Largely confined to quarters by the weather, and being in a synthesising frame of mind, I thought I'd see whether I could do something interesting with my series of "guardians" pictures. Looking at them, I could see there were some nice little groups of four that would fit conveniently into some cheap 60cm x 30cm panoramic frames I had bought for some other, forgotten project and which have been sitting around unused in a corner for some time. I think these do actually work rather well together.
However, although I put them together quite quickly, the quantity of original work distilled into these grouped images is much denser than it might appear, superficially: I'd estimate that at least two solid weeks of photoshoppery will have gone into each group of four, not counting the original labour and expenses that went into finding and photographing the raw materials. Let me see... At an hourly rate of, say, £30 [1], I make that around £2,500 each that I ought to recover, one way or another, just to recoup my notional labour costs. Not forgetting the £9.50 each for the classy frames, of course... Ah, well. It's an entirely theoretical calculation, of course, based on self-motivated work nobody had asked me to do, and rather like working out how much you're owed for mowing the lawn, or doing the washing up. Sure, if I were to offer them for sale I'd have to put a realistic price on them but, in the end, the only thing that matters is that they represent time well spent.
1. Artists' Union England hourly rate for someone with 5+ years of experience is £33.83.
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