It's the final countdown.....

Sorry, I do love that song.

My last day at the gallery is the 31st, after which I will be quite busy getting my act together to be a professional photographer. Between now and then, this is what I will be working on:

1. Updating my website
- Changing the splash page photo
- Moving photos to more approproate categories
- Removing photos I'm no longer completely enamored with
- Bisecting photos in their categories by color versus monochrome
- Updating my resumé
- Updating my press page
- Setting up a mailing list sign-up page
- Clarifying collecting options
- MAYBE (maybe maybe maybe maybe maybe) eventually setting up a pay section. I'm still on the fence about this. Suggestions are welcome.

2. Organizing my business components
3. Seriously approaching galleries about representation. Might mean actually flying around the country. Or at least to DC.
4. Ordering new software
5. Submitting to publishers, competitions, etc.
6. Organizing a mailing list and media contact list
7. Finding models and taking pictures
8. Continuing to write that book I started way back when

So yeah, I'll be busy. But stuff will be happening soon....

I'm Back!

My big news: I quit my job today. While there were many elements to my job that I really enjoyed, all I really want to do is take pictures, and thus it wasn't fair to stay. It was a good run, and I'm tremendously grateful for the experience, but it wasn't right for me.

So this is it. I think I'm officially a professional photographer now. No excuses. No flip-flopping, trying to decide what to do with my life. There were some out there who thought I was already a professional photographer, and thus, this isn't big news. I wasn't, so this is. I had been playing with different ideas, of going to grad school, of working in academia, of somehow delaying the inevitable. I've just resigned myself to being an artist, and that's it. It's pretty scary, but I'm going to work my ass off.

I'm pumped, and I'll be making LOTS of changes. I'm not sure how soon (my last day is the 31st), but there will be changes. Everything from my website, to my portfolio, to my collecting rates, to where I'll be showing, everything. It also means I'll be posting on the blog a bit more than I have been recently. You know, like how I was before I got the job. I also want to make a serious list of collectors, potential collectors, fans and friends who want to be kept abreast of things. I'm thoroughly anti-spam, but if you'd like to be in the loop, shoot me an email at samantha at his dot com, and I'll make sure you hear all the juicy news.

I do have some pictures that still need to be edited, but I'm working on submitting proposals all over the place. I am, of course, always looking for models, so that hasn't changed. But I'm working. I'll also be doing some very informal San Francisco travel writing, and possibly some review work. But mostly photo stuff. Should be fun.

So, in conclusion, I'M BACK. Feels good.

Drumroll, please......

Big news soon. Very soon. Maybe within 12 hours. Sit tight.