Good Evening!

I am constantly being impressed and encouraged the way communication has grown just over the past few years, thanks to the internet.  What was practically unheard of for the common person just 10 years ago has become mainstream in this digital age.

Last night, I got a phone call from Mr. Andrew Tweedie, from Truro Cornwall UK.  He had come across my website while researching mast photography through a search engine.  We had a nice chat, discussing our experiences with photography, and specifically, real estate photography.  His main question for me was "do I see the downturn in the economy affecting my business?"

I explained to him that it's hard for me to have a benchmark as to how economic conditions have affected the promotion of real estate, as I'm just beginning myself!  But, in talking to him, and view his websites, he has got some rather extensive experience in this field.

He has two websites, and to see how a view of how photography "across the pond" is done, you can take a look at www.elevatedviews.co.uk and www.highandwide.com.  Very nicely done website, and I gather he's looking at moving more from film to digital.  This is an obvious move, and I commended him on how difficult it has had to be for him to work with film.  These guys who have extensive experience with the "old" method have got a leg up on us newcomers, but it's not difficult to learn, from my own experience.

And in discussing the economy in general, I tried to convey to him the message that no matter what the economy, there will always be an increasing need for better promotion of ANY product, be it real estate or commercial photography, and the internet is obviously the way to go.

In my very limited time with attempting professional photography for real estate, I've made contact with some of the local real estate agents here in NE Ohio.  I think that when the weather breaks that I will have the opportunity to be very busy, especially since I am currently doing this only part time.  

Mr Tweedie, thank you very much for your call.  It's great to experience the cultural exchange that we had.  I'd like to encourage others, whether domestic or on the other side of the world, to share their experiences and thoughts relating to photography.

In closing, I'd like to share with you a couple of websites that I ran across... This first one touches on the growth of the internet, and how it's affecting how FSBO's market their properties: http://fsbotalks.wordpress.com/2008/03/19/web-20-style-fsbo/

The second one discusses the importance of have furniture, i.e., "staging" a house.  http://montrealrealestateblog.com/staging-a-vacant-house/