text: I became insatiable, learning everything there was about photography and cameras and weather, digital asset management and post-processing. Tenacious and determined, I surrounded myself with great photographers, willing mentors, and endless books.
  It took a few years to be brave enough to make the jump. Looking back now and wish I had the guts to do it sooner, finally in 2010 after a glorious 14-day raft trip photographing the Colorado River, my mind was made up. As the river meandered through the Grand Canyon with slow stretches of calm water and relentless pounding through world-class rapids, I was surrounded by steep walls of Sandstone and Bright Angel shale. Time had no meaning and I was totally at peace. I just couldn’t go back to those suffocating green cubicle walls anymore. I went into work and gave notice. As the saying goes “Everything you need will come to you at the perfect time.”
  The next few years were ones of big change. It was not easy, simple or without major road bumps. Realizing that if I was going to make this work I had to change some priorities and lower my personal living expenses as much as possible. Get rid of all those things that I was running so hard to maintain, the house, the gardener, the pool guy, the car, expensive restaurants, all those things that I had spent my former career acquiring that now seemed more like an anchor and chains that made me sink further and further away from my goals.
  If I really wanted to do what I loved for a living, personal sacrifices had to be made. I also didn’t want my love for photography to become just like the job I just left. I knew so many people that were trying to make a killing in the business and were considered “successful”. They were marketing mavens with multiple revenue streams and social media platforms, affiliate links, you tube channels and workshops. Then one of them told me they really don’t enjoy photography any more “it’s just a business”.