Hi everyone, I hope you are all in good spirits and life is treating well. It’s been a while since I last wrote a post but that is because I have been so busy recently but not through being out and about and taking photos so there hasn’t been a lot of news to tell, but I have decided to try and write a fairly regular post, so let’s see how it goes…
I often find myself being asked by people who have a ‘proper job’, so “what do you do all day? You must get bored!”
I can tell you right now, that I am never bored and I certainly am not at a loss for things to do. Currently I have about 5,000 images that I still need to edit, these include all my photographs that I took in South Africa in 2010, my photographs from the clickety click tour to Namibia in September, 2010, photographs from my trips to New Zealand in 2008 and 2009 plus a few other bits and pieces, so most definitely this is ongoing work that I have to get down and get on with and certainly isn’t boring.
So why do I need to edit all these photos, well some of them I hope I can sell (possible shop plans are currently a-foot), and some I want to enter into photography competitions, which is one of the best ways to try and get more exposure as a successful photographer. This past week I actually managed to edit a couple of New Zealand photographs (which I have been wanting to do since 2008) as I wanted to enter a competition specificaly for New Zealand and Australian photographs. Here are a couple of the ones I decided not to enter in the end, but they were ones I short-listed and are ones that I love.
Sunrise in Collingwood, South Island, New Zealand
West Coast, South Island New Zealand
Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers reflected in Lake Matheson, South Island, New Zealand
Snow covered mountains of Arthur's Pass, South Island New Zealand
For now I want to keep the ones I did enter quiet until I hear the results. Then I’ll post those ones too.
There are different photography competitions to enter every week if you want to, so I am plugging away at this hoping for some publications and wins! Fingers crossed!
So on top of all this editing, there is marketing! I have been learning search engine optimization to try and get www.clicketyclick.eu as high as possible on Google, which to be honest is like learning a new language so time-consuming and not easy! Other internet marketing involves trawling the internet looking at places to advertise, yet another time-consuming activity, but most definitely a necessary one. And since I have a clickety click tour running in South Africa in August, I am busy arranging that and finishing off a couple of new workshops. As well as all this I have also been helping out on a number of Educational School Trips in St Lucia and iSimangaliso Wetland Park with Theo Tours. So, most definitely my life never has a dull moment!
So that’s part of the “work” thing! On top of this I have joined Mtuba Netball Club, so have practise once a week and matches once a week, am playing tennis 2-3 times a week and cycling twice a week, so bored, I am not!
Plus, of course I try and fit in a little bit of socialising and on that note, since it is Saturday, I’m just heading off to St Pizza to catch up with a friend before I hit the tennis court this afternoon, then watch England v Ireland! Let’s hope it’s an English victory…
Bye for now
Michelle xx
