It speaks to me

I made it through these past two days of hiking here and there and everywhere.

This morning I did the Navy’s 31st Bay Bridge Walk/Run.

I don’t know how many steps I took….

but I’m pretty sure it had to be close to 15,337.

And in just 1 hour and 59 minutes.

4 miles.

I took 31 minutes to go from starting line to bridge.

The winner of the race finished in just over 20 minutes.

I’m thinking he didn’t get any pictures.

I got 191!

I win!

I got so many pictures from these past two days that I have enough pictures to use in my blogs for, well, probably the rest of my life.

A lot of them will make great Photographic Art, too, such as this one:

That’s a good picture, but it doesn’t have any emotion.

It’s just a picture.

So I made it into Photographic Art:

Rarely do I like black & white pictures, but sketches are a different story. I can see the college student in his drawing class sitting out at Tidelands Park in Coronado and sketching that bridge. Suddenly the picture speaks to me.

Be a unique star

My wise old grandmother always said, “If you don’t get up early, you won’t see the sun rise.” She was always up before sunrise. I wasn’t far behind her. Here is this morning’s sunrise through the dirty window of my home office in La Mesa CA:

With that out of the way….

A few more quips from my wise old grandmother:

“If you’re not sleeping with someone, you don’t know what they are thinking.”

“Ten percent of the people will love you because that’s the kind of people they are. Ten percent of the people will hate you because that’s the kind of people they are. Eighty percent of the people will love you or hate you based on your actions and words. So be nice.”

“Children aren’t born with hatred in their hearts. Mom and dad teach them that, usually through religion.”

I believe she was right on all counts.

I have been a member of a home inspector trade association for 13 years. There are about 10,000 members. I led a marketing seminar at its national convention in 2007, which is when a very significant member of the association found out I was gay. He wasn’t happy, telling me that he always thought gays should be killed. I brushed it off , thinking that if he got to know a gay person, he would change his mind. Apparently that has not worked.

I have had significant interaction with that person over the past nine years. A couple of days ago I was on the association’s message board and all sorts of Trump-approved hate was spewing. It’s allowed on the message board under the guise of free speech. He was participating and left a comment stating that maybe now that Trump was president, gays, illegal immigrants, and blacks would be killed. “Can’t go wrong with that.”

That definitely caused me to rethink my association, and I have decided to move on. However, that also means that my latest venture, House Key News, is being put on the back burner because I believe my main target audience all are Trump supporters. I’m not going to intentionally associate with those kind of people, especially now that they apparently have approve to spew their hatred in public.

My fallback is Photographic Art by Russel Ray Photos. I have let it slip over the past year, but a recent sale a few days ago has encouraged me to make it numero uno.

House Key News had a main target audience of about 20,000 people—home inspectors. Photographic Art has a main target audience of about 3,000,000 people—Realtors, loan agents, title agents, and escrow agents. They can use Photographic Art as unique close-of-escrow gifts instead of the standard $50 gas or restaurant card, a plant, a bottle of wine or champagne, etc.

Photographic Art also can be used for birth gifts, birthday gifts, graduation gifts, marriage gifts, divorce gifts, new business gifts, anniversary gifts, just because gifts, etc. The possibilities are endless.

Need a unique gift for a special occasion?

Visit
Photographic Art by Russel Ray Photos at Fine Art America

Someone’s missing from Photographic Art

Sadly, Julian Rey Saenz is no longer with Photographic Art by Russel Ray Photos.

I had capitalized the company as a full-time enterprise for six months, and Julian was working 20-24 hours a week.

We couldn’t get the company to grow as fast as I wanted it to, so I have taken it to a part-time enterprise, which meant that Julian’s job was eliminated.

Of course, I need to find something that will pay the bills. I don’t know what that’s going to be right now. I just know that it can’t be home inspections because my 59-year-old knees and shoulders just don’t like crawling around under houses and up in attics anymore. The money I make from home inspections is being spent on aspirin and Ibuprofen to alleviate the pain. Hmmm. Maybe I should buy stock in the pain-killer manufacturers……..

I have every confidence that Julian will find his next great job very quickly. In my 48-year business career with 33 companies—most of them startups—and over 1,100 people hired, I would put Julian at the very top, number one with a star.

Never did I have to explain anything to Julian more than once. He has one of the best memories I have ever witnessed, is an extraordinarily good typist, and knows his way around computers, software, and the Internet. For those few things which he did not know, he learned very quickly, and his contributions were always clear and professional.

Thank you, Julian, for all that you did, and helped me do, and for simply being the AWESOME person you are.

This post approved by
Zoey the Cool Cat

Need a unique gift?
Visit Photographic Art by Russel Ray Photos at Fine Art America.

Please welcome Zoey the Cool Cat….

Late last night I was trying to find or create a spokesperson for my new venture, Photographic Art by Russel Ray Photos. I was getting frustrated because I wasn’t making any progress. Whenever I’m trying to get something done but not making progress, I will quit and go take a catnap.

