Staying Put
For the second time in my life I was about to leave a good “career” job in computing. I had made many friends, but the constant Sunday afternoon/Monday morning dread had taken its toll. October 6th, 1988, found me heading off into the sunset bearing a single ticket to Lima, Peru. My resolve to do something different had been strengthened when my dear sister Jane, and niece Laura, both died within a short time of one another.
To say I had an adventurous trip (2½ years) would be putting it mildly. My old Minolta X300 was working overtime; my shutter finger almost worn to the bone. I was, without realising it, a “photographer”. I met many freelance photographers en route, each one “reluctantly” declining my offer to be their assistant! Perhaps my bright red Rohans were too much for them. I couldn’t understand why. After all I was washing them every few months -joke!
The excitement I felt when I returned to Bristol was soon tempered. My “brilliant” images were not good overall. My disappointment was magnified tenfold, my dreams shattered, especially when I returned to the dreaded job I had left. Technology had changed. My previous experience counted for nothing. Aaaargh! I had no more pennies to enable me to board the next flight to ….!
Not to be defeated, I joined a camera club and had my work constructively criticised. Each viewing was like sitting a major examination. I so wanted my images to be as good as those of others. I was also a very keen walker and followed the footsteps of writer Adam Nicholson in his book “The National Trust Book of Long Distance Footpaths”. The photography in the book captured my imagination. One Mr C. Waite and his trusty Haselblad had sparked off something and had made me even more determined to improve.
A competition win was quickly followed by another, the prize being two return flights to Sydney (cor blimey!) My first commission materialised - to photograph the 2nd Severn Crossing for a colleague. A corporate brochure became my second commission. The excitement of seeing MY photographs in print; I was ecstatic (and still am!). Slide presentations; a four page article in AP. An invitation to (candidly) photograph Prince Charles at a fund raising bash at St. James’ Palace – impossible to turn down. People had actually started paying me money to buy my photographs. It did wonders for my confidence.
It took six years of hard work in my spare time to gradually improve the standard of my work to the point where I could dare think about giving up my day job. My manager was very supportive, allowing me to forego any demands for overtime work, knowing that my heart was set on pursuing my dream way of making a living.
Jan 1st, 1996, was my first day as a freelance photographer. Help!!! Panic!!! No more pension. No more subsidised mortgage. But, no more fear of going into work. No more constant hassles from stressed out colleagues. No more looking back saying “If only”. I was a much happier person overnight.
I spotted a small ad. (in between the naughty one’s!) in a photo magazine offered trips to exciting places, led by Charlie Waite. Was this the same Mr C. Waite? I couldn’t believe my luck. A trip to Venice quickly followed by another to Andalucia, and my introduction to Charlie and Sue was complete. Thanks to them I have met many wonderful people.
Four years on and, Gordon Bennett, it’s still exciting. Yes, there’s the admin, the marketing etc, but the commissions and private sales are on the up. Currently, I’m working on a photographic project in Switzerland, with a writer I met on my first L&L trip. The web site is working (soon to be updated – www.minnitt.com) and I was very grateful to receive two awards at an International Photographic Convention held in Cyprus. I recently had to learn how to deal with a squeaky chair during a BBC Radio interview – not an easy task! None of these exciting things would have happened had I stayed put.
My appreciation of my new role in life can be summed up by relating an anonymous message left on my answerphone:-
“You don’t know me, but my wife has just been diagnosed as having cancer. A family friend has just sent her one of your photographs of the poppies in Andalucia, Spain. I can’t tell you how much this has cheered her up, and I just wanted to say a huge thank you.”
Life is extremely rewarding. Long live Light and Land.