seeking connections – all I need is one good one!
Greetings All!
I have a request to ask of anyone reading this who might be able to assist me with one good connection. Allow me to explain.
In the 1970s, I decided not to pursue a career as a professional photographer, instead choosing to continue using the camera purely for personal interest. Ditto with writing. It wasn’t that I was not interested in photography or writing as a professional, but rather that I was much more interested in raw free-form personal exploration, which has pretty much always filled up my life. Selfish? Yes!
There has long been a thought in the back of my mind that instead of pursuing photography as a career, my photographs, and writings, will one day be used commercially in some other way, maybe after the fact. It’s this possibility that leads to my request for assistance, to help find such a connection.
Over the years, many people have encouraged me to do what it takes to reach a wider audience, through writing books about various adventures, produce coffee table books of photos, to do a bigger and more visible website, etc. If I live long enough, maybe I’ll eventually do something along these lines, but at present I’m far too busy doing other things I am drawn to do, namely to explore life freely. Fullgoldcrown has been one of the people who has strongly encouraged me in the direction of expanding my audience, which is the reason for my personal adventure posts on a PM site!
The assistance I seek now is fairly specific: I seek solid, pre-qualified personal contacts that anyone reading this might have and is willing to share with me, contacts of any individual who is in any business that you have good reason to believe will be interested in using what I do, for their own commercial gain.
Such connections can be direct, or through friends who work in a related business, or a friend of a friend of a friend! Basically, I’m seeking a connection with anyone who might have interest in monetizing the steady stream of content I’ve produced throughout my life and likely will continue to produce. To be clear, I am not looking for ideas of how to market or who to market to; I am looking only for solid connections with anyone who sees commercial value in using what I have, what I do and how I go about doing it. There’s somebody out there who will know how best to get my material to a wider audience and to bring in a bunch of money from it. That’s the person I’m seeking to connect with. Of course, I’d like a share of any financial returns, to help fund my future adventures.
So, if you happen to have a connection who ‘fits the bill’, I will be very appreciative for whatever you share. Any messages with contacts can be sent to Fullgoldcrown, who will forward them to me. Or, contact me directly, at the email address listed on the main page for my SmugMug photo galleries:
https://balloonbill.smugmug.com/
Each photo on the main SmugMug page will open a gallery, if you click on it. Easiest is to right click on any image and then open in a new tab, which keeps the place on the main page.
This website was set-up in 2002, when I first began taking digital photos. It is a pictorial diary that I happily share with friends. There are as many adventures from before 2002 as after, the earlier ones having been chronicled in slides, yet to be digitized.
In the case anyone has a potentially interested contact, there is a brief personal bio for me in the first comment which can be shared with any such contacts.
Many thanks to anyone who has a connection to share with me. For everyone, I hope my posts don’t clutter up your computer screen too much 😉
On February 15th, I will leave the US to begin another foreign adventure. I have a visa and a one-way ticket (to where???); let’s see what happens. Stay tuned!
Bill
BIO FOR BILL ARRAS
-Rotary International Exchange Student to Brazil in 1972-3
-World traveler, with visits to more than 100 countries
-Avid outdoor sports enthusiast & adventurer
-43 years and 3000+ hours as hang glider pilot
-37 years and 3000+ hours as pilot of hot air & gas balloons
-Top finisher in numerous US and international balloon competitions
-1990 first person to fly a balloon between US & USSR, in the Bering Strait
-1995 FAI World Record for Duration for AX-5 balloons
-1995 first to fly a balloon above Antarctica
-1995 first person to fly a balloon above all seven continents
-1999 Hot Air Balloon World Champion
-2000 Director of Brazilian Hot Air Balloon National Championship
-2005 winner of America’s Challenge Gas Balloon Race with a 46-hour nonstop flight of 1495 miles
-2018 hydrogen gas balloon flight of 29 hours duration, 845 miles from Germany to Estonia
-Designed, built and registered 9 hot air balloons
-1st US manufacturer of paragliders
-Pilot of the ultralight airship ‘White Dwarf’
I would prefer the movie.! Who would get the leading role tho ??? America needs a feel good story too.
I’ll do it for free! I mean, I’m already in the movie 😉
There are a few mega-projects I have in mind, a couple that I’m actively pursuing. One is a very long duration manned Arctic balloon flight, to stay aloft continuously for as long as four months . It will incorporate web cams, streaming constantly. There’s a movie.
You should look into:
https://www.patreon.com/
https://blog.appsumo.com/patreon-alternatives/
https://medium.com/techmintle/patreon-alternatives-7-best-sites-like-patreon-to-start-subscription-business-8566f200cb5f
Great NEW way for Artists to Monetize their Work!!
You can/could share your stories, have some downloadables, and MORE … be creative and offer your content for monthly (recurring) donations.
Please read what I wrote: I am not looking for ideas or advice as to how anyone thinks I should market. Someone who is an expert at marketing can do far better than I at that. Best is I won’t be diluting what I do best.
I have a call in for John Manley.
He should have some ideas
cheers…..thats quite a resume
Where in the World Now ?
Looking forward to hearing whatever John Manley offers. Thanks, Fully. As to where now? You’ll know soon enough 😉
Try contacting Getty Images. They license photographs but it sounds like the best thing is to find an agent to represent you. Don’t have any contacts but a professional agent would be well worth the 10% or so of the revenue generated.
You always have the opportunity here to propose producing a book with one of the big publishers. When it comes to non-fiction they hand out large advance payments, followed by royalties. Usually, you’d work with an agent to get a query letter together.
Otherwise, I know people you can hire to help you self-publish your content like Nowick Gray (who helped me publish my book) at https://hyperedits.com/.