Who am I and why am I here?
First, I want to say hello and my name is Koit... but a lot of you know me here as @foxkoit, the photographer from Estonia. I always use the same name on every Internet site (@foxkoit), that way is easier to find me.
I have been in this community since its beginning and this whole community has helped me a lot more than any of the old social media sites out there. The other social media communities didn't help me a single day. I even tried to sell my pictures and I was printing my photos but facebook and Instagram stopped me from reaching people because they saw that I can think and find the right information and news, and I never responded to their manipulation. But at the same time, I can also say "Thank You, Facebook" for doing so :)), because that's how I've found a new and better solution: this cool community here who doesn't stop users from communicating with each other and exchanging information... whether you are small or big, evil or good... they don't silence your voice here, they allow you to express your opinion freely... (just don't steal other people's posts... or else they F..K up your profile.)
I always post all of my photos here in the first place and I have always done that - ever since the first year this community was born. And what do I take pictures of? I take pictures of everything I can find and that I'm interested in. If it's nature then it's Nature Photography, if I'm in town then I'll do Street Photography (you can see my old Street photos in my Instagram pages @foxkoit, but I don't post there anymore so when I make new street photos again they will all be uploaded here in HIVE). I simply try to take some photos every day, even knowing that good pictures may not appear every time, but if I try it every day then soon I will get what I want... JUST DON'T STOP. Imperfect days are part of the creation process that helps you to learn and move on, even if your health sometimes works against you and doesn't want you to move on... SIMPLY DON'T STOP. Always try to move on, as there is always something good out there which is worth finding.
I've been photographing for the past 7 + years and I have used my small Sony NEX-5T all these years with two different lenses... one is a 16-50 mm and the other is a 55-210 mm.
The first year I took photos was the most interesting, because of a particular situation I won't ever forget: when I was taking photos for only six months, a person from Greece contacted me and said he had been watching me for the previous three months and that I had inspired him to pick up the camera again and start taking pictures as well. Two days after that, he returned and asked if I used PayPal... I said: "not yet"... but the following week I opened a PayPal account because one site where I wanted to sell photos asked for it... So another week went by and when I already had PayPal for 5 days... BOOM... I saw I had received 50 Euros, I looked up the name of the sender and it was this same user who had texted me. I sent that user an e-mail and I asked "why ?" and he simply answered: "don't stop and move on, come what may, you'll see things differently." Then two more days passed and he was back once again, he asked if I'd tried to make a support post where everyone could give me a little something so I could keep taking pictures... I said no... and I opened up such a page after he said "it is a good idea, try it"... When that post was published in Google+ I got $240 in 3 months... but Google+ didn't like it, so they quickly took all upvotes from that post so it wouldn't appear among the popular posts anymore. They really FUCK UP every user and everyone who is trying to create something decent or something cool (that’s why I hate old social media the most :(( ... they are not here to help you, they are here to psychologically rape you.)
But what I got from all of this, particularly from that one user... it wasn't just the money I was getting... I was receiving strong feedback, I knew that I could take pictures and earn something for it. Simply keep being honest and trying every day, no matter what happens... just keep moving on and taking photos.
So I keep taking photos and publishing them here. Same old story all the time in my head and I never stop, I want to see where this whole big community is going over the years.
Thank you, if you have read this small post.
Also very big Thank you!! @Trincowski who was help me to make this post.
