2008 - this Mt Rainier image earned me acceptance into the National Geographic Stock division. It was a BIG DEAL! Capturing this shot was one of those lucky photographic moments when the planets were aligned - I was in the right place at the right time with the right gear and the right light! Mother Nature and I were one.
Over the years I have submitted images to several stock agencies and REJECTED.
Not to take NO for an answer or sulk, I continued to click away. Perseverance paid off and a prestigious publication accepted my work. I felt like I had arrived.
But then,
that was it.
Never heard a word or received any royalties from this image.
Feb 2011- returned from 9 life changing days at the WPPI (Wedding Portrait Photographers) international convention. After all day convention workshops, late evening travel, a one and half hour seemingly never-ending drive home from Sea Tac, exhausted and on information overload, finally walked in my house at 11:55pm and was greeted by a huge stack of mail David had collected. I quickly un-interestingly scanned through the pile, opened an 8x10 orange envelope with a Nat Geo magazine inside and said, "Why are they sending me this, I didn't order it" and just thought someone had sent me a subscription. Jet lagged, I KNOW, I had only traveled in the same time zone, a short non-stop 2 hour flight for heavens sake......BUT... that is what 9 days of 6am-11pm of workshops, tradeshow, photography, gear, networking will do to your brain.
I put the magazine back in the pile, went to bed and then hit the road running the next morning. Five days later with a break in the action - eating lunch at my kitchen counter, the Nat Geo "America's National Parks" special edition magazine was staring at me from the pile. I picked it up and began casually flipping through it. Came to a two-page spread of MT Rainier, looked at the image, and thought, "Dang that looks just like my Mt Rainier shot. I didn't see any other photographers at my secret viewpoint that day." Read the almost invisible little blurb in the upper left hand corner and the even less visible Barbra Kates photo credit. WHAT? Had to grab my glasses to be sure it was my name. For a second or two, it didn't register in my brain that this WAS my image. After several moments, I emerged from the fog and yelled OMG. David thought something radically was wrong. We celebrated!