its time for a new camera [and other photography ranting]

fried oreos from my visit to the salem fair last weekend

i had convinced myself that when i bought a new camera it would be the canon 5d mark ii [above]... but at $2,500 for the body alone i would be saving up for months and months for the purchase. i've decided on the comparable canon 7d instead [below] for $1,600. i was going to hold off until i could save up enough money from photo gigs and writing articles, but considering i need a back up camera for a wedding i'm shooting the first weekend in august i have to bite the bullet and buy it now.
the thought of shelling out that kind of money gives me major anxiety... MAJOR. the only way i can justify buying it before i have really saved up enough to afford it is to say that i'm going to use the hell out of it. i need to bring my a-game, get a lot of PAID portrait gigs lined up and try to take the most amazing photographs as possible.

and...

saturday was art at the market, i anticipated selling a lot of prints, but ended up having a stand next to the only other photographers there who were selling gigantic prints of places in europe leaving my meager stand with 11x14 prints of flowers and blacksburg empty for most of the day. i broke even on the cost of the stand and the prints, but not the frames selling a grand total of 12 prints [that's including 6 that were 4x6]. i didn't plan on making a fortune, but i thought that with the low prices on my prints that i would be able to sell many more than i did.

i learned a lot about being a street vendor for things like that:

• bring your own stand and tent, make sure they are EXTREMELY nice ones
• only plan on selling big prints, next time i won't sell anything smaller than an 8x10, maybe not even that small
• put a label with name, location, and price on each individual print
• matting/mounting photos is a must, plus this gives you the opportunity to sign them
• unframed prints should be in a carousel or some other mechanism that allows for quick and easy viewing
• pick a theme [or two] and stick with it - only a couple per display/show
  

i would love any additional tips that you guys might have. it was a nerve wracking experience and i got really down on myself for the first hour or so until i sold my first print. it was a lot of work so i'm debating whether or not to try again, but i probably will just to see if utilizing what i learned this time around will make much of a difference in profits.

anyway, so much photography related things circling around in my head distracting me from my 9-5 and making need another vacation so i had to pour them out here. if you have made it to the end of this post i have so much love and appreciation, please share any thoughts you may have with me! :]

p.s. karly got a job as a photographer and blogger for a restaurant where she lives and i'm so incredibly jealous!