Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2010/08/26
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]I couldn't afford your seminar even if you let me attend for free. The travel costs alone are simply not a possibility for me. I live off my art, and I make enough to support myself and my son, but little more. When I have extra money, I usually spend it on him. I am VERY thankful to have the income I have because the city I live in has unemployment near 30%, and for men in my age group with university degrees more than 60% are jobless. Leaving is not a possibility either. I moved back here from Santa Fe, where I made a lot more money doing commercial work, because my son's mother was locked up by the state in a psychiatric hospital. I moved to Santa Fe because I couldn't earn a living in Indiana as a photographer, nor would anyone hire me for a non-photo job. I applied for more than 800 jobs after I earned by BFA in 1999 and got ONE interview! That is very common for college grads here....the only jobs are doing construction or factory work, and there's not much of that to go around. After I moved to Santa Fe, I began earning money doing commercial work almost instantly so I know my failure to make a living here before I moved away wasn't a result of any failing on my part. My ex is out of the hospital now, but I have kept custody of our son. State law here says I cannot move out of state with my son without his mother's permission, even though she's a nutjob, and she won't give it. My son is 13 yrs old. The split second he graduates from high school, which will be a couple months after he turns 18, we're both outta here. Until then, we're living off my art only. There is NO commercial work here. My art sells 100% to people outside Indiana. I highly doubt one can earn a dime in Indiana with an M9. Even the wedding and portrait people here are all hurting, and that's the easiest form of photography to earn a living at because the demand for it is universal. Anyway, I am supporting myself and a teenage son entirely from sales of my work off my website. I am proud of that and I know there are VERY few photographers who could do that. Maybe I'll buy a used M9 when I move back to Santa Fe in 5 yrs! In the meantime, I have two M6 bodies and several lenses that I pieced together here and there when I had some extra sales, and I am enjoying them greatly. I actually gave my digital SLR, a Nikon D70, to my son because I never used it. He's having a blast with it. -- Chris Crawford Fine Art Photography Fort Wayne, Indiana 260-424-0897 http://www.chriscrawfordphoto.com My portfolio http://blog.chriscrawfordphoto.com My latest work! On 8/26/10 9:24 PM, "Tina Manley" <images at comporium.net> wrote: > I'm giving a seminar for Leica on Cape Cod in October about how to pay for > your M9 with your M9. I've certainly paid for mine several times over. > You > might want to sign up ;-) > > http://www.pksqcamera.com/seminar/seminardetails.htm > > <http://www.pksqcamera.com/seminar/seminardetails.htm>Tina > > PS: It won't be with Fine Art, though! > > I'm a fulltime graduate student. I can't afford an M9 even with a discount, >> and I couldn't have when I was working on my BFA years ago either. I don't >> know any students who could where I study (Indiana University at Fort >> Wayne). Anyone that wealthy doesn't go to a state university. >> >> >> -- >> Chris Crawford >>