I just received a card from a client which says their photo-shoot day was one of the happiest days of their lives. Another card says they’re glad they found someone who hold true to their believes and passion. Clients are always very appreciative about the photography process and results, and dinner with clients are more like catching up with friends. A few even insisted that I watermark their digital images with my signature (I didn’t).

I’m not writing this to brag about how people rave about me (I’m actually disgusted by how some people shout at the top of their lungs about their 100,000 facebook fans or whenever they receive a little thank you email).

I’m writing this because you have no idea how much their support means to me.

Ever since I went solo 3 years ago, I’ve been fighting the current. The photography market was rocked by hip, young digital spray-shooters, fresh from TFCD school, selling CDs and DVDs instead of photographs, gang-raping their images with Photoshop effects and calling them art. Mass-market consumers, realising how much they can do with digital images with just a computer and some pirated software, demanded high-resolution files for cheap or free (“all you need is burn them in a CD for me”), and our spray-shooters happily obliged and promised at least a thousand RAW images in a single session.

I stupidly refused to follow the crowd, and so made life extremely difficult for myself. While everyone is having fun and money doing destination shoots and studios are considered “old-school”, I tried to perfect my skills in portraiture and lighting. While good photographers are drawing huge followers with their crowd-pleasing images, I chose to specialize in nude photography in an already conservative society. While everyone is giving away high-resolution images, I stubbornly preached respect for artists to a shrinking clientele. In the face of typically selfish Asian culture, I was doomed for failure.

That my business is surviving well is a miracle. I no longer shoot 10 days in a row during peak seasons like yesteryear, but somehow I garnered a small but faithful following. Most importantly, they encourage me, like well-meaning friends, to continue what I’m doing.

An artist is nothing without an audience. No writer will write a book that no one reads, no singer will sing if no one listens, no dancer will dance in an empty hall. I wouldn’t have come this far without those who believe in me, whether they are a client, a fellow enthusiast, a lurker, or a friend. I don’t know how long I can keep doing this. Whatever my future holds… thank you, I’m glad you’re around.