In Which I'm Excited

I casually mentioned something on Twitter a little while ago, and realized that it deserved further explanation. Before I get to the explanation, I need to preface it with an explanation.

I am something of an amateur photographer. It is nothing that I do full-time, mostly just as a hobby when I can. I've done a few weddings for friends, but I prefer to do what I call "art" photography.... Landscapes, waterfalls, sunsets, etc. I haven't done much with my portfolio, although I did recently try selling greeting cards and things like that in a local store. I didn't mention my photography hobby before, mostly because I'm trying to keep certain parts of my life separate from my blog. It also isn't an all-too active part of my life, but what happened today definitely deserves mentioning.

Earlier this afternoon, I was contacted by the Art Department at a Warner Brothers television production company. They said that they are filming a new television series called "Fringe", and the set designer was searching for art to include on a set. They were originally searching for a painter with a name similar to mine, and accidentally came by my photography website instead. After browsing through the gallery of photos I have taken in Maine, they decided they liked my work better, and asked to purchase some of my photos for use on their set.

Holy crap, people.

Holee-crap.

I was completely blown away by this. It took me a good two hours to calm down, but I managed to pull it together enough to speak with a couple of people in the Art Department at WB, to understand what they were looking for and to come to an agreement.

What I know right now is this:

• They have selected three of my photographs.
• They are going to use them on the set that is for the main character's apartment, to tie in with the character's back story.
• They are paying me for rights to use them on set for the duration of the show, and will be express-mailing a check to me by Saturday.
• I will FedEx them one 8X10 print of each picture by Tuesday morning of next week.

I'm not getting rich overnight from this, by any means. I'm sure I could have haggled my way into a bigger check, but I didn't want to risk losing the deal. The money I will be getting will be a nice reward for my work in photography, and damn fine way to end the week.

So. Let's re-cap.

Big television network + Small-town amateur photographer + Three Photographs = $$$

Fate, how I LOVE thee!