ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY SINCE I WAS FIRST PUBLISHED

Today's my one year anniversary since I got my first photo published. A lot has happened in that year.

I love my photographer friends in NYC, and they have been incredibly supportive, but the truth is, I am never going to quit my daytime job and I am never going to pursue being a paparazzi full time, currently it's entirely too much work to do both, and frankly it is really a difficult job with an uncertainty of a payoff in the end. The waiting around for a celebrity in the cold, and skipping meals, and bathroom breaks, the research it takes to get the exclusives and as for the traveling to the Big Apple it's a killer for me; Most importantly because I spend double the amount of time doing "work" I seem to be missing a lot of my life while photographing others living their lives. Because of my all out pursuit of celebrity photography I have missed my other true loves like shooting landscapes, nature, wild life, my greeting card business, photo exhibits, socializing with friends, to seeing my nieces and nephews (which is now relegated to holidays), to visiting family, to going to the beach, to the mountains, to spending time with friends, relaxation, to sleeping in late, to going to bed early, to learning things, to not be rushed, to a clean desk, to not obsessing on whether a photo will be published or not and then the dealings with other photographers and the business, trying to get credentialed at an event, dealing with rejection, or dealing with putting my life on hold so I can attend an event (below Halle Barry, my 2nd major photo published People Online) In other words, I'm burned out, and who didn't see that coming - LOL

I had a BLAST, BLAST, BLAST, but in a few months it will end as a full time gig. I have bigger things on my horizon, I have my Philly Chit Chat blog; I've been approached to do something in Philly that will make a difference, it's partly a charitable pursuit, so it's a line of business that might suit this thin skinned paparazzi better. I will promise you this, I will not retire until I get my Madonna shot. Which will actually be a nice ending to my book "Chasing Madonna" or ok I guess I will call it "Confessions of a Paparazzi", because Margarita was right, that's what I am. And as Margarita knows, when I discussed it with her earlier this week, I am sure the chapter on this book will not close forever, I still have my favorite events, I just won't feel so compelled to do all of them just so I have something to write about on Confessions, everyday. I will of course be writing on Philly Chit Chat everyday, so if you miss me I will be there. In the meantime I still have a good four months left of Confessions, but don't say I didn't warn you.