It's good to be back in the saddle!

[LittleMike]

After taking nearly a year sabbatical (with minor photo trips here and there) I've decided it's time to get back in the saddle and jump headlong into photography again.

A lot has changed over the past year. From doing some major soul searching, leaving some lifelong friends/distant family behind that I was better off without, losing close to 50lbs (that's a LOT considering I'm only 5'5" haha) to being semi-uncertain about the future of my employment.

Now, nearly a year after the beginning of the lowest low I have had in my life, I can clearly see my life going on an upward track. I have had an epiphany of where I want my life to be, and am well on my way to making it happen. I have recently had advancements in my full-time employment, am still hanging onto my part-time job, and still have weekends to get out and be in the great outdoors. I live in one of the most beautiful places on earth, and my back yard is quite literally a landscape photographer's dream. With the advancements in the workplace, I am finally able to start setting money aside in order more fully pursue my photographic interests. Now that I am in the best shape of my life, I can finally get out to some of the back-country places that I have dreamed of going to for years.

I hope to one day be able to make a living selling my artwork, and I have made connections that I believe can start that process in motion. I know that it will not be a fast or easy process, but it is one that I truly believe I can make happen. Even if it is something that I eventually retire to, it will happen. I have my eyes set at the top, and I will not stop until I achieve it.

I can honestly say that I am in a better place now than I have been in my entire life, and for the first time in my life I am optimistic about my future. So long as I have my camera by my side and enough gas in the tank to get me into the wilderness, I will always have my escape.