I stand before you arms outstretched, nothing to hide, confident of how little I know and how far I must travel to stand a chance of reaching my destination.
At least I am clear of my goal: put simply, I strive for success. Not the success of fame or untold wealth but simply to be able to earn enough from my photography to make more photography. To never have to pause before paying a model, commissioning a costume or constructing a set. Never having to compromise on the camera I want to use or how big the end-print should be or how it should be framed.
I also recognize that to arrive at this destination will require my work being appreciated and collected in a way it has not so far. It is no longer enough for me to have a modicum of success in my home town, now, I must find an international audience and persuade them of my worth over that of all the hundreds of thousands of visual artists/ creative photographers I am competing against.
I have two approaches I must follow in this seemingly futile task I have set myself to grow from being an emerging visual artist in his late 50's to a "success" when I turn 60.
The first is a booklet I shall be sending out to some of the biggest international art players, the second, finds me undertaking an MA at Falmouth University in Photography, starting next week and this blog will plot my progress.
I used to think I was a natural pessimist but the impossibility of the goals I have set myself suggest I may have an optimistic vein running through me after all.
Wish me luck, hold tight and enjoy the ride!
