A Story of Stock Photography and Love

Many of our images we do in more of a “job” mind set. “Today I’m going to shoot tomatoes.” But some of them are spontaneous and have more meaning behind them so we are extra touched when they sell.
Here is the story behind this image:

I had just lost my job and to top it off, the boss, who we trusted for years, managed to talk us into living off of our savings and working an extra two months without pay on the promise that he had funding coming in and would make it up to us, which was a lie. So we all ended up with no job AND no savings.
Shortly after that, my mother became so ill that my husband flew across the country to take care of her. I could not leave the state without giving up my unemployment, which was our sole source of income, and he was a professional caretaker anyway so off he went for an indefinite amount of time, which would surely only end with my mother’s death. (It did not, but that is a different story and a great one.)
Now, it is almost Christmas, my husband is gone for who knows how long and at almost 50 I have never lived alone, which of course is the perfect time for the septic tank to go bad and fill my bathrooms with raw sewage.
After two days of digging in the rain, we found the tank (I do have friends) and got the problem fixed. But at one point for a whole day I actually had to use the back yard as my bathroom because my real bathrooms would spew more sewage everywhere if I so much as thought about flushing.
So there I am out in the pouring rain and snow, squatting down with the confused dogs, crying my eyes out and cussing out my former boss. You get the picture. (Thankfully you were not there to TAKE the picture… trust me, NO stock value in that.)
Now I have spent the only money I had for Christmas presents for my grandchildren on fixing the poop problem and I have only a few days left to get presents.
I gathered my spare coinage and headed to the Goodwill.
On the way through the parking lot, I happened to look at the rocks that they use for landscaping fillers in the parking berms, because we do that out of habit… and I saw this and took it as a sign. I am still loved.
Of course, I ran back to my car and got my camera (I do bring it almost everywhere but not actually into the Goodwill while I shop. I do bring it in to COSTCO because they have nice flowers.) Soon I was no longer the girl holding the pity party for herself. Just the crazy woman laying on the sidewalk in front if the Goodwill in the rain taking pictures of wet rocks.
Life was back to normal.
This photo has been very popular in contests. I titled it “Goodwill Towards Men.” It has sold twice so far… once for four credits.
[Editor’s Note: Learn more about how you can turn your pictures into cash in our free online newsletter The Right Way to Travel.  Sign up here today and we’ll send you a new report, Selling Photos for Cash: A Quick-Start Guide, completely FREE.]