I'm reminded of the "Sign of the Times" segment on Nightline. After 25+ years of experience and background, two degrees, teaching hundreds of classes, probably millions of photos and so on, the ship has now officially sailed. The hobbyists (the ones who think they are Pros) have won and I am relieved, relaxed, but also a bit resentful. For the first time in my life (and I mean that more than you can imagine), photography is now officially a sideline. I have finally accepted the reality that Photography is barely viable as a profession. At least it has become that way in the last few years. Still, I will probably always do some photography, particularly for clients I enjoy working with.
I am now officially working full-time as Operations Manager for one of my old photo clients. It is nice to be in a growing field rather than a dying one. Here's irony for you. One of the employees is also a photographer who has given up on the profession (no longer full-time anyway) and who I've known for over 25 years. We worked at the same camera store nearly 30 years ago, and now I'm her boss.
What do I do? I sell tea. As a friend of mine said, "Tea is Good", which pretty much sums it up. It's a real contrast to photography, which had become rather annoying. I'm in charge of employees and general operations at theteatable.com. Hopefully Ron and Parker don't mind the shameless plug. The bottom line is, I enjoy it and I like having a somewhat stable life for the first time in years.
I am now officially working full-time as Operations Manager for one of my old photo clients. It is nice to be in a growing field rather than a dying one. Here's irony for you. One of the employees is also a photographer who has given up on the profession (no longer full-time anyway) and who I've known for over 25 years. We worked at the same camera store nearly 30 years ago, and now I'm her boss.
What do I do? I sell tea. As a friend of mine said, "Tea is Good", which pretty much sums it up. It's a real contrast to photography, which had become rather annoying. I'm in charge of employees and general operations at theteatable.com. Hopefully Ron and Parker don't mind the shameless plug. The bottom line is, I enjoy it and I like having a somewhat stable life for the first time in years.