Avoid the Void

The Kane Family vacationing in Oqunquit, Maine turns into a photo shoot for me as well as a chance to see an old college friend.

I have some decisions to make. I have some editing to get done. There are some people I need to call and more marketing of myself to kick into gear.

I also have this fabulous pile of books around me to read. Produce to buy and chop and juice and eat. Fun to be had with friends and family both near and far. Not to mention all the photos I want to take!

Then there's the stuff to do on the house!

Summer seems to be slipping away.

Timmy busy at the beach.

As a Mainer, I (along with so many others) have always had this feeling that summer is our opportunity for a blast of fun and sun before the temperature drops, the leaves fall, and the snow flies. It's as if in my mind I know December will hit and I will hunker down. First, because I'm crazy and try to make many of my Christmas gifts, while creating some sort of color coded wrapping scheme that will include pieces of art as name tags. The cold doesn't phase me, because I have inside activities to entertain me. The image in my mind of the calendar year shows December on as a sort of gray void. This is not only because of the weather, but because in the past of working for someone else while maintaining a small photography business things in my photo world would be wrapped up by then. As in, weddings and family portraits done and everyone had their images and the phone rings less as we all move into the gray hibernation months. This is not always how it goes, but it seems to be how I think it will go. So, my mind sees a gray void coming my way as I start to think about the coming months.

Yesterday I went to a networking lunch meeting and realized (finally!) that I need to rid myself and my mind of that mentality. I am self-employed now and I need to make sure the work is steady as ever come January. This was not a scary realization, oddly enough. The groundwork is being set, and things are rolling along. And I thought to myself "I can't wait to be working in January!"

Though I have been working in photography for years, January 2009 marked my first month of my freelance career. I'm suddenly looking forward to January 2010 so I can see what a difference a year does make! This does not mean that I am ready for summer to end. In fact, just the opposite. There is still so much work to get done and just as much fun to be had. Lucky for me, there are times when those two things share the same camp. Working and photographing and having fun go hand in hand.

Now to get back to making some of those decisions...

Love this.

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