Bigger and better

What a year, what a year. This was Reflex's first full year in production and it was anything but smooth and steady or as planned but over all it was an incredible year. I'd like to thank all the fields, players and teams that supported us throughout the year. I'd like to specifically thank Viper, Joe and Kathy from Sherwood Forest and Darin Tapp of the MSXL, your events are some of the best I've been to in years and has gotten me excited about paintball again, Thank You.

This year with all the success we did have set backs, both in equipment and in projects being dropped and not delivering. Going into this year I had a lot of high hopes and set the bar pretty high for myself, unfortunately it was too much and I had to drop projects that others where counting on, I'd like to apologize now to all those I let down by not being able to deliver, we're taking our time now and hopefully we'll be able to full fill in the future.

Now with that said next year will be a big year. First off we're expanding, not in events per say but in the areas that it matters the most. First we're bringing in more photographers to cover each event. For the MSXL I brought in Bart Roberts from iSpy Photography to deliver coverage for the MSXL and SEPS leagues. I'm still looking for qualified photographers for scenario coverage though so if you're interested let me know.
The next big change is one that I've been trying to work on for some time but funds have been short to move on it, with the long winter ahead I should be able to get enough together to make this a reality for 2010. Now I know how much you guys like the events CD's, you want everything from the event, at first we wanted to offer CD's short term to shore up some cash to cover costs. With the huge demand for the discs I'm changing my view of them, so much so that I'm getting rid of them. CD's are 1999, they're fragile, break in the mail and frankly are coasters, you get the disc, copy it to your computer and then what? Clutter, they can't be written easily, are big and slow, now the site isn't set-up for 6 gig downloads, so what's the next best thing? USB thumb drives, small, stylish and most importantly reusable and truly portable. So for next year we'll be offering Reflex Photography Jump Drives, a 1 to 6 gig USB Thumb Drive, customized with our logo and more importantly re-loadable. Now the prices on event discs will go up since you're getting a thumb drive hopefully it'll be a $5 to $10 price increase ($25-$30), now since the drive is reusable you buy it once. At the next event you give it back we fill it up and send it right back to you for a smaller fee that we're still figuring that out ($15-$20 ). Forget to bring it with you, drop it in an envelope we'll reload it and ship it straight back, 1 to 2 day turn around. Until the next event the drive is yours to use and we'll keep you on file so you won't have to worry about bringing it to every event. Now these won't be available till next spring, they're not cheap, I have to find a supplier and design the logo but if all goes well these will be available at our first events in 2010.
We're also adding posters to our print products on site and adding free digital media for events and possible purchase digital products but all that in due time.
The last announcement is a throw back and a step forward. Next week the site will disappear for an over haul, a new skin and more importantly free stuff. Every image on our site will have a low res, logo'd free option to share with your friends. When I say logo I mean logo, the images will be used for event and our promotional needs, the idea is to spread the word of what we're doing and where the cool kids are playing. If you want the image itself you can still purchase the High Res file which is clean for $2.50. So if you bought an image don't feel cheated, you're not and you'll see why once the new free images are reloaded. So if you want an image you have till tomorrow night to get it before it goes bye bye for a few days.

There you have it, if the winter goes well next year you'll see some great coverage, newer better options and more flexibility. We'll be looking to improve our booth and make some basic changes to make the viewing and ordering process much easier next year.

Keep checking back, every 13th of the month I'll post changes and talk about the things we'll be doing. November 13th will also be the re-launch for 2010 site layout, options and pricing.

Till then thank you to every one, keep playing and we'll keep taking your picture.

Cheers

What do you do once you’ve gone through the tunnel?

Ok I know I’m a few days late, sorry but writing two of these and making them different while still getting things summed up is kind of tricky. I don’t want to ramble too much or repeat myself so I’m going to try and focus (fresh can of Dew) and make this short and sweet…

Man oh MAN was that a game, I have to give a huge amount of credit and thanks to Viper, this game was just incredible to attend. Being kind of a spectator I get to watch the events unfold and just the crazy stuff happen and you’ve out done yourself again. Honestly your level of game play is just so much higher then what I could of thought was possible, keep up the games, I’ll keep covering and hopefully bring out more players who haven’t experienced the joy and experience of playing a Viper Scenario, you won’t play too many games like it, plus he has probably the best refs out there, The Discipline Lords, these guys know the game, know the players, they are some of the best refs I’ve worked with without a doubt. But the game play is only half the story to this one…

Sherwood Forest is by far one of the top 5 paintball facilities in the country, CPX, EMR, The Bunker, SC Village, Sherwood is right up there with them. It’s not as glamorous as some other fields are but the fields you plan on, the environment you’re in, the feel, the rush and complexity, the experience can’t be matched. Most fields will use plywood to build complex structures, maybe blown concrete but Sherwood is made from heavy wood, you hit a wall and you hit a wall, the only thing that will break is maybe you. The 3 story Castle which feels like a real castle, the Octagon, the Villages all over, it’s nothing short of a paintballer’s wet dream come true. I’m going to be posting a gallery of just field images from Sherwood and post the link here, check it out. If you play anywhere next year, make the trip to Sherwood, I’ve been there 6 or 7 times in the last year and every time something is new, there’s more to a field, it’s just an incredible playing experience, the best description, it’s why we play, that little tic in the back of brains, Sherwood is that tick.