A catnap lets me refresh without losing focus from sleeping for too many hours, not that I could ever sleep for “too many hours” anyway. About the longest I ever sleep is four hours. Then, instead of rolling around in bed trying to get back to sleep like I used to do when I was ten, I’ll just get up and do something constructive.

Getting up from my catnap last night was very difficult because Zoey the Cool Cat had decided to take her catnap in the middle of my back.

That’s when it hit me!

My new spokesperson, er, spokescat:

Isn’t it amazing how our pets help us out in soooooooo many ways?

If you want to see Zoey the Cool Cat in action on a regular basis as the new representative of Photographic Art by Russel Ray Photos, we have a new WordPress site at russelrayphotos.com. It’s a self-hosted blog so I had to install a LIKE button and it may or may not be working at any one time. Got some work to do still there. Leave a short comment if the LIKE button isn’t working!

Added with edit at 7:40 p.m. Pacific Time: The LIKE button appears to be working now.

Be sure to like us on Facebook!
https://www.facebook.com/russelrayphotos?ref=hl

Check out our galleries at Fine Art America, too!
http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/1-russel-ray.html?tab=artworkgalleries

I’m Zoey the Cool Cat,
and I approve this post.
Now go like their Photographic Art Facebook page!

Need a unique gift?

Visit Photographic Art by Russel Ray Photos at Fine Art America.

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Looking for real estate services in San Diego County?
I can highly recommend James Frimmer, Realtor, CDPE
CA BRE #01458572

►►►►◄◄◄◄

If you’re looking for a home inspector,
I recommend Russel Ray — that’s me!

Photographic Art—Meet Julian “JRey” Saenz

Photographic Art has hired Julian Rey Saenz to help with creating artwork, uploading artwork to Fine Art America, creating databases, and generally being the second in command, knowing everything there is to know about the Photographic Art enterprise.

Julian has been working for a little over one week and has proven his worth by teaching me a few time-saving computer and mouse tricks that I did not know. He quickly picked up the basics in Photoshop, and it seems that whatever I throw at him, he hits a home run. He also is helping me with my home inspection business, and Jim with his real estate business. He’s knowledgeable and enthusiastic, and his youthful enthusiasm is contagious. He’s an all-around awesome guy!

Julian just turned 16 a month ago and this is his first job. He thinks he’s lucky. I think Photographic Art is lucky. Who’s lucky?

This is Julian’s mom, Kassandra:

Should I be concerned?

Kassandra owns Alzheimer’s Connection La Mesa. Some of you might remember a few months ago when I was setting her up on a WordPress blog platform and you went over to welcome her to the WordPress world.

Julian and Kassandra both play chess, which is how I met them last summer.

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Julian also plays a mean guitar and one of the bands he really likes is The Beatles. That right there tells you that Julian must be an alright guy!

They also have three cats. Here are two of them:

I have one cat. I’m jealous.

All three of us are from Texas; live in La Mesa, California; and have little patience for religious nuts, Tea Party Republican nuts, regular Republican nuts, and mean people (such as the current crop of Republicans).

Need a unique gift?
Consider Photographic Art!

Visit Russel Ray Photos.

Visit Photographic Art by Russel Ray Photos at Fine Art America.

Use code FTNSD to get a 20% discount through April 14, 2014.

►►►►◄◄◄◄

Looking for real estate services in San Diego County?
I can highly recommend James Frimmer, Realtor, CDPE
CA BRE #01458572

►►►►◄◄◄◄

If you’re looking for a home inspector,
I recommend Russel Ray — that’s me!

None of ’em bite

About 75 miles due east of downtown San Diego is the Desert View Tower:

View Larger Map

The view of the desert from the top of the 70-foot tower is spectacular.

Part of the property is designated Boulder Park, a conglomeration of rocks weathered by wind and rain into caves and craggy paths. Along the many Boulder Park paths are animals, faces, and creatures sculpted into the solid granite boulders. W. T. Ratcliffe, an unemployed engineer during the Great Depression, sculpted the “wildlife” for, supposedly, a dollar a day and a jug of wine.

The carvings and tower are registered as official California Historical Landmark #939.

You already met the cat: It’s my favorite.

And where there’s a cat, you know there has to be a dog:

Following are the other sculptures. Hope none of them frighten anyone on a Thursday morning.

Need a unique gift?
Consider Photographic Art!

Visit Russel Ray Photos.

►►►►◄◄◄◄

Looking for real estate services in San Diego County?
I can highly recommend James Frimmer, Realtor, CDPE
CA BRE #01458572

►►►►◄◄◄◄

If you’re looking for a home inspector,
I recommend Russel Ray — that’s me!

New paint job?

Remember when you got a new car and you would park it in the far corners of parking lots so people wouldn’t bang their doors into it?

The car in the following pictures isn’t new but since it was parked in the farthest side of the parking lot at Fry’s Electronics, I’m thinking maybe it was a new paint job.

