Thought of the Day
Recently I was asked by two separate people these questions, “What do you see yourself doing with your photography?” my boss and “What do you want to do with your life, what’s your plan?” my finance Lee.
The answer to either question didn’t come, and so I’m trying to give it some thought. So we’ll start back, way back to high school where all I wanted to do was be a photographer, though I did want to be an astronomer, a meteorologist, a teacher, and even way back when a ballerina. Fortunately for those two I can photograph the stars, weather, and dance so somehow that worked out for me in the long run, though teacher never did. I never was good at math or science so it worked out that photography had very little of either. But what was my original thought of I want to be a photographer? Where did it come from, I’ve thought long and hard about this one, well not really, my dad collects cameras, and it’d be a pity if it hadn’t rubbed off on one of his daughters. And what was I to do with my photography? I wanted to work for national geographic…no that really was what I wanted to do, but on the side for charity I wanted to do portraits of sick children with their families. I wanted to show happier times. However, that side will have to wait, I have little talent with portrait photography much less dealing with people maybe eventually I’ll get there, but for now I’m a nature photographer, that has no time to shoot.
In college I toyed with the idea of being a digital re-toucher, but my teachers thought while maybe I could get better, I just wasn’t good or fast enough to do this. I thought I had wasted a year or two at this when I was reminded that I was extremely talented at shooting nature. I focused in on the idea of doing astro photography, but I just wasn’t able to find my niche, I went to a few national parks, and still was unable to do much good photography. It wasn’t until I took this shot http://www.flickr.com/photos/flamegirl88/3967635176/in/set-72157622483843320 that I realized that there was something more to focus on, and I thought maybe it was flowers and I was good at it! Very good at it and perhaps some of my teachers finally saw potential for me in my last semester. Then I realized that what they were looking at was the bugs I had captured. I’d found my niche, I’m a bug photographer, in fact, I was a macro photographer specializing in bugs and plants. But here’s the question who wants to hire a bug/plant photographer? No one really.
So I took up a job at Six Flags doing portraits for the summer, while I waited to find a job in Kansas City, when I found the same one at Worlds of Fun I took my opportunity to move and was able to find a job in Missouri at H&H within the month. While I stayed with Worlds of Fun till the end of the season I worked my second job as an assembler. Right now I’m still an assembler, I’m lucky to be able to have this job as it pays well and has something to do with both my major and my minor (graphic arts). Our hours are even getting longer for the time being we went from working 8-4 on Mondays and 9-4 the rest of the week to 8-4 (or whenever we finish) the whole week to 6-? until whenever the work drops again. It’s school and event season so that means sports and prom photos and lots of them. This is not a career however, it is a job when it becomes a career for me I’ll let you know. I do sell prints just so you know, of course it’s only of nature.
So getting back to the questions what do I really want to do with my photography, I want to be a successful nature photographer, I’d be happy to work for a botanical magazine or a bug magazine or whatever is out there, even National Geographic if I get really good, but I don’t want to be away from home for too long.
As for my life plan, well I’m just one of those people who sits back and lets things take their course. Of course I will get married in September, and eventually maybe have kids. I never really thought about kids in any sort of plan though since I wanted to work for National Geographic, so right now that’s up in the air, though I did want to adopt at some point. I want to have at least 1 dog a corgi if anything, and maybe a cat or two. And I really don’t care where I live as long as there are parks or wide open spaces around.
Anyways that’s enough for me tonight, I’ve got to work at 6am. 
Resume
I made three different versions of my new resume and this is what I’ve come up with. And yes I did block out the phone number and address, you can still e-mail or message me here though.