Overall what a game, action was a little lop-sided day one, the blue team did struggle a bit but I think made a solid come back on day 2 and managed to do some damage, unfortunately the Red team did whip some major butt and consistently held priority targets. Good job all around to everyone who played.

Watch out for the next post, it should be a few days off, it’ll be big, a nice sum up of the year and what you guys can expect for next season. If all goes well a lot of good changes will be coming your way.

Cheers!

Light at the end of the tunnel...

Well Tippmann World Challenge 2009 brings to end our year at Hell Survivors, good times.

With the end of the year coming closer and closer I'm looking at doing more to opening up the site and allowing players more access. So in turn I'm working with the Face Book applications built into the site and developing new watermarks for each event so players can share low res images from own site, saving time from them having to upload else where. Now don't think that all you guys that bought CD's and single images are getting shafted, the image sizes are low resolution and will be watermarked, so if you want the full size image, clean you can still purchase it and enjoy it on print or large displays.

We;re going to working on more things, desktop backgrounds and some other things once winter rolls in. Till then let us know what you want on the services page.

As the year comes to a close (as far as prime playing time and major event schedules goes) I'm just beginning to take my first deep breath. Well actually most of August was a massive deep breath. With family activities, rain and just a lack of scheduled events August was the first time I was able to really stop and look at where I am going with this.

If I tried to tell you that I truely enjoyed the 6 months or so I'd being lying, badly. Fact is the last few months have been draining physically, emotionally and financially. Trying to keep pace with the MSXL, SEPS, Viper, Hell Survivors and fit in CPB and a life it was simply too much. Did I have a good time? Hell yes, did it almost ruin my life, damn near.

This lead to a long talk with my love and a long look at what I could take out from this enterprise for what could be put in. Once I got a look at that reality it became clear of what I need to do and where I need to go.

So I'm changing up my approach abit, first off we're scaling back, 2 paintball events a month, max and that will most likely be 1 event till I can recover finacially. We're also being more selective about where we go, what we provide and how often. The Idea of covering an entire series is a nice idea in theory but frankly it's a massive money pit. After 2 events in a row the coverage is so over saturated that people that wanted pictures got them already or just don't care. Same goes for scenario, after working so closely with Sherwood and Viper the past year being there event after event hasn't exactly helped keep us get into the black. We've got 1 event left for Sherwood and Viper and we'll see how that goes, since I've gotten close to a lot of the players I'm stepping down the prices, kind of a thank you to everyone there. I had hoped to have a calender for the field to sell but with how horribly I handled the Brochure project it was pretty much scrapped knowing that I could never really deliver a quality product and would have been out hundreds of dollars and hundreds more in hours.

So balance, family, life, passion... I though it would be simple, thought I could handle it but the 1 am upload nights, countless e-mails, lost and broken CD's, un-returned messages, late deliveries and the thousands of dollars lost... I need to manage this balancing act.

Is this the end? By no means, just means it'll be different and hopefully better.

Cheers

Strugle. . .

Do not go quietly into the sweet night,
Rage, Rage into the dawning of the light!

What day is it?

I guess most businesses, especially new ones have to deal with this at some point or another but it's always a rough period. If you don't know I'm talking about it's probably becuase you haven't bought a CD from us. Between Legends, the MSXL, SEPS, PPC and now working on new agreements with a local field the 12 hours a week I have when I'm not at work, eating or sleeping isn't nearly enough to get everything done. We're officially 2 weeks behind as Legends CD are just now shipping, but we still have 1 event to process yet and CD's for 3 in the racks.
Alot of people know my distaste for event CD's, they're impersonal and cheap money makers. Thing is they're still a corner stone of the model, without them we'd be in hole, chances are we'd be closed by now with out them. We're still a long way from 100% free digitals, but we're taking steps to try and get there for next season. The fact is in June alone we have 164,000 unique images views. So we are making strides, people like our service and they keep telling me how good I am, which does make me feel warm and fuzzy inside.

