I recently entered a small photography competition. The submission required a photograph from a shoot (paid or personal) and a short story (250 words or less) about the job & why it was memorable to me. I decided to include that story here:
Well Worth It
My most memorable job of 2007 involved traveling to the tropical island of the Dominican Republic for a two day portrait shoot at a handmade cigar factory and tobacco farm on a moment’s notice.
It is 5:30pm on Friday afternoon and I receive a call from a friend who has recommended me for a shoot in the Caribbean. The magazine desperately needed a photographer with a passport. The catch was they needed me to leave out of Miami that Tuesday morning at 5:00am. I am located in Orlando, so Miami is a 3 and a half hour drive. I called to find an assistant, then I called back to confirm I could take the job. It was my first photo shoot located out of the country. I spent all weekend researching, reading, and stressing about the difficulties of traveling with gear to the Caribbean Islands. (There are a ridiculous number of horror stories on the net.) I made a list of the equipment I planned to travel with and registered the list with customs bright and early Monday morning. My assistant and I decided going “incognito” would help us throw customs off of our trail, so we packed the gear around our clothing in our larger than normal for a one night’s stay suitcases. We were scheduled to shoot immediately when we arrived, so luckily we arrived on time without delay. Both shoots went flawlessly. To top it off, the gentleman I was photographing commented that we were the most professional team he had ever shot with and felt more than satisfied with my creative efforts. The imagery was amazing, the magazine looked spectacular, and we made it home in one piece.
-Betsy
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