The Chains That Bind Us

I am three weeks in on the blog process with forty-nine to go. It is time to step back for a moment and assess where I am and re-establish new goals. Yesterday one hundred and eighty four people accessed the blog. Overall one thousand thirty nine people have visited the first twenty-two postings. I am continuing to make the connection on Facebook and Red Bubble and feel like my network of artists and supporters is ever growing. I have reconnected with people I have not seen in years, so on a personal level I have achieved my intended goal for the first phase. I am now on to the making a presence of my artistry on the web a reality. I need to somehow become marketable and earn a living from what I am passionate about. Standard commercial photography in Missoula no longer seems viable. We have the Rocky Mountain School of Photography here that cranks out a hundred new photographers a year. Our market here is over saturated. It seems that everyone that owns a camera now has become a photographer and will work for next to nothing. I have always had to maintain a balance with multiple jobs and sources of income. Working as the Systems Operations Manager at UPS part-time in the evenings covers the basis of living and provides excellent benefits for me and my partner. Up until now photography has always sustained itself and allowed me to grow, but with the influx of so many new photographers working out of their cars, with cheaper equipment and laptops and no over head I am having to cut my cost to remain competitive. Those of us who are artistic and have spent years refining our craft to maintain excellent control of our light and have evolved as craftsmen are being pushed out of the market. One area that I have always focused on that I have been able to maintain is arts and entertainment, but even that seems to be losing momentum to the do-it-yourselfers. Therefore, it is this year that I reach out to a broader market, beyond my community and see where it takes me. I am really up for the adventure. So I have come up with this mutli-phase plan to put myself out there. The next phase is to create presence of my talents and skills. Many years ago when I was first emerging as a creative soul I did a program by Julia Cameron called The Artist's Way. It was a 12-week program of self-examination and overcoming obstacles that prevented the creative self from emerging. It changed my life and gave me the freedom and courage to create. I have lived my life by it tenets. Somewhere in it Julia said, “If you put out there and name it what you desire the universe will provide.” Perhaps it is now time for me to reinvent myself and allow the artist to emerge.

VIEW FULL IMAGE: JR #170