And so the journey begins...

Hello - my name's Richard, I'm 31 and live in London, UK. Like many, many other amateur photographers with a digital SLR, I've recently started to wonder if there's a way to make a little bit of extra cash from my hobby? This blog will document my journey and if you're like-minded, I'd like to take you along with me!

Together, I think we've got a fighting chance of:

• learning how to be a better photographer
• sharing hints, tips and techniques about how to edit our photos (I use Photoshop Elements and Photomatix)
• letting each other know where the most useful resources for photographers are on the Internet
• understanding the world of stock agencies, including microstock sites
• finding out what we should be spending money on to improve our photography and what is a waste
• giving ourselves a real incentive to get out there and do some photography
• building a network of friends with whom we can share our best work
• having fun!

So, before we start, we should set ourselves a target. I'm based in the UK (and given exchange rates, I wont be leaving anytime soon!), so I'm going to set my target of earning £250 in 2009. I have no idea if that's realistic or not, except I know it's a lot more than I've earned to-date (so far, I did photos for a friend's wedding - NEVER again - and have sold a handful of photos on microstock sites like Shutterstock*, Dreamstime* and iStockPhoto*).

Why don't you set yourself a goal too and together, we'll help each other on the way to achieving it.