About 5 months ago, my dad clipped out an article from the local suburban newspaper for me to read. When I turned the clipping over, I noticed that the paper features readers' travel photos. Personally, I felt like I had taken a few decent photos that certainly could rival the one currently being published. Now, I've never had the desire to be a photographer. I took a photogaphy class in college but I pretty much sucked at it. I also have absolutely no desire for any recognition from the masses. However, I am a bit of a competitive person (TMS, you can stop yelling "You bet you are" at your computer screen, I can't really hear you) and it was the competitive person in me who took to submitting a couple of my photos. "My waterfall picture can beat your mountain picture any day, Mr. Von Shutterbug from No Talent, Illinois!"
Finally, in June I received a call from "my publisher" as I now refer to her. She told me that they would like to run my photo on Sunday, July 9th as it corresponds with the theme of that week's travel issue. I was interviewed for quite a while (really about 10-20 minutes or so, but it seemed like a long interview for such a small feature). I began to think, "Hey, this is kind of cool, getting your work published in a paper that will be distributed to thousands of people." During the weeks between the phone call and the issue date, I told everyone I knew that I was now going to be a published photographer and to look for the photo when it comes out. I set the day aside certain that I would be fielding all sorts of calls from people, some I haven't spoken to in years. While skimming the morning paper, they'd initially be drawn to the beautifully well-taken photo, but upon their second look, would recognized my name printed directly below the photo and repeated in the article. "Yes, that's me...Yes, I remember you...Yes, I know, it is a rare talent...No, I can't do your wedding/child/family photos...."
Only two people called on Sunday, my mother-in-law and my own mother.
It is now Wednesday, July 12th. I wonder what's keeping everyone?
4 comments:
Now you know how we feel when we tell our friends to come visit us anytime...and they never do.
And, BTW, Mrs. TBF has been published in Intermezzo magazine - June, 2006 (Vol. 5, Issue 13) to be exact! She's actually a published WRITER!
tell me more...
I wrote back and forth to customer service over e-mail about my subscription and back-orders. Well, the customer service e-mail goes straight to the editor and she took an excerpt from one of my e-mails and published it in the letters section - without my permission I might add. So, I'm lying on a chaise lounge beside a pool in Alicante, Spain reading this magazine and thinking, hmmm...that sounds familiar...hey that was written by me. It had my name and location at the end. Imagine my surprise!
TBF, are you suggesting that being a published writer is better than being a published photographer?
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