Goodbye....
May 1, 2009I have intentionally stayed away from blogging for months now, knowing that the next one I write would be this one.
This is my goodbye blog.... today is my last day as a full-time employee at the Times Record News.
I hardly even know where to begin here... The last time I wrote a goodbye it was for the MSU college paper "The Wichitan" the semester that I graduated.
A lot has changed since then... hell, a lot has changed in the last week for me.
Amy and I were married on Saturday, in a perfect little ceremony in the backyard of our house with a small group of friends and family. I can't even begin to tell you how happy I am or how happy that day made me. I truly do feel a level of completeness that I haven't felt before. Not that the puzzle is finished by any means, but a really important part was.
Oddly enough, we picked up the wedding license the same day I turned in my 2-weeks notice. Change indeed.
It has been 4.5 years of full-time work for me here. Before that, it was three years of part-time, freelance and interning work.
The industry is changing more rapidly than the corperate decision-makers can plug holes in the dam with fingers. Although I know that I can keep up with the changes happening around me in the way that I am responsible for bringing you photos and news, it's not a one-person show and never has been.
Still, the journey to this point has been hard for me and will be hard for me for many months to come I have no doubt.
I am a photojournalist and will be for the rest of my life.... I just don't have the same outlet to show the world what I see anymore.
People have asked me if I will miss the newspaper.
Truth is... I won't miss the paper.... I'll miss the daily interaction with the subjects that I photograph. I'll miss the friends I have made in the office and those that consider me a friend in the community.
People look at you differently when you have a camera around your neck. Both in a good way and a bad way. I was despised by some and adored by others. There will be many who will still recognize me at that guy that was at everything with a camera.
They may ask "Didn't you used to be a photographer?"
That's an easy answer.... I'll always be a photographer, just not a full-time employee of this paper.
My hope is that I am still able to contribute to this paper.... either by freelancing when they need me, or contributing special projects when I can tackle them.
Either way... I'll still be out here, taking photos either in my head or with a camera in front of me.
I'm not leaving Wichita Falls, this has been my home since I came to MSU and will be for a long time to come. So, while it is a little sad that I won't be here at the TRN anymore, I'll still be around.
Feel free to drop me a line at jpphoto79@gmail.com or come visit my website Jason Lee Palmer.com.
Actually... I need to update my website with stuff from the last 1.5 years or so... guess I'll have to actually do that now.
Posted by Jason Palmer at 11:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
