Rob,
Off topic (by a large bit I suppose), but have you ever considered doing, or ever done any writing? You seem to have a knack for penning a phrase and your perspective is often quite interesting.
Marv
Hi Marv,
I did, for while, around the time I was leaving school, but the threat of two obligatory years in the Army or one of the other services was enough to drive me into engineering which, though it held no interest, brought regular deferments from that fate until Nat. Serv. was abolished, and at least let me stay home and see my girlfriend (later my wife) every few days. I sometimes think I chose the wrong option, that two years in and then out would have saved time, but I have to admit that those years in engineering got me into industrial photography and, through that, brought about my eventual meeting with the chap who turned out to be my very best client, and whose calendar productions allowed me to go pretty much anywhere in the world I chose, and whose faith allowed me to have real big-time product with which to encourage other clients to go along with me for their stuff. Producing big calendars was a very expensive business: it takes faith to spend like that with someone for the first time.
As for writing now - I suppose it could be fun, but I am too old to face things like deadlines and would hate that. Just before I opted for the model side of photography, I did go through a phase where I imagined that I'd like to write and photograph for coffee-table travel books, but even then, the reality of publishing was something not usually within the hands of a photographer: it isn't about ego-tripping, which I liked and still like - it's all about return on investment.
Every winter I get captivated by the idea of returning to France in spring and writing about, and also shooting, a series of pictures along the Canal du Midi, and even perhaps right across from the Atlantic to the Med; then, I think about the cost of it all without a commercial sponsor and my resolve evaporates. Unfortunate, because I think I'd still perhaps enjoy the experience but not the bank statement following! I am not the type to travel third-class, camp or do camper vans, so there's not much hope in sight.
But thank you for the compliment; it warms me on a feeezing day!
;-)
Rob C