Enter... With Cameras

By Greg Tarr
BLB Guest Blogger

I'm approaching a month and a half of glorious unemployment and all I can tell you is that there's nothing glorious about it. I hate it. I hate the fact that every time I spend a dollar I get a sick, nervous feeling in my stomach. It has to end soon, but I'm not sure it will. So I'm taking that bull by the horns and deciding my own future. No one to depend on but myself.

A few days after realizing that the medical field wasn't for me, I had an idea pop into my head. "Why not make money taking pictures?" I thought to myself on a Sunday afternoon while driving back home from Subway. Gotta eat fresh, right? And more importantly, gotta eat often.

Photography is what I know. It's all I know. I've stopped wracking my brain trying to figure out what new path I could take. Let's just say I'm hiking in the same forest that I've been in the past 10 years, but trekking down a new trail. I have officially retired from the newspaper industry. The future isn't all that bright there.

Now, my new concentration of photography is going to be weddings. It's something I had feared shooting for years, but it's time to drop that fear. I was afraid of the pressure to capture moments that happen once in a lifetime. You only get one shot. But then I told myself that I've shot under pressure situations as a photojournalist and I've produced quality work when called upon.

I'm so excited to get started documenting weddings for a career. I will be shooting in a photojournalistic style, which has become very popular with brides the past few years. I'm looking forward to documenting the ceremonies without having to worry about posing photographs. It's what I love about photography.

That's my future and I think it's pretty darn sexy. Unfortunately the present is about as sexy as a bikini clad Rosie O'Donnell. I'm researching the field, trying to learn all about business plans before I write my own checks and decide what equipment I'll need. Although it's not a lot of fun right now, I know that it will all pay off at some point later. And it's what I love to do.

I just wish I had the gear now so I could start shooting immediately! I'm trying to be patient. But a man can show only so much patience when he's depending on Uncle Sam to pay the bills.

Greg Tarr previously worked as a staff photographer at the Observer-Reporter in Washington, Pa. The photo above - entitled Last Minute Prep - was shot by Tarr in May 2005. He can be reached by e-mail at gmtarr@hotmail.com