don’t worry, there were no kids harmed during the photoshopping of this image.

Hello everyone!  You may have noticed that I’m quietly adding content to the site.  This is being done to try and make a more complete resource for those visiting the site to reference specific tutorial articles or find gear reviews, etc.  The biggest changes are the new “Tutorial” “Review” and “MyGear” pages up at the top of the page.  I will be trying to catalog the more popular tutorials and reviews for easy reference, and the new gear page has allowed me to link certain cameras, lenses and miscellaneous gear that I use to my affiliate links at B&H.  Yup, you read that right.  I’ve finally succumbed to the monetary necessity of trying to make a little coin to keep the site going.  Read on for my reasoning and ever cheesy gratitude…

Thanks, from Team Squeeze

Nothing is changing on the site regarding banners, adverts or the like.  I still don’t want this site to come across as a commercial, however, I find that I get asked a lot of questions about gear, and hopefully now, if and when my friends, family and fellow photo blog readers feel the desire to purchase new gear, doing so through these links will kick a little commission back to me.  Most of us who’ve read through photo blogs for the last few years understand how this works, but for those who aren’t familiar, a way for those of us dedicating time and resource into a blog can go through an application process to gain an affiliate status with certain online stores.  B&H had emailed me about a year and a half ago, and at that point, I didn’t want to dedicate the time to figuring out how to do it and integrate it into the site, but now as I and Mrs Squeeze are finding that having two young, hungry children around, our free time is becoming harder to come by, so, I thought I’d give it a try.  Basically, as Pantso and Little Baby What’s His Face (LBWHF) get larger and more culinarily picky, it means my ability to buy the stuff I want starts to disappear, which the grown up in me has to come to terms with.  If you buy through B&H (It’s where I shop online which is why I chose to go with them), and you do so by clicking my product links, or the B&H Store link (like this), and you end up buying anything, a small commission comes back to me.  Prices are the same, and the more that my links are clicked (even without buying anything), the more chance I have of getting B&H to start sending me things to review (I’d be lying if I said this wasn’t a large factor 🙂 ).  I’m hoping to get to the point where I’m able to do more of my reviews without having to purchase everything I review (which is how I’ve been doing it), plus it would make my beautiful, lovely, understanding and in no way “grumpy that I stay up until the wee hours of the morning trying to write stuff” wife happier all while allowing me to geek out on new gear.  We’ll see how it goes, and let me thank you for thinking of me when buying stuff.  Other than my Photo Gear Page, I will only create product links when I write about certain gear.  I’m not going to be creating daily posts about gear deals or anything, I will just link to relevant gear within the articles and reviews I happen to write.

For those who use Facebook, and like having Mr Zuckerburg track your every little internet inquiry which they use to target advertise to you, you can find my brand new Facebook page HERE, or you can click the like link at the top of the page.  I’ll do my best to keep that up as well for those who like all their content in one, easy social media platform.  Also, you can follow me on Twitter HERE if you’re into the whole “cram my info into less than 140 characters at a time” thing.  I will also gladly like, linkup with or follow you back.  Also, I am always interested in trying to network cooperative projects and like the challenge and motivation that working with others provides, so if you have an idea, a collaborative project or want to start a photoshop tennis match, get in touch and let’s get to networkin’!

Okay, that takes care of my pandering.  Onto new, fun projects.  I am just about finished on a lens comparison article pitting the Canon EF 135 f/2 L against the Olympus M.Zuiko 75 f/1.8!  I also have some other ELK Collective projects in the works, a review of Alien Skin’s new Exposure 5 (which is coming this June!), as well as a Lensbaby Tutorial showcasing the awesome Edge 80 optic, so, stick around for all of that.

Thank you to everyone who has been reading this blog over the last few years.  What started as a passion project to help keep my mom from asking me questions repeatedly has since turned into a wonderfully continuing conversation and enjoyable adventure for me, allowing me to ramble about a hobby, and profession that I love, so thanks for that.

As always, I’m game to try and answer questions or gear inquiries, so fire away in the comments or via the Contact page above.

Happy shooting all!

Tyson