The End of a Career
We received notice that National Geographic will have an article in the March issue called "Canyon Lands." In 2003, we assisted the photographer providing photos for this article for a week while he took pictures in and around the canyons. Until we had to sell our place and move, this was the most difficult job we had been hired to do as guides.
In order to assist a National Geographic photographer, you have to be really flexible. There is a lot of waiting around for the "right light." There is a lot of hauling 50 pound packs in and out of the most remote canyons in the Southwest. After seven days of schlepping, hiking, not sleeping, and after doing this job that meant so much in terms of what my husband and I did as guides, we knew that it was time to move on from this career, this part of our lives. It was an amazing experience in so many ways, and in others, it was brutal.
Guiding is a young person's job, to be sure. It's a great job to have if you don't really mind about retirement, or making a ton of money. And as you get older, you get more tired more easily...tired of hiking in the same place all the time, tired after a tour, tired of talking about the same things...just tired, period.
We thought that National Geographic would publish the story and pics within two years. It took over three and a half years, and now we're out of the business that the article would have helped to support--we are effectively retired. We reached burnout on the business at the end of 2003, after the National Geographic job. Now, after all this time, we'll finally be able to see the fruits of our labors. In a way, I'm very excited to go through the mag and see which pics I was present for during their creation, the ones I helped to make happen. In another way, it will be bittersweet, a reminder of the life we used to have. From what I understand, the photographer submits the pictures he likes best from the trip, then the story editors pick out the ones they think will work best with the story. So the final published result will be a surprise to everyone that was peripherally involved. Who knows...we may even be in a few photos. We were in a few photos he took--actually, my husband was in many more photos than I was. We both signed model releases. There is no telling until the magazine comes in the mail. We will be sent a gratis copy for our help.
When the issue comes out, I'll write a photo review with page numbers and blog about the situation where the photo was taken, what was going on, etc. It seems to be an appropriate way to end this career--we always wanted to go out on top of the game, and I don't know how you get any better than National Geographic.
In order to assist a National Geographic photographer, you have to be really flexible. There is a lot of waiting around for the "right light." There is a lot of hauling 50 pound packs in and out of the most remote canyons in the Southwest. After seven days of schlepping, hiking, not sleeping, and after doing this job that meant so much in terms of what my husband and I did as guides, we knew that it was time to move on from this career, this part of our lives. It was an amazing experience in so many ways, and in others, it was brutal.
Guiding is a young person's job, to be sure. It's a great job to have if you don't really mind about retirement, or making a ton of money. And as you get older, you get more tired more easily...tired of hiking in the same place all the time, tired after a tour, tired of talking about the same things...just tired, period.
We thought that National Geographic would publish the story and pics within two years. It took over three and a half years, and now we're out of the business that the article would have helped to support--we are effectively retired. We reached burnout on the business at the end of 2003, after the National Geographic job. Now, after all this time, we'll finally be able to see the fruits of our labors. In a way, I'm very excited to go through the mag and see which pics I was present for during their creation, the ones I helped to make happen. In another way, it will be bittersweet, a reminder of the life we used to have. From what I understand, the photographer submits the pictures he likes best from the trip, then the story editors pick out the ones they think will work best with the story. So the final published result will be a surprise to everyone that was peripherally involved. Who knows...we may even be in a few photos. We were in a few photos he took--actually, my husband was in many more photos than I was. We both signed model releases. There is no telling until the magazine comes in the mail. We will be sent a gratis copy for our help.
When the issue comes out, I'll write a photo review with page numbers and blog about the situation where the photo was taken, what was going on, etc. It seems to be an appropriate way to end this career--we always wanted to go out on top of the game, and I don't know how you get any better than National Geographic.
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