The bitter sweat taste of rejection....

It's February. It's cold, its wet and the phone has stopped ringing. It always does in the early part of the year but it never gets any easier.

Everybody is paying off Christmas and the doom and gloom of economic recession rears its ugly head once again.

Everyone is struggling with their budgets - have they got enough? Of course, come March they will all realise they actually have a surplus and have to spend it and quick or they'll get their budget cut for next year. It's the same every Feb and March.

Those of us at the sharp end wonder quite how we will make it through to Spring and then we'll run around like headless chickens in late March in the final spending dash. Not that we'll see the money for another 30 days at least of course - frequently longer than that!

It's a hard balance. You have to get used to rejection. You get a lot of it. Even the best and most famous photographers get it. Those of us towards the bottom of the great ladder feel it greatest.

As I sit here with no less than 6 rejection emails today and very little in the diary for February I do what I always do. I wonder - should I get a proper job?

Perhaps I should turn my hand to weddings? At least they start in the spring but then everyone getting married this year is probably already got booked with someone. And do I want to do weddings? Could I do weddings? I have no idea. I've only done two and they were for friends.

Editorial photography is certainly the hardest nut to crack.

I don't mind working alone (in fact I often prefer it). I don't mind spending hours in the cold and damp (rather that than hot if I'm honest). I don't even mind the irregularity of the workload - although right now in the season of drought I would like to see some evidence of an oasis on the horizon..

Oh and of course, having spent today (not raining, cold but sunny) indoors "taking care of business" I can guarantee its going to rain sideways and even upwards with gale force winds on Thursday - I have a little project I'm going to get started on.....

Perhaps I need another cup of tea...