New email, who dis?
Welcome to my new newsletter.
What a super exciting and nerve-wracking moment.
This is something that’s been in the back of my mind for quite some time now. I’ve always loved to write - I wasn’t that kid who’d been given a camera while still inside the womb, I was the one who loved books - reading way above my level, the one kids would come to for spelling advice. Thinking back, I should’ve charged for that tbh and funded my sweetie addiction. The absolute joy those 20p sweetie bags brought me after a long day at school.
I constantly wrote (terrible) stories and made up (weird) fantasies, and I became obsessed with Harry Potter as soon as I discovered the books, I think when I was maybe nine or ten.
It was the one thing I was really good at and thought I could maybe do it for money when I was all growed up - long before photography was even in my vocabulary. One great school moment that stands out was when I wrote a sad story for English class, it was SO SAD that our teacher read it out loud and everyone teared up. Those tears gave me strength though, not gonna lie. When it came to choosing a university degree, I was mad that the one photography and writing degree I could find was in the middle of nowhere up north.
For a good few years though, I’ve not been writing at all. Though I run an online photography journal, I keep writing at a minimum; it’s frustrating but I found that I just didn’t have the time to write anything meaningful and keep it going consistently.
Since going freelance last year, I’ve been thinking a lot about writing again. Specifically about what it is to be a freelancer: the good, the bad, the ugly, the beautiful...
As with every single freelancer ever probably, there have been ups and downs. I haven’t even come to the end of my first year yet and I’ve learnt so much, failed a lot, had many successes and 2020 was genuinely looking to be an incredibly exciting year until COVID-19 happened. Although some doors have (temporarily) shut, others have opened; I’ve had the time to work mostly on personal projects, including finally sitting down and launching this newsletter.
I thought it would be difficult for me to start writing again. My aim was to start with 300-500 words, but instead I’ve found words flowing from my fingertips like a torrential spate after a swelled river finally breaks. It feels relieving and cathartic, especially now during quarantine when I’m constantly in my own head with so much time to be introspective and think about the past and the future.
My hope is to share my experience with the intention of it being used as a resource. Some real-life guidance for those considering self-employment or are thinking about pursuing a career in photography. I don’t claim to know everything, nor do I think that my way is the best way or the right way (tip: there is no one-size-fits-all right way). But hopefully, the shared experience will be of some use and, at least, make the whole thing a little less scary and a little less lonely.
A x