Major Public Announcement! Relocation!
So, I’m a bit at a loss today as I attempt to try and write this long anticipated post… I have so much to say, so much to try and explain and just don’t know how exactly to get this started… So please bare with me if this comes off kind of confusing or all over the place…
I guess I will start with the biggest announcement that I have and then I’ll touch on exactly why I have come to this very hard decision…
After much talk with close family, my closest friends, local business partners, my ex wife and even my 4 year old daughter… I have decided that sometime around October or November of this year I will be moving back to Tennessee (most likely the Nashville area). Everyone has always known that I would eventually be making a move back to the country land that I have forever loved… However nobody (including me) ever thought it would come this soon…
Ok… and now Why…
Well, the biggest reason beyond any other is Money… That green folding paper that I tend to call the cause of all that is evil… Money - Translation - Greed/Depression/Danger/Frustration… I landed myself out of a day job a couple months back, as the economy started to eat into my hours and the extreme manual labor job cut more and more into my health… It was at that time that I attempted to work at a local Dekalb venue doing general maintenance duties as well as bounce… But with extremely bad communication with the venue owner and my continuing debt, it didn’t pan out as I would have wished… So, what else to do with this unfortunate situation.. but to turn to my camera, to my art, to my creativity to attempt to live off of what I always thought I did best… Photography…
I have been practicing the art of Photography since 1996, and have lived off of it in the past. Prior to the creation of “Deviant Desires Photography” in 2006 I worked under the name “WRA Photography”. A couple months ago, I called 2009 do or die time for Deviant Desires, and very sadly… It has fallen short… very very short… I booked a national photo tour (that is still in progress)… Of the 3 major cities I have stopped in, I have only done 2 photo shoots, and was only paid for 1. It isn’t that I didn’t have bookings, but unfortunate circumstances arose causing me to fall very short financially… So bad that each shoot that I do, could be my next meal. I am on the verge of being homeless… But my tour does continue… Or I hope it continues anyway…
My next photo tour stop is in San Fransisco California May 20th - 27th… However big changes with this part of my tour have come up… I booked this part of the tour with a friend in The Bay area letting me crash at her place… Unfortunately, that has changed, and she won’t be able to put me up for the time that I am there. So, I either need to find someone else in the Bay Area to stay with, have someone travel along with me to cover half of the lodging, live on the streets while there, stay in my rental car somewhere or cancel that part of my tour all together and be out the money invested in plane tickets. (Any help with this situation is greatly appreciated)… Needless to say, I probably won’t profit as much as I really need to… Outside of this part of the tour, I’ve decided to cancel all dates with the exception of: Louisville Kentucky (thanks to Panda for offering me a place to lay my head, and I will be in town to investigate Waverly Hills Sanatorium anyway), and New York City (Thanks to Jerzey for putting me up while I’m there). I’ll have exact dates soon…
But that tells you why you would have seen all of my photography work, trademarks, names, etc… Up for sale. You could say that I had all I could take, didn’t feel that I had the support I use to and was ready to give it all up and walk away… Of all the models that I have worked with, the closest to me have always been known as “Willy’s Angels”… And it is very sad to me that I can’t get even them to take part in shoots for free… It tells me that my style is worn out and has become very undesired… But I have held back from selling out (even tho I could really use the money), and decided to take my art/trade on the road with me to other places to see if it can be more profitable in another area… Nashville…
I have looked at local papers for work… I found only 2 employment ads.. one for a dental assistant and the other an over the road truck driver… Its a hard fight for jobs pretty much anywhere these days… I’ve even broke down and applied for fast food… no luck… (never made that public before, because it kills me to think about it myself… even more so with no response to my app).
The reason I will be in Nashville (or surrounding areas) is because it is a land of opportunity for me.. I have always been able to find work there. As a photographer / producer / promoter is like Disneyland… I will also have the ability to get back into music (something I have strayed from for some time now).
