Corbis
Veer
Stock photography
Keywording
Creativity
Friendship
Change
Layoff
Good-bye
So the day has come. After five and half years as a keyworder, it is now my turn to say good-bye, like so many other colleagues before me. I’ve been surround by family members in the stock photography industry since I was about eight or nine years old. I finally stepped into the industry myself in 2005 as a contractor with Veer, while living out on the West coast. Felt like the first chance to put my creative background to good use. When the company was bought by Corbis, I continued on as a contractor, until we moved back to Calgary in 2008. It was then that I happily accepted the opportunity to come aboard as an official employee in the Calgary office. This was my first taste of office life. Great bonds were made with like-minded folks who were organized, detail-oriented, and metadata obsessed (keyworders are also incredible crafters, you know). Lots of knowledge was accumulated and new skills were developed. And for a time, I was quite satisfied.
I used to say that when I wasn’t staring at spreadsheets in the office, you could find me curled up on the couch with crochet hook and yarn in hand, with my husband on one side and our cat Chloe on the other. Now, I’m hoping determined to put that craft time at the forefront. There’s really no point in holding back the gifts I have been given. Ya, I’m a good keyworder, and ya, I could get a full-time job somewhere with a steady paycheck. I can’t, however, ignore the long list of significant reason NOT to go down that road. It’s time for a big change. Facing the last year and a half of challenges has made me feel strong enough for that change.
So hereby I relinquish my title of “Keyworder” and take on the title of “Sole Proprietor”. I know I can’t fool some of you though… I will always be keywording in my mind and heart.