Settle in folks this is going to be a long one!
A few months ago I began a process I had seen from afar but never dived whole heartedly into and here is a bit about what it has taken to get to today - coming down from a high that I never saw coming.
I have been a practicing and self taught photographer for a while now and had settled into the events photography lifestyle right up until the second half of last year. In one day, led up to by other important days, I decided I had had enough of a turbulent work situation I personally could not sustain and chose to, in spectacular mic drop fashion, walk away from what I had accepted as uncomfortable but doable. After all I had managed to glean some valuable things from that situation and wasn't sure leaving it was the correct choice. Now? Now I know better.
Part 1 - It's Just A Spark
Let me preface this by saying I do not know everything there is to know about photography. That will come with time. Knowing better however, is just something that happened after enduring what I did. This came first, in the instance of almost a year ago deciding to take myself up to a two day workshop in Sydney on photo business, products and knowing how to provide a service to clients hosted by Seldex (a professional print lab in Australia). Initially I will admit that those things were absolutely secondary to meeting a photographer hero of mine and the price was fantastic for that opportunity alone. I remember rocking up morning one absolutely shaking in my boots. It was so nerve wracking to be there alone, knowing no one except on paper and being out of my comfort zone by a long way. It will likely go down as one of the single best things I could have done for chasing a worthwhile future.
I met some amazing people including the aforementioned photographer hero (I may have cried and fangirled all over the place but thankfully she is an incredibly patient woman) as well as some stellar individuals I hope I can be friends with for a long time to come. I learned and revived a love for the miracle of printing your photos and having a tangible memory but most importantly I learned that the photography community was by far the complete opposite of what I had been experiencing at the time up to that point. Everyone was happy, supportive and wonderfully human. I had a new sense of confidence which was enough to stoke the coals on the fire and see me wanting more. Around the same time I reconnected with the AIPP or The Australian Institute of Professional Photographers by attending the local debrief of the Australian Professional Photography Awards. All I wanted was to see some stellar work up close from an insanely talented ACT chapter. I got that and I also got to network with some more supportive and brilliant photographers.
Time then passed. I didn't manage to change much except for a few extra shoots on top of my regular event shoots. Those alone were not enough but come the new year I was finally ready to shed the doable and put things in motion for the better. I started working a bit more on SeeJay (honestly I am still getting around to working on it) when I saw that CIT were hosting their pre-semester open/information nights. So along I went and thinking it was just going to be purely this is what we have, come study here, it became this is what is on offer, go enroll. In a panic but also not having enough reason to say no I then and there signed up for the new semester starting the following week. Thus once again I became a student!
I will stop here for now and make a series of posts. Otherwise you will be reading for the next three hours of your lives!