Career Block

I feel like I have hit a bit of a wall as far as getting my "business" going. There never seems to be too much time between ideas. First, I got my website up, then I marketed for portraits, complete with postcards and mailings. Kid photos, dog photos, weddings and engagements. Then, I contacted newspapers and publications in search of freelance. I looked into and found some teaching gigs at an adult education course, then I went from there to art centers. I got some work through them, too. Then came the births, which led to trying get the word about that service. Emailing mid-wives led to calling birth centers led to looking for local baby shops which lead to seeking out area bloggers and their networks. Non-profits, schools, one-on-one photography lessons.

I'm sure something new will come to me soon, but I am at a think-tank slump for the moment.

I have gotten a printer, which is totally impractical for printing photos because it runs out of ink so quickly. But, it is good for record keeping and letters and such. So, I'm glad I have that. I got insurance for my gear. I was looking into joining the Canon Professional Services, which we used at the paper. We used the membership numbers and discounts to send the gear in for repairs. As it turns out, you have to have more than one "professional" camera to be a member. I am a bit peeved about this. I have a 5d Mark II. That thing is no wimp. But, my back-up camera is a 50D, which to the CPS, is not big gun enough for me to claim myself a professional. So, no repair discounts or photo magazines for me! And I guess, according to canon, I am not a professional. My ten years of experience, multiple recognitions and a POY (Photog of the Year) suggests otherwise.

The other disappointment has been with the monthly clip contest with the National Press Photographer's Association. I still identify with being a documentary shooter. The best part about the birth photography I've been doing is that it allows me to do just that - be a fly on the wall. Document. But my images are not officially published anywhere but on my website and on my blog, so I am not allowed to share it in competition. At least not the monthly clip competition.

It makes sense. I mean I get it. The clip competition is for clips. Stuff that ran in a newspaper. It's just a shame that in a time when so many of us are no longer feeling connected to that career that we so closely identify with, we can't be a part of it in this way either. It's a bit strange considering the direction the field is going. More and more, images are being seen online. Not in newspapers. I'm not saying I like it that way. I'm just saying that's how it is.

I wrote an email to my former colleagues at the Post the other day and I have to say I got a bit choked-up sending it. I tend to be a bit of an out of sight out of mind kind of person. I don't live in sunny Florida anymore and, even when I was shovelling the driveway this morning, I don't really think about my life there. I knew my way around, knew where to get my favorite foods and where to meet my friends for a drink. I knew where the best beaches were, where to get the oil changed on my car, where all the movie theaters were and where to go for this craft supply and that one, and most importantly, I knew where my friends were, all over the city.

I'm not there anymore, and I'm ok with that. Still, I miss my coworkers and the camaraderie. You know you're bound to miss people when you leave the way I did. The way so many of us are. I just didn't expect it to wave over came a bit while sending an email. I'll be interested to see if I hear back from any of them. I suppose we can all be out of sight out of mind.