Summer is almost over and for this Midwest gal, I couldn't be happier. Don't get me wrong, I've always preferred the warmer months over the cold winters. This year has made me look forward to seeing snow in ways I haven't wanted to in the past. Thankfully the past week has been really nice and I've finally gotten to enjoy some time outside in the mornings.
My late summer hours have been filled with creativity with my photography and using my photo editing programs to create some very interesting, and I think very pretty graphic designs. I've removed the connection from my regular blogs to the photography blog also so that it will be standing on its own in a more professional manner. To see my photography blog click here click here. I've really had a lot of fun creating my first portfolio of photographs and graphics. Tomorrow I will be starting on the more difficult task of looking for the markets and making contact with them to try to sell my work.
My Squidoo lenses have been neglected for awhile but I've been busily updating those this past week as well. I have to admit that several of them, if not all, need some work.
The county fair is coming up in a few days and I've been offered a ride and someone to push me in my wheelchair on Labor Day. The problem is, the people are total strangers to me and that bothers me. Of course they are from my area and could very easily end up being new friends. It's just that I am a little bit frightened by the thought. However, if the weather is not suitable, meaning it's raining or it's way too hot for me to be outside, I won't be going anyway. Also, I really hate bothering people with helping me. Of course it's my fault as I requested help on a local area Facebook page and if I didn't want help, I should not have asked for help in the first place, right? Another problem with the whole thing is that I was trying to put aside a little money for the fair and a couple other festivals that are also coming up soon but computer problems got in the way of that and all my extra money went to fixing the computer. The computer has to be a priority for me if I am to use it to try to improve my life in any way.
Now I'm not sure 100% that I will even make any sales of my art, but I am going to put my best effort into it. Ever since I was in junior high and high school I have wanted to be a writer/photographer but even though I was published in my local newspaper right after graduating high school, I never really followed through with writing or photography other than as a hobby once I got married and had children. Now is the time for me to try. If I don't try, I would have regrets and beat myself up for not trying. But in no way do I expect to get rich overnight and I have to start slowly enough that I can manage my earnings to balance within the limits of what I can earn legally with my other benefits. I don't want to get into a political topic here, but when people like me end up stuck in the system for our income and medical benefits, the government makes it very difficult to break free of that or do a whole lot to improve our situation. There are certain financial areas where earnings conflict with benefits and you end up having to make a hard choice whether to trust the earnings to continue at the same level and give up the benefits or give up the earnings and stick to the guaranteed benefits. It would not be so difficult a choice if the income limits were higher before they started to reduce the benefits. It basically keeps us locked into our situations whether we want to be or not. So any attempts I make to become professional at my writing and photography/graphics will be a risk. But either way, my computer is a necessary tool for me to take that risk. When it comes down to whether I have money to go to the fair or festivals or have money to fix my computer, the computer has to come first.
Other events coming up that I am really interested in attending are the local Hot Air Affair which is a hot air balloon festival that our area used to hold every year until for whatever reasons they stopped doing it. This year it's back and I really want to go. Years ago I took some really nice photos at previous festivals and really want that opportunity again. The other event is not until October so I may still be able to save some money for that, however in September I also have another computer expense that has to be dealt with. Sometimes it feels like the problems are never ending and the solutions are so far out of sight that I don't have a hope of finding them. The October festival is our local Apple Festival and there will be some wonderful photographic opportunities for me there if I get to go. I did decide that these generous people who have chosen to take me to the fair will be offered outdoor style portraits taken by me in return for their generosity. Studio photography is not my style and I don't really do a lot of taking pictures of people except family. But the right situations can make for some really nice outdoor portraits. Who knows? Maybe that will also be a future part of my career as a professional photographer.
