To Start…(The Story)

They say the first step is always the hardest.

Here we go…

To start I’d like to give a little preface…  This venture, this compilation of thoughts and insights, this…blog, is for me.  Don’t get me wrong…I’m happy that you’ve decided to stop by, and take the time to read/comment/spam.  What I mean is…I have hit the lowest point in my life.  Granted others have it WAAY harder than I, but for me it is a new experience.

I am a photographer, by nature, and at heart but in the last year or so I have hit a wall.  A creative impasse that I have neither been able to navigate nor tear down.  I’m unemployed, like so many in our society, yet I’m in a unique position.  I have a Masters Degree (in photography), a BFA (again, in photography), yet I can’t find a job.  Why?  Well for the better part of the last decade I have been in school, not working.  So on paper (degrees aside) I am no different than a 16yo kid looking for his first summer job.  The degrees I’ve found are only useful for one profession…teaching.  Which like most jobs… requires prior experience.  More on the job front later.

I live with my mom…yep that’s right…now for the aforementioned 16yo that’s not a big deal, but… I happen to be 31.

Starting to get the picture?

Things are not what I hoped they’d be when I got out of school.  I thought there would be agencies, ad companies, and magazines knocking my door down to get me to shoot for them.  The reality is, I’m no different than a million other photo school grads.  I have a mountain of dept to pay back, no facilities in which to work, and no more confidence.

Then one day  (January 2, 2010 to be exact)  I followed a random link from a fellow I follow on twitter named @ScottBourne, who ironically is a photographer with a blog! Here Anyway, Scott posted a link to yet another photographer’s blog (seeing a pattern yet?).

Shake Your Tree Today

The owner/creator of the blog is @ChaseJarvis.  This is what started the “Re-Imagining of Rich Meade” project.  The insights and inspiration I received from Chase’s blog not only gave me back my direction, it restarted the fire within me.  If this works…which only time will tell… I will owe all of my success to those two men… @ChaseJarvis and @ScottBourne