As some of you may know my company shut its doors about a month ago and I've been looking for work. Unfortunately, given the state of the oilpatch, so are thousands of other guys... To date the search has yielded a few interviews where the ultimate outcome has been grim. Too much experience, not enough experience, we promoted within. Out of the top 4 candidates we went with someone else...and on and on and on.
Needless to say its been a bit frustrating. But wait! Maybe a glimmer of hope! Mrs. Ulcer suggested that I talk to real estate agents and see if I could make some money taking photos of their listed houses. I pondered the idea and began to brainstorm. Company name, business plan, logo, financing. Within 24 hours I had it all planned out. My head has been swimming so to clear it, I decided to take a drive about 45 minutes outside of town and clear my head.
Unfortunately the voices didnt quiet down until I reached my destination - an old railroad trestle across the Brazos River. I knew the shot I wanted to get and made my way through 9 foot foliage up to the tracks slashing a path with my machete. When I got there my passage was barred. It wasnt the fence and gate that was the problem, it was the poison ivy growing all over it that prevented the nice long shot from the rails across the river.
So I settled for some ground shots:
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On the way home, I'm still thinking about everything I have to do to get this thing kicked off. I then notice a large art-deco building in a small town with a sign out front that said photography & art studio. I turned around and went in. While waiting for the guy come to the door I read the historical marker that said the building was constructed in the 1930's and was the former schoolhouse for the town.
I then met with the proprietor of this place (name withheld to preserve the location of the bridge) and he showed me around the place. I was in awe! Everything this guy shoots is using the old school cameras with the bellows! The resolution is incredible! Most of his clients are high dollar guys that live in River Oaks and the Memorial area (for those of you out of town - its where the riche rich's are) and command upwards of tens of thousands of dollars each! This guy was the REAL DEAL. He told me some of his background and I mentioned what I was contemplating. I was told flat out - DONT DO IT! Even now that hes semi-retired and has multimillionaire clients, hes struggling. He said that I'll never make enough to pay the bills and that digital photography is so common now it's virtually worthless.
So...
I'm actually glad I met with this guy. The prospect of whoring myself to real estate agents for $150 a house was really put into perspective when I saw what this guy did. Sadly, I now have to go back to looking for a real job, my dreams of ever making a living doing what I love shattered.
