Splish Splash
Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion…but when the rain starts pouring, even the bravest of photographers runs and hides. Nothing can be more miserable than working in the rain. Or so we let everyone think!
As long time residents of Washington state, if we let the rain stop USA, we’d never get out to take pictures. We’ve become such experts, we’ve even categorized the different types of rain: Drip, Drizzle, Drops and Drool. Drool is one of the few rains that will drive us indoors. It’s the kind that pours 
so hard, there’s no seeing past the end of your lens. When it lets up, the possibilities are endless.
Rain hits everywhere at any season. It doesn’t snow in Florida. It does in Alaska. Yet it rains in both. Rain offers a variety of weather related dramatic skies such as crepuscular rays and dark brooding clouds. It also offers the potential for creative work with raindrops, reflections in puddles, drips, streams, and even creates a soft mist, great for creating soft and mysterious scenics. Working in the rain opens a door instead of closing one. Or opens an umbrella, as the case may be.
Nature photographers like Bruce Heinemann declare that “bad weather is good weather.” For Bruce, there is nothing like the forecast of rain to send him out in his van looking for great scenic opportunities. Let’s explore how to be “singing in the rain.”
What to Photograph in the Rain
Rain creates dramatic skies and soft romantic mists when photographing scenics, but don’t forget about the smaller subjects. Puddles left by a recent rain create opportunities to 
capture reflections with unusual perspectives. Many plants are designed to hold water on their leaves or petals, creating interesting textures. Look around and see the possibilities in the little jewel drops of rain left after a shower.
- Dramatic skies
- Stormy skies create dramatic vistas for scenics and backgrounds. Whether or not you’re after lightning strikes, just the incredible cloud formations and effects make for exciting images.
- Dramatic light
- Before, during, and after a storm the light can change every few seconds. You have to act quickly and do some planning and anticipating, and sometimes you just get lucky, but there is wonderful light spread around during storms.
- Patterns and textures
- Look all around you for the patterns and textures left by the rain. Patterns of water droplets striking the surface of a pond or adding texture to a close-up of a flower can make wonderful subjects.
- Reflections
Reflections are fun to work with as they can become mirrors for your subjects or blurs of dancing colors. Look for interesting ways to capture reflections of different things from different perspectives.- A natural lens
- A droplet of water hanging off a leaf becomes an upside-down magnifying glass. Get close and photograph the world through it, using it as a second lens.
Wet Stuff
When working in the rain, the main challenge is to keep dry. Some cameras quit working when they get damp, while the intense cold shuts down the batteries of most cameras very quickly. Condensation forms not only inside the camera but on the insides of the lenses. There have been many cases of mold and fungus growing inside lenses. A few precautions can keep you singing in the rain.
- Keeping the wet out
- Rain and wind are just waiting to get into your camera when you change film or lenses. Use your body as a shield in addition to covering the camera to prevent water and blowing dust from getting inside. Remove sand and dust from the camera with a blower ball and a soft camera brush. If water gets into the film compartment, it can cause distortion on the film and may not process evenly. In extreme rain and wind conditions we will change film inside of a waterproof bag, often just a large garbage sack.
- Rain Hoods
There are many commercial rain hoods to fit over your camera, or you can make your own. You don’t have to get fancy. We’ve used everything, including big trash bags held on with rubber bands or duct tape.- Freezing
- If temperatures drop below freezing, water in tripod joints and camera and lens parts can freeze and cause damage. Beware leaving a wet tripod outside or in a car overnight. Choose a water resistant camera bag to keep your equipment dry. Some photo backpacks even have a built-in rain cover that can be secured quickly.
- Towel off
- When you get back inside your vehicle or under cover, take a moment to dry off the camera with a towel, preventing water from seeping inside.
- Waterproof Camera
- There are few cameras on the market that are totally water “proof”. Other than Nikonos and similar specifically waterproof cameras, few are completely waterproof. The camera-to-lens junction and the focusing rings are problem areas where water can get in. Take extra precautions to keep the camera covered as much as possible.
- Film Flops
- Keep your film in a nearby pocket to make changes quickly. Keep your film in its waterproof canister until ready to use. With your back to the wind, have the new roll in hand and ready to insert. Tilting the camera’s film compartment down, out of the incoming rain, open the back, pop out the spent roll, insert the new, and in five seconds or less, you’re done, protected from the wet.
- Shower Caps
- Shower caps fit right over the camera body and most lenses under 200mm.
They keep your equipment protected from the rain and the elastic holds them in place. They work fine for the times between shots when you need maximum protection. - Filters
- When you are struggling with rain over several hours or days, we highly recommend using protective filters on your lenses to avoid constant wiping of the expensive glass, increasing the chances of scratching or just wearing the protective coating down.
- Lens Shade
- Use a lens shade to keep the front glass element dry and free of water spots. Make sure it’s deep enough to keep water off and not vignette at the widest focal length of the lens. Even with the best cover, take a moment to check the lens glass for drops of water that can spoil an image. This becomes very important with wide angle lenses, since their hoods are less protective and they have a larger depth of field. That stray water droplet can show right up in your lovely scenic.
Nature is filled with geometric shapes. Pick a circle, square, hexagon, or triangle, whatever shape you want and go in search of it. Find as many examples of that shape as possible. Set a time limit or a film roll limit to push yourself to get as many examples as possible. This process will open your eyes up to seeing something new in familiar subjects.
Join a photograph or art club to increase the creative input in your life. If you are a member of a club, consider changing to a new one if you are seeing the same old stuff. Find your inspiration and motivation from within a club by learning and watching others and how they work. Many clubs offer theme competitions, giving you another opportunity to take on a self-assignment. Member organizations like the Photographic Society of America feature international competitions for all types of photography, as well as annual conferences. Take every opportunity you can to get to know others in your industry or specialty. Learn from each other.
If you are a member of a photographic, nature, environmental, or group of any kind, attend their national and regional conferences. Bring some business cards and brochures with you. Ask questions. Find out what others are doing right and wrong, how they think the world works, and then tell them a bit about yourself. Come to learn but also come to meet and be met. The more people you know, the greater the chances they will know you and want your work. Conferences are great opportunities to learn from a wide range of people and to make great contacts for future business.
Everyone asks us if we’ve had our images published in National Geographic, as if this is the scale all nature photographers must climb. In fact, we haven’t. Sure, if it happens, we will be thrilled, but they are not our goal. Our business is about reaching “you”, and anyone and everyone, with our message that nature is wonderful and worth exploring and preserving. Are you limiting your market? Where else could you sell your images? Are you reaching a market saturated with images just like yours? Are there smaller markets who need your work? Look around. Visit a magazine rack and check out your options. Who says that you can’t sell a nature photography article and/or story to a travel, health, or spiritual magazine? Don’t limit yourself to the editorial market. Nature images are needed by the educational textbook market, stationers, calendars, guide books, posters, and more. Broaden your scope to attract more sales.
Stay connected to the marketplace by paying attention to what is happening in the world. If there is a sudden crisis somewhere in nature, you want to be there with images to feed the need. For example, as I write this there is new research being announced about the “Brown Cloud” over southern Asia. Created by pollution, it is causing massive droughts