If your ship came in, would you be ready?

I’ve often wonder how some people would handle overnight success or some viral sensation around perhaps one single photograph or artwork they created.

Like a lucky shot or some well timed portrait of a celebrity in the news. Would you be ready to capitalized on your sudden and fleeting popularity? Would you be a one hit wonder that rocks to the top and then falls into obscurity? Or would this sudden fame be the start of a long, successful career?

“West Highlands White Terrier” by Edward M. Fielding – https://edward-fielding.pixels.com/art/terrier

I think about this contest that Fine Art America ran a few years ago. It was a photo contest and the winner received a YouTube video created around them. Three guys won and the resulting videos were something like “Nature Photographer”, “Landscape Photographer” and “Wildlife Photographer”.

Winter Arrives framed print by Edward Fielding. Bring your print to life with hundreds of different frame and mat combinations. Our framed prints are assembled, packaged, and shipped by our expert framing staff and delivered "ready to hang" with pre-attached hanging wire, mounting hooks, and nails. — Winter Arrives framed print by Edward Fielding. Bring your print to life with hundreds of different frame and mat combinations. Our framed prints are assembled, packaged, and shipped by our expert framing staff and delivered “ready to hang” with pre-attached hanging wire, mounting hooks, and nails. https://edward-fielding.pixels.com/featured/winter-arrives-edward-fielding.html

I wondered if these guys had the depth of a portfolio to survive scrutiny beyond their winning photographs. Did the world just discover a great new talent bringing a new vision to the world? Or did we just discover that they had a lucky shot and the rest of their work was rather mundane?

Elvis Presley alive and living in hiding in Connecticut? Edsel photography by Edward M. Fielding – https://edward-fielding.pixels.com/art/edsel

And how did the artist chosen for the moniker “Nature Photographer” et al react to being pigeon holed into a specific genre of photography? Do they feel obligated to continue being a nature photographer, or do they dare shoot weddings or portraits or something else?

Dartmouth College Green in Autumn by Edward M. Fielding — “Dartmouth College Green in Autumn” by Edward M. Fielding – https://edward-fielding.pixels.com/art/dartmouth

And what happened next to their careers? Or did they even have or want a career in photography/art? Maybe they were just weekend warriors with an ex-wife and three kids getting ready to go to college. Maybe they only dust off the camera on vacations to national parks, but now they are thrust into the limelight and people are comparing their work to professional National Geographic photographers.

This kind of fame might not be wanted or at least not if you are just starting out and only have a portfolio of a handful of great photographs.

Maple Sugar Shack by Edward M. Fielding — “Maple Sugar Shack” by Edward M. Fielding – https://edward-fielding.pixels.com/art/maple

For one photographer I know, Jeff “Foliage” Folger, his ship came in and he was totally ready for it (except of course for the typical surprise that it happened). When a popular BBC show that chronicles the changing seasons decided to take the show on its first overseas trip, they contacted Jeff as a guide to finding great shooting locations in New Hampshire.

You see Jeff has been exploring the New England region for fall foliage photography for years. He and his wife have travels on just about every backroad in New England searching for old barns, covered bridges and the best peak foliage. And he tells the world about it on his blog, thus this is how the BBC found him.

“Ellen Browning Scripps Memorial Pier” by Edward M. Fielding – https://edward-fielding.pixels.com/collections/places+california

Was he ready for his turn in the spotlight? You betcha! He had a deep portfolio of breathtaking New England foliage landscape photographs in his portfolio and saw something like 100+ sales of his prints in the days around the airing of the BBC series.

So he was ready, are you? If fortune casts its eye in your direction, are you ready? Before you enter that national contest before you decide you want to be a YouTube sensation before you contact that gallery before you write that article – be sure to have your “act two” ready. If CanonFavPic highlights your photograph as the best of the week, do you have a follow-up?

Elephant Legs by Edward M. Fielding at the San Diego Zoo, Balboa Park, San Diego, California. — “Elephant Legs” by Edward M. Fielding at the San Diego Zoo, Balboa Park, San Diego, California. https://edward-fielding.pixels.com/art/elephant

A couple of years ago a gallery curator found my work online and invited me to be part of a group show in the Berkshires. I had no clue to what attracted this curator to my work and they left it up to me which images to include in the show. So I ordered framed and matted prints of a series of photographs I took at a family maple sugar operation. I figured they were the most museum/gallery type images that I had at the moment.

I totally tried to guess what they were looking for instead of knowing the type of work I wanted to show and be known for – it was early in my career and I was unsure of the direction I was taking my work.

“Typewriter Triptych Part 3” by Edward M. Fielding https://edward-fielding.pixels.com/art/typewriter

It’s like becoming known for work you did years ago. For example say you took a great shot in Iceland ten years ago and it goes viral. Then suddenly, people want to see more photographs of Iceland. What if you don’t have any? You have to learn to control the narrative, control your story and control what your work says about you the artist. All of this comes from time, through process and through your career growth as an artist.