Hey, that's me they are operating on!
Just over a year ago I had emergency surgery in which a couple of feet of my small intestines were removed. Ouch! Six months later I had an “incisional” hernia when the incision site from the first operation gave way. The repair involved inserting a plastic mesh underneath my abdominal muscles. In a true case of “If you don’t ask for it you won’t get it” I got permission from both my surgeon and from the hospital
to have my friend and fellow stock photographer, Shalom Ormsby, photograph and video tape the operation. The stock photos and clips are available through Getty Images.
This morning Shalom dropped by and handed me my share of the first royalties we have received from this material. This little event demonstrates several points that I think are important. Firstly, it behooves us all to have strategic alliances with others in this industry, whether it is other shooters, stock agencies, modeling agencies…the more strategic alliances the better. Secondly, it takes a lot of time for the wheels of stock to turn. It is not at all uncommon in my experience to wait six months to a year before your efforts begin to pay off (keep in mind the vast majority of my experience is with Rights Managed stock, and I have zero experience with Micro Stock). And thirdly, the opportunities to create income generating assets (stock photos) are all around us, all of the time, if we just pay attention.
So go buddy-up to another stock shooter, have an operation, and be patient!