I wasn’t the only person taking pictures of the car either. There were 13 people standing around taking pictures. I took my two pictures from the comfort of my car.

Need a unique gift?
Consider Photographic Art!

Visit Russel Ray Photos.

►►►►◄◄◄◄

Looking for real estate services in San Diego County?
I can highly recommend James Frimmer, Realtor, CDPE
CA BRE #01458572

►►►►◄◄◄◄

If you’re looking for a home inspector,
I recommend Russel Ray — that’s me!

Smelled me, licked me, ignored me

When I was growing up under the tutelage of my wise old grandmother, she taught me an appreciation for Mother and Father Nature.

She probably went to the extreme in the minds of many people since she would capture spiders in a glass and return them to the outdoors. If a good ol’ Texas-sized rat got into the house, she’d simply open all the doors and guide the rat back to the exterior with her trusty brooms, mops, and boxes. It was so much fun to be part of.

I still have that appreciation and, yes, I will return spiders to the outdoors, too, the most recent recipient of my kindness being a huge Texas-sized daddy longlegs (Opilones).

With my 48 years of such appreciation, I’m pretty much not afraid of wildlife, although I suspect that if I were to encounter a grizzly bear, rattlesnake, or mountain lion out in their territory, it might be a different story.

At yesterday’s home inspection, the sellers had a dog. I told them that dogs typically like me but they warned me that he was pretty big. Well, yes, he was pretty big, but here’s what he did while I traipsed around his home poking and prodding:

Yep, he was pretty ferocious. During the first five minutes of our meeting, he smelled me and licked me. He spent the next three hours ignoring me.

Of course, such a great picture was begging for some Photographic Art magic:

Need a unique gift?
Consider Photographic Art!Visit Russel Ray Photos.

►►►►◄◄◄◄

Looking for real estate services in San Diego County?
I can highly recommend James Frimmer, Realtor, CDPE
CA BRE #01458572

►►►►◄◄◄◄

If you’re looking for a home inspector,
I recommend Russel Ray — that’s me!

Mansions in the boondocks

I love going to the boondocks to do home inspections because I always find something new.

My inspection in the boondocks a couple of days ago was in an area where I had not been before, so I left early in case I found something to take a picture of.

You know I found things to take pictures of, right?

Following are three boondocks pictures made into Photographic Art. The first two are the same property and taken from the shoulder of the road. The third is a top-of-the-mountain mansion which was for sale, so I wandered around the property taking pictures.

The top-of-the-mountain mansion is located in Jamul, about 30 miles east of me. The MLS listing states that it is 3,736 square feet with five bedrooms and three baths. Built in 2000, it is on 5.03 acres of land with a tennis court, a vanishing edge pool, and a 1,600-SF granny flat. The seller really wants to sell it and will consider seller financing or carrying. It’s only $690,000, about $689,900 out of my price range.

Need a unique gift?
Consider Photographic Art!Visit Russel Ray Photos.

►►►►◄◄◄◄

Looking for real estate services in San Diego County?
I can highly recommend James Frimmer, Realtor, CDPE
CA BRE #01458572

►►►►◄◄◄◄

If you’re looking for a home inspector,
I recommend Russel Ray — that’s me!

Choices and decisions….

My final thing to do in preparation for selling my Photographic Art is to get a Seller’s Permit, which allows me to collect sales tax.

Well, that’s not happening anytime soon.

Now I understand what people mean when they say that California makes it extraordinarily burdensome on businesses, especially small businesses, and why many of those small businesses flee to other less burdensome states.

So….

My next venture is to open an online store where someone else, and their automated shopping carts and checkout counters, collect the sales tax on my Photographic Art.

The places that I know about are:

►Etsy
►Fine Art America
►SmugMug
►Zazzle

Do any readers have any experience with those, good, bad, or indifferent? Or know of anyone who is using any of them? Do any readers know of any other online marketplaces? I will be spending most of my day today investigating those four and any others that I discover.

At this point, Etsy looks pretty good. They charge 20¢ per listing and then, when the listing sells, 3½% of the sales price. Not sure how my Photographic Art fits in there since my work is not one-of-a-kind. So I wonder how I’m prevented from selling multiple items via one 20¢ listing. I suspect they have a way. I would prefer a marketplace where I don’t have to pay per listing. It’s not the price. It’s the inconvenience of having to do all those listings and, presumably, when a listing sells, do the same thing again.

I’m looking at Fine Art America due solely to the fact that I found products similar to my Photographic Art hanging on the wall at the Wesley Palms Retirement Community last Sunday. So perhaps there is a demand of some sort for Photographic Art in larger sizes than what I was going to offer.

Need a unique gift?
Consider Photographic Art!Visit Russel Ray Photos.

►►►►◄◄◄◄

Looking for real estate services in San Diego County?
I can highly recommend James Frimmer, Realtor, CDPE
CA BRE #01458572

►►►►◄◄◄◄

If you’re looking for a home inspector,
I recommend Russel Ray — that’s me!