Newsletter 14

New Listings

After selling this image last week as a digital download, I found that I had not made it available as wall art. I have now rectified that and you can have this lovely image in your own home by clicking on the links above.

I almost missed this shot. I had been walking the beach at Seven Devils State Park, camera in hand but lens capped, lost in the rhythm of the surf and the crash of winter waves against the distant headlands. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a flash of color—two men on bicycles pedaling along the wet sand, their jackets bright against the muted blues and grays of sea and sky. Instinct took over. I pulled up my camera, barely had time to focus, and pressed the shutter just as they rolled into the reflected light where sea met land. In that instant, the image balanced motion and stillness, companionship and solitude—the fleeting kind of magic photographers live for.

This photograph reminds me of François Truffaut’s Jules et Jim, a film about friendship, freedom, and the fragile beauty of shared moments. Like the two men in the film, these riders move through a world larger than themselves—joyful, vulnerable, and perfectly human, framed by the endless sea.

More Sales

On November 11th, a customer in Arizona bought a 15 oz mug with this design.

On November 11th, another customer, this one in Florida, bought this 15 oz 1941 Studebaker mug.

A third sale on November 11th was this 11 oz mug purchased by a customer in Virginia.

What’s Happening

The biggest news this week is that I purchased software to help me make my own YouTube and TikTok videos. While it is not as easy as the selling ad promised, I’m excited to see how things turn out.

Assuming I can master the learning curve, I’m planning to add channels featuring my photography (think Photo of the Day), Classic Cars (of course tied in with my mug sales), and inspirational/motivational videos.

I have fourteen days to try the programs and decide if I want my money back (they weren’t cheap). As soon as I see some success (that is posted videos), I’ll let you know where to find them.

Home Life

As for home life, on Sunday, Kevin and I went to Missoula. Our friend Tim had recently finished the aquarium stand he built for us, and it was time to fill the tank with water and fish.

Since all our goldfish died earlier this year, I’ve been missing their vibrant colors. And even though we are sterilizing the water in the 55 gallon tank where we have 5 angel fish, the brown algae buildup is getting out of hand.

Our regular aquarium specialist, Missoula’s Blue Reef, doesn’t like or sell goldfish, so we headed to Petco and came home with twenty small goldfish and two baby pleckos. The pleckos went in with the angelfish and the goldfish went into their own 55 gallon tank.

So if you are keeping count, we now have:

• Tank 1 75 Gallons

1. 14 blind cave tetras
2. 5 angelfish
3. 3 gourami
4. 3 albino cories
5. 1 dark colored cory
6. 1 blue crawfish
7. 1 14-inch plecko who is larger than all the rest combined and who does a wonderful job of keeping the tank crystal clear.

• Tank 2 55 Gallons

1. 5 Angelfish
2. 2 baby pleckos

• Tank 3 55 Gallons

1. 20 goldfish of assorted sizes and colors–all small at this point.

In other words, we now have 55 fish swimming in 185 gallons of water in our living room. I do love watching them.

On a personal note, while I hate reading blogs where the writer complains about health issues, I feel the need to say that I have not been as

Recent Sales

On November 5th, a customer in Virginia bought this 15 oz mug.

On November 7th, a customer in Oklahoma bought this 11 oz mug.

On November 10th, a customer in Texas bought two 11 oz mugs with this design.

Also on November 10th, that same customer in Texas bought one 11 oz mug with this design.

A fourth sale on November 11th was this image purchased as a pin by a customer in New Hampshire.