house! So it is either buy the house, or move! And that is how I became a home owner. No being courted by real estate agents, no discovering your dream home, no holding a sold sign, just kind of happened out of necessity. It’s a great house, in a fantastic location in Albuquerque, and will continue to be the home of Jason Collin Photography for the near future. Too bad we cannot even have a house warming party due to Covid-19!
