Ah, yes. A post I was hoping I didn't have to write, but desperate times.
So, um...
...I'm worried I may not be able to do customs this year.
Granted, I do get worried about things that end up being unfounded. I'm a very anxious person by nature, and a lot of the worrying I end up doing isn't really based in reality. But...this has me concerned.
And I'll specify first that this nebulousness doesn't come from anything on my end. I can still type, my computer still works, Photoshop is still working and updated, and I have plenty of memory on my laptop.
But...what worries me is that my source for MLB photos, free to use, for the last ten years...hasn't been producing a ton of daily content since last season ended. My source, who I'll at least spoil begins with a Z, has only been covering high-profile events (or ones where celebrities show up), or the occasional fledgling international sporting event. There's a much lower frequency than before, where you'd expect dozens of new photo updates per day, which had been the case for ten years.
And now...the well seems to be drying up. In past years, I'd often only find one or two Spring Training games with usable photos. There hasn't been a single one, and games have been played since last week.
On one hand, it may not be anything, as Spring Training photos are usually passe, and I end up redoing the customs of these players anyway as the season goes on. But...if there's nothing coming for Spring Training, there's a chance that this site may not produce content for the hundreds of games during the regular season. And if I don't have those, I don't have content.
...and if I don't have content, then I essentially have nothing.
I like making customs. It's been one of the few constants in my life since starting the blog in 2009. It's an easy activity to keep photoshopping new players into old designs, and present them as a backdrop for MLB commentary. It's been one of the staples of the blog since its inception. And I'd really, REALLY rather I not lose that.
So I have a few options. Either I wait it out until the regular season, and continue to fill the blog with...the spotty content that you've witnessed since the season ended, and hopefully they produce copious amounts of new baseball photos. Or I can try and find a new photo supplier, a source that could give me new, high-ish quality photos to use in customs without being sued, and preferably without having to pay a great deal, or at all. I honestly don't know where to begin there, so if any of you have any leads, let me know below, or wherever. Remember, my goal here is to not get sued or arrested for breaking copyright laws, something I've evaded for 10 years in using this Z site.
Or I could just...move on from customs entirely? Figure out a new way to present content? Use my scanner more? Become a...normal card-blog?
...but what fun would that be? I like to think a lot of you read this thing simply BECAUSE it's not normal. It stands out. And hopefully you're alright with that.
So I sincerely hope I can continue to stand out for you all. Hopefully this photo issue will be resolved, and I can get right back to producing my own content for you all (and for myself but mostly for you all).
No comments:
Post a Comment