The journey of a thousand miles begins

The old saying is that the journey of a thousand miles begins with but a single step. This is the first entry in my blog that will document my own journey - the journey that will take me from being a 30-something guy working a deask for 40+ hours a week to being free from the cube farm and earning a living in what I feel is my true calling - photography.

Yes, there are undoubteldy hundreds of thousands of people out there with a halfway decent camera, who think that they can take a pretty picture. And lots of them probably can. But the ability to take a picture vs. a snapshot does not a photographer make. There's a business side to it, as well, and that is where the hobbyist and the pro part company.

I have worked in the commercial end of the design business for quite some time - not as an artist, but as somebody who works with artists and designers and agencies to create finished printed materials. I've also had the privilege of working undert the hardest taskmaster of a sales manager in the commercial printing industry, so I've learned a few things about networking, and creating business contacts, and marketing myself and my services.

So now I have decided that it's time to realy give this a shot, and 2008 will be the beginning. As I go through the process, I'll share what I've learned throgh the ups and downs. I'll talk about struggling to get the first few jobs. I'll talk about equipment, software, hardware, nightmare clients - pretty much everything I can think of that may help others through the process of going pro.

Next post will be what's led me to my decision to take the leap. Then I'll talk about the semi-pro experience that I've garnered up to this point. And hopefully this blog, as it continues, will document a rise from being a hobbyist to a pro at the top of his game.

An audacious goal? Sure. But why aim for mediocrity? If I'm going to do this, I might as well do it big. I doubt anybody is reading yet, so maybe this first post is just for myself. It will make a nice intro into my first book of published work.

Keep your cameras with you.

- Michael