One of the most difficult things to do with a small business is to promote yourselves. Finding the time to keep all of those websites, social media and print media mouths fed! Sometimes it's hard to make time to create new products. There just doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day. At Oyster Moon, we're still working on that.
Especially after Christmas, when all of the twinkle lights, stars and magic seemed to disappear into the shorter, grey days of January and February. Taking photos indoors never seems to look very inspirational. Or maybe it's just that we've eaten too much Christmas cake!
So when you get the chance of a crisp, sunny day - you have to grab it with both hands. We've managed to do that recently. The weatherman promised us an overcast, but dry day and in March, that was all it took. We removed the glass from countless prints (reflections are not always our friends), polished up our glass lanterns and headed for the beach.
What we got was a glorious Spring day, clear blue skies and a sparkly ocean. On our local coast at Hayling Island looking across to a beautiful Isle of Wight. They'd even put on a yacht race in the Solent. We couldn't believe our luck!
Photographing, when you are an amateur, even with a nice camera and especially outdoors is never easy. You can't see the camera display - so you take a deep breath and press the button - lots.
Working in the outdoor elements has it's challenges, wobbly pebbles, sand, wind and Seagulls, but with that also comes great reward and with a little adjusting in Photoshop to straighten the horizon, we took some great photos in just two hours. Then went and had lunch!!
We are so lucky to have such beautiful coastline and countryside in the UK, it makes you feel so good when you can take advantage of it. All of those times, when Instagram and Facebook are nagging at you, waiting to be fed and you are desperately trying to find inspiration and photograph inside through a long, grey winter without shadows or gloom, just disappear. I highly recommend giving it a go.
Here are a few from the day!
Watercolour prints of Whales and Sea Turtle with our Hurricane
