There is always more below the surface

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A post shared by Anne’s Adventure Journal (@anneruthmann) on Jul 19, 2012 at 2:23am PDT

Captured at the Great Barrier Reef off of Cairns, Australia

February Desktop - Foggy Winter Day

This year, Lowell has experienced dramatic and quick shifts in weather, creating a blanket of fresh snow one day only to be followed by an unseasonably warm day in which it all melts away. The result this week was a rare event that lasted no longer than 12 hours in which the sky was white with thick fog while the ground was white with fallen snow. It was the perfect day to create some new desktop images, while taking in this unique natural occurrence.  Click on any image to download a copy for your desktop.

 



 
"Have you ever been at sea in a dense fog, when it seemed as if a tangible white darkness shut you in and the great ship, tense and anxious, groped her way toward the shore with plummet and sounding-line, and you waited with beating heart for something to happen? I was like that ship before my education began, only I was without compass or sounding line, and no way of knowing how near the harbor was. 'Light! Give me light!' was the wordless cry of my soul, and the light of love shone on me in that very hour." - Helen Keller

Small Business Mentoring

Whenever possible, I enjoy helping other small business owners in any way that I can.  This weekend I participated again in the annual Thirst Relief Mentor Auction fundraiser, which brings together established photographers willing to donate their time to help others in exchange for a mentee's donation to help provide clean water to developing areas.

I'm always excited to meet the person I'm working with, because I know that, like me, they have a huge heart for giving.  However, because it is an auction, there are always people who end up not winning a mentor.  Luckily there's a ton of great information out there that they can access for free if they know where to look (rather than wherever paid search engine results try to send them), which is why I created PhotoLovecat several years ago.

PhotoLovecat has become one of the regular ways I "Pay it Forward" in my business life- by freely sharing solutions to problems I've already solved in my business, so that people who can't afford one-on-one mentoring and business workshops, can still have rich information right at their fingertips.  In today's world, I feel like there's so much high quality information readily available that the only reason to pay for information is when you want one-on-one help from another person or you want the experience of being in an environment with other people who are learning the same things you are and holding you accountable to yourself.  If that's not in the cards for you right now, than please help yourself to all of the free information that's already available!

A sampling of some articles that may help you in your small business:

• Hit & Miss Email Promotions
• How to Stop Running Behind & Feeling Overwhelmed
• How to Move Your Business to a New Market
• Photography Overhead Costs (or Why Photography is Expensive)
• Charging Travel Fees for Destination Clients