Ok, before I get 200 responses to this blog asking these very popular questions… I’ll just make mention of them here to save on answering the same thing repeatedly…
What about your kids Willy? This is without surprise the first question everyone I have talked to about this possible change has asked me… And is by far the hardest part of what I am doing, but at the same time is the biggest reason for what I’m doing as well… My daughters mean more to me then anything in this world.. period… I would give up anything for them… And in a way that is what I’m doing. My girls being in Illinois are what has kept me from being in the south for the last 4 years. Shannon (my ex wife), has wanted to stay in IL close to family, and that was my sole reason for ever moving back to IL to begin with nearly 4 years ago. Now with times being like they are, I haven’t been able to support them as I would like to. I give them all of the time I have, but I can’t afford many things they need… I have cried many many times for many many hours over this situation. I want to provide them with the best… I have talked to Shannon about this several times over and we have both shared many tears on the subject. I am in great hopes and very optimistic that working in the Nashville area will permit me to afford more things for them. Shannon knows that I would provide for them before I would allow myself to eat… And that is really what is happening as of late. I will be sending Shannon money from down South for my girls, and I plan to be back up to see them a few days every month… And hope that they will be able to come stay with me for a month or two next spring when Dixie Belle is out of school. And my heart is very warmed and much more at ease after talking to Shannon the last few days about things. She has talked to her current boyfriend Daryle (who I must say I have much respect for), and has decided that they too will move down south after about a year for a new life and so that I can be with my girls as much as I am now. I am going to take a second here to thank Shannon and Daryle both for their understanding and support with this. I feel like you have lifted a huge weight off of my heart with your decision to move as well. I will never forget it and our kids will always be reminded what you have done for them as well. I am here tearing up as I write this just thinking about your efforts to help support the girls and me as well.
Ok Willy, the world has been wondering… What about you and Mikka? What the hell is going on with all of this craziness that we have seen on the web with you two? Is she going to Tennessee too? *deep breath*… Ok… Mikka and I have been dating and living together for the last 7 months now. In the beginning we couldn’t see how we could go wrong, but like most couples you learn that you have to fight, kick and scream to keep a relationship going… And we have done lots and lots of that… I love Mikka to death. I want to world to know that. She is unlike any other girl I have ever dated, and that was definitely my initial attraction to her. Just so everyone knows, yes we are still together, but is sure hasn’t been easy. We have battled through.. We have had some major trust issues, hard times with lack of passion and even a few secrets that we had to surface to keep going. Mikka has been nothing but amazing with my girls. She is like a 2nd mother to them… I often get jealous myself at the relationship that she has with my girls… I never thought I would date someone who would welcome them as if they were her own. Mikka is much respected by my family and friends. I often feel that if I was gone, she could be me in my absence she fits so well in my network of friends, family and even business. She is a girl that makes me completely crazy but also is the one keeping me sane. I love her. I am not going to get into the details of our battles, because as of right now, we are working to get past them and move on with a clean slate. Some of these battles have involved some of my closest friends as well… And has really made things hard, but together we are still very optimistic about making it through these hard times. So… Will Mikka be going to Tennessee with me.. As of right now YES, she will be going with me… That is if things work out as we would like over the next few months before it is go time. We have lots of issues to work out, but we do plan to work them out… And begin this new life together in one of the countries most beautiful states. Please keep us in your thoughts…
So, with all that said… If you would like to help us dig ourselves out of this dark hole of financial hell, the best thing you can do is book photo shoots with Mikka or I, watch for stuff we are going to be selling on the web/ebay or at garage sales. And send us your kind words and support… As for right now, we have no internet at home, our home phone will be shut off soon, no more cable even our gas will be shut off… We are going to be living with Electric alone to try to scrap by till our departing time…
I will break down what is going to happen with all of my other buisness’s via my website blog soon.. So if your interested, watch for that….
A special thanks to these people for continued support above all others… Zoey Jane (you are my best friend, I love you, nothing can break us… obviously), Mikka Rosen, Shannon Adkins, Daryl, Kenny & Brenda Adkins (My Parents), Ellie Coan (My Grandmother), Dan Denault, Nancy, Amber Paulson, Zocko (you are simply amazing, thanks for all of your talks and for getting me out of several dark depressions with your crazy humor), and last but certainly far from least.. Dixie Belle Marie and Bethany Madison Nicole (My daughters)… You are my love.. my life.. my reason to keep breathing everyday. Without you I am nothing, my life goes on for you… I love you…
