Courtesy of a cyber-friend on Facebook.

Folks Should be Taking Notes

Bring on the Births

Today I drove all the way to Andover in an effort to find a Maternity Yoga Center to ask if I could promote my birth photography services there. Now in theory, Andover isn't far, but the directions were so convoluted, it was a bit of a project; Take 95 to 93, then 93 to 495, one exit to Route 28, follow 28 to the fifth light and take a right where there will be a Whole Foods on your right. Hang a left after that then a right at the tree. Pull into the second alley on the left and give the password, "Pregnant mama" to a guy named Don. He'll tell you where to go from there.

I drove and drove and...the place was closed. Doh! 'Teach me to not call beforehand.

So, I headed back to my good hometown of Wakefield and stopped at Om Yoga here in town. The instructor there was excited and said she had a prenatal yoga class tonight, and that she would hand-out my postcards.

I received an email from Nancy, the midwife that I have been working with. She said she met with a new client today and they sounded interested in having their birth photographed. I emailed the MA Friends of Midwifery, and they got back to me to tell me they would be willing to share my photos on their site. Very exciting!

I emailed a few bloggers in the area and gave them my plea for exposure. One woman connected with Citizens for Midwifery let me know that they couldn't promote commercial ventures (understandable) on their site, but that she was writing a book and could she use my pictures?!

Um, does a bear do his thing in the woods?

That would be yes.

Obamicon.me

I think this is my new favorite thing.
CLICK HERE

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.

More Snow

It just doesn't seem to stop coming!

Photographing Food

Thanks to craigslist, I gave a second one-on-one photo lesson today with a woman who wanted to fine-tune her food photography. She writes a food blog and has been frustrated with her results. It was a really fun session, and I was especially pleased at the fact that Anna felt she had learned so much!

This is a quick pic I took with my camera. I only took two photos, actually. We really used her camera for the most part.

Statement from A Match.com Profile

I know that writing a profile on a dating site can be uncomfortable, but if I read one more which starts with "OK, so, here it goes..." or, "Describing yourself in one short paragraph is really hard but here it goes..." I will scream. You just wasted a whole sentence which could have been used on describing yourself.

This one cracked me up though - "Obviously I prefer those who are truly self aware of themselves."

I like guys who can self-edit their profiles themselves too. You know, ones who aren't redundant in their statements by repeating the same thing again in the same sentence?

And the answer your question, yes, I'm feeling sassy.