At the beginning of the lock down during this pandemic, I had a couple of big thoughts… I’d write a book or I’d complete my photography guidebook to the Grand Marais area. I was going to lift weights. I was going to break my social media addiction. I was going to go out and take pictures locally more.
In the end, I didn’t do any of that, except lift weights. In fact, I haven’t shot much. Last year in the months from March to June, I shot 150 three-star-and-above images (and I still haven’t edited all the images from that time period). This year, I shot 42. The nine images I shot in March were from before the lock down. I shot three in April when out for the news.
There are excuses: 1. we didn’t know how safe or dangerous it was to be outside, 2. I was considered non-essential so couldn’t travel for work, 3. the constant stress of the pandemic, 4. No school meant I was homeschooling my kid, 5. My wife worked from home and took over in the afternoon, which meant that I wanted to hang out with the family, 6. generally feeling depressed.
I did do some things. I worked to develop an online Lightroom Class. I’m in the middle of teaching it now. I will likely offer it again and maybe turn it into a downloadable course. I ended up selling a bunch of prints to the consumer market. I think I’m a little bit ahead of last year. I took out a PPP loan, and because somehow I ended up getting two because of a screw up in the SBA system (I only received money from one) it felt like a full time job getting it sorted out. I’ve applied for multiple grants which take a long time. I got one of the many I applied for. I need to write one this week as well. I wrote two COVID-19 risk management plans for my workshops — one for federal workshops and then a new one that took everything from the federal plan and incorporated Minnesota guidance. Who knew I’d be doing so much that is doing nothing for what I do: take photos, sell photos and teach people how to take photos. That’s the new normal it seems.
There is some fun and good news.
I’m doing a Composition for Landscape Photography Webinar on July 14 from 7pm to 8:30pm.
A former student of mine is running the webinar through her photography company. I hope you can attend.
But it still doesn’t seem like I’m doing as much as I should.
Are you in the same boat?
Anyway, I did take a few pictures that I love.
I feel like the exact same thing happened to me. I made lists of my goals, planned big things for the other side of all of this, started training for events, bought a new camera, and it all just sort of fizzled out due to the realities of trying to run a business amidst all of the COVID-19 issues. I sort of thought that it would be a chance to start over but found myself seemingly even more entwines with the things I wanted to avoid. I feel for you. We are all in this together.
Hey Bryan,
Cristi and I got stalled out in a different way. We spent much of last summer on the road with our Casita traveling and blogging. Landed in Savannah, GA for the winter to recharge our travel fund and were eddied out by COVID-19. I did manage to keep writing and (like you) lifting weights, but we’re both looking forward to finding our way back up to the Great Lakes as soon at the right opportunity presents itself.
Strange days.