I can remember the first time I visited Las Vegas (although I can't remember the date, it was either in August 1992 or August 1993, but I remember the experience) - the view of the strip from the air took my breath away. I don't have a photo of that particular moment; but the photo above (taken in August 2002) somewhat matches my first in-person view of the Las Vegas Strip.
Reading three different travel guides about Las Vegas, and viewing photos of the Las Vegas strip, still didn't adequately communicate what the real experience would be like.
As a "newbie" low budget tourist who had to rely on a travel agency in my pre-Internet days; I of course was roped into staying on the north strip. I think most newbie tourists who want low price paired with an on-strip location end up either on the north strip (New Frontier, Westward Ho, Circus Circus, Stardust, Riviera, Sahara, and Stratosphere) or at Imperial Palace or Excalibur. Those are almost always the lowest priced resort properties on the strip; therefore shopping by price and refusing to stay off-strip means you most likely end up in one of those nine resorts.
I had chosen the Sahara for my first Las Vegas vacation, and foolishly booked a five night stay. (I say foolish because in hindsight, that was too long of a stay.) At that time I wasn't interested in photography so I did what the typical newbie tourist does: gamble. After about three days my gambling funds were gone so I had two days left to kill in Las Vegas without much cash.
As a "lowroller" I typically budgeted $200 to $400 for gambling and mainly played 25 cent video poker (playing max coins, of course, $1.25 per hand) and 25 cent slots. I lost it all on my first trip but stayed pretty even for my next few trips. I'd lose $100 then win $80; lose $50 then win $100, etc. My only "big" winning trip (big to me) was in 1996 or 1997 when I was staying at the Luxor. For a four hour period, my last night, I couldn't lose. Every machine I played paid off. I broke my luck by switching to a $1 video poker machine. Total winnings for the night were $700.
I had learned that the ideal stay, for me, was two or three nights. And at about this time, after my fourth or fifth trip to Las Vegas, digital cameras had become popular. At the time, one megapixel was the standard. I had brought cheap disposable cardboard film cameras with me once or twice and had taken a few photos; but in the mid 1990's I started bringing digital cameras and spending more time taking pictures.
By my 11th or 12th trip to Las Vegas (my next trip will be #16), I was gambling very little; usually $40 or less, and spending most of my time taking photos and scouting out new photo shooting locations. The parking garage roofs of the Palms, Wynn, and MGM Grand are nice spots.
This has almost become an obsession for me. The huge architecture and dazzling array of neon lights compel me to try to capture the most spectacular images possible. As I upgraded to two megapixels and then three megapixels; then 10x "super zoom" cameras; the increasing quality of the 8x10 prints I could spit out from an inkjet printer motivated me to try for better photos next time.
Initially a large number of my photos were of poor to fair quality. You can view these in my "Las Vegas #1" series (the link is on my web site), which covers what I would call my "newbie photographer" years, 1993 to 2003. Musicians say it takes 10 years to master a musical instrument; actors and actresses seem to be largely unknown for their first 10 years in the industry; so that seems to be a fairly standard period of time to spend practicing through trial and error before getting good at something.
My Las Vegas #2 series, shot in December 2003 with a Fuji S5000 three megapixel super zoom, marks the point where I started to consider myself a photographer; for I had begun to learn how to use the camera's manual shutter speeds and F-stop settings instead of leaving it on "auto"; and also learned the value of a tripod or other solid base for shooting at night.
Series #3 introduced the six megapixel digital camera, which allowed decent quality prints at 20" x 30" poster size. This was very exciting to me; and it was at about this time that I stopped selling compilations of my photos burned to CDs and switched to offering prints for sale along with commercial copyright options. I upgraded to a better six megapixel camera for Series #4 in March 2006. I'd like to upgrade to a digital SLR or at least an eight megapixel "prosumer" model before my next trip.
I put up my web site, urbanphotos.net, on March 23, 2002. My first idea was to sell CDs containing hundreds of my photos for personal viewing at $25 each. This was not such a good idea, as distributing hundreds of full sized photos on CDs resulted in a few incidents of copyright infringement (people using my photos without permission.) I found two different people selling copies of my CDs on ebay at ridiculously low prices. That's when I learned about copyright law and registering copyrights with the US Library of Congress Copyright Office.
Considering that selling CDs was not profitable and left me vulnerable to copyright infringement, it seemed a smart strategy to change business models. So I did.
I now offer three image copyright purchase options: $10 web site use, $25 one-time event use, and $99 commercial use. Delivery is electronic (via email or download). I also offer the options of purchasing 8x10 and 20x30 prints, which are processed through an online photo processor (I upload the photo to them, they make the print and ship it to the customer.)
In any case, why this blog?
My site is all business, and mainly visual. Most visitors probably spend most of their time on the site viewing photos. This blog is intended to give a more personal insight behind the photos that are displayed on my web site. The old cliche says "A picture is worth 1,000 words." So here I will occassionally post a photo and a story that goes with it.
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