I have been pushed over the edge. I've been pushed to do the photography full time now. After 19 years of doing the I.T. career thing, I'm done with it. It no longer makes me happy. Actually, I haven't been happy with it for about 4 years now.
Back in October of 2010, I was diagnosed with testicular cancer. That was a shock. I had my first surgery in November 2010. I had my surgery on a Wednesday. The following day, I got a phone call from the agency that I was working for at the time that my employer no longer needed my services. A few years later, I came to find out my boss, whom I worked for for 2.5+ years thought I did nothing anyways. Her words. Why keep me for 2.5+ years if I did nothing? Had my second surgery in August of 2011 because the cancer had come back into my lymph nodes behind my stomach. I was on the table for 9 hours being dissected like a pig. I was told to basically stay home from November 2010 to September 2011 when I was going through the cancer battle.
From April 2010 to May 2012, I was taking photography classes at Algonquin College. From November 2010 to September 2011, I was battling cancer, chemotherapy and finally my 9 hour surgery. I missed once class during this time. The only reason I didn't go to that class was because I was stuck in a hospital bed. I was in the hospital for 5 days. I hated those 5 days with a passion. I could not even wipe my own ass because I was being pumped with pain drugs. They finally let me go because I could finally take a crap. It took me three or four weeks to recover at home. My license was suspended and my then wife had to go to work. I was basically stuck at home alone with my dog which wasn't that bad having a perfect golden retriever at home with me.
All through that one year, the only thing that kept me was my photography and my dog. My soon to be ex-wife was a complete bitch. So was her mother. Come 2015, I finally got a divorce. Best thing ever. Through cancer and my divorce, photography kept me going. I miss my dog too.
I am having a really hard time in 2019 again. The last couple of contracts have been a farce. Basically I come to do a certain job and it's the polar opposite of what I'm supposed to be doing. The people I worked with were uncaring, unsympathetic bleep bleeps. Keeping it PG here. I'm basically done with the whole I.T. thing in Ottawa.
The only good thing about doing the I.T. thing is that in 2017, just as I was starting to date my current girlfriend, I got a short contract in Calgary, Alberta for 4 months. That is when I fell in love with Calgary, Alberta and the mountains. Since then, I've been wanting, needing to go back. I can't stand it here in Ottawa anymore. The weather and people suck. No one will give you a chance. You need to have 5-10 years experience before you're given a chance to prove yourself. Even with nineteen years worth of experience in I.T, I have either too much or too little experience in doing something.
I really want and need to move out west to Calgary or somewhere close to Calgary and do landscape, nature, wildlife photography full-time. I know it's going to be hard. It's going to mean long hours but I've been through worse. Damn, I beat cancer. If cancer can't stop me, nothing else will.
If you're a photographer out in Alberta and you need help, hit me up. Message me through the blog here or email me at joe @ joeknows.photos. I'm a good guy. My photography is pretty good I think. It could always be better. I could always sell more on Shutterstock, Pond5 or Storybooks. I'm a good guy and a hard worker. Just don't screw with me. I hold grudges. For a long, long time. LOL