So with that I turn to our fans, customers and anyone with enough free time to read this. Write to your favorite company, tell them what you think of us, what we're doing and how much you appreciate our services. We're here to make your events better, to make your experience more memorable, because when I played I knew something was missing, this was missing. Talk it up, you guys are the ones who will benefit from it, free high res images for all, from any event! Till then, please support us, $2 isn't much but every little bit helps, especially in these early days.

Cheers
Jim Steed

In the presence of Legends. . .

What an event, Legends simply put was incredible. Last year having played the event and this year taking the event on as a vendor I have a much higher level of respect for the media, vendors, producers and field staff, so first and foremost, Thank You, Great Job Everyone! Being able to talk to people I’ve looked up to for years in the media and actually like my work, it was an honor and a privilege.
To those that supported us and created a mob scene around the booth several times throughout the weekend, a HUGE Thank You!
To clear some things up, now that I know people actually read this, I had to close up shop ONLY because my camera had shorted out at the previous event. I had already been looking into securing capital to expand the business but the offer from the bank that I was getting was a hard pill to swallow when I was barely paying for gas and ink let alone several thousands in loans and interest. Thank fully my wife’s family, our family was willing to loan us the capital I needed to keep the business moving in the right direction, we may be in debt but we’re still moving forward.

What I’m taking away from the event…
First the Team Coverage just does not work for scenario paintball, the format is just too unpredictable and while following one team around for any period of time I miss a lot of what’s going on across the rest of the field. So the Team Coverage/Package is being shelved for Scenario, I’ll still do the team photo’s but the Team Package doesn’t jive well and I apologize to those teams if I didn’t meet your expectations. Most likely I’ll fall back to the original larger order discounted pricing till I can figure out a better way to get better team coverage or product. I still HEAVILY encourage players to talk to me on the field or before the event, you’d be surprised how many more pictures of one person I take when I know they’re interested, just ask Bootman I think he had about 2 pages of just him all in all. If you want your picture taken, be an individual, be visible and tell us when you’re going to do something stupid so we can make you look like a bad ass.

“Event CD’s at the event!”, man am I sorry I ever thought of that, I apologize to anyone that wanted to walk home with one but it just was not going to happen, believe me I was busting my hump to get those pictures ready. Up till about the prize give away I still had hope but it just couldn’t be done. One CD was made and it took about an hour probably more and was 9 gigs on 2 discs.

One thing I know someone is going to recommend is bringing in a second photographer. I’ve been thinking of how to approach that but the serious issue is I honestly can’t afford to really pay them, at least right now. I have a few ideas but for this first year, I have to be able to do this on my own, it’s not ego, it’s just something I have to prove to myself. I have idea’s but it’s really too early to bring in extra help.

I can’t thank you guys enough, seriously all of the comments my wife got, the show of support, the sales, everything. I’m out here for you guys but when I’m over run every time I’m off the field it shows I’m doing something right and as long as you guys play, we’ll be there making you look good.

Cheers!

Post Script: If you have an event you want us to cover, tell us, we need field info, dates and at least 3 weeks. Also any product you guys want or suggestions let me know, I’m changing the Service’s page up a bit so you’ll be able to request stuff there but everything is welcome.

Closed till further notice...

Not a chance!

On what was our most successful event we had suffered a massive set back. Even with protective gear water still managed to short out my camera. The tool that had started this company is now nothing more then a paper weight, with the tool of my dreams dead, the dream went with it.
So I thought...

A day later my loving family offered to continue to finance my business and supply me with not just replacement gear but a massive upgrade in equipment. Within a week we now have equipment that can keep pace with me, it also means that a lot of doors have been opened for the events that we can cover and deliver quality. It also means that this company is now officially in debt and I'm going to do what I can to make that investment worthy.

Only time will tell if we're going to be successful or not but for the time being only the skies the limit.

Cheers!

Stuck in the mud;

Well our first scenario of the year is done and went pretty well. 2 days of work takes a toll but the results where decent and people enjoyed the service, our site is actually starting to do what it's supposed to do and any doubt about the locked down galleries have left my mind.

Before this event we covered the PPC Event #2 at i-70, bruised and left with a feeling of defeat we covered costs and I'll leave it at that.

Overall between the CTS, lack luster results from Dredd and PPC I feel like I'm spinning my wheels and getting no where. Moving into SEPS brings me some ray of hope, a grass routes series with a massive turnout is a good market to break into plus with LLII coming up, I have to stay positive, if these events don't go well I'll really be stuck in the mud with the water rising.

Cheers!

Is it progress or just barely staying afloat?

Well the MSXL went rather well for being solo, still though results where great but sales where terrible. Hopefully post event sales will justify what we're trying to do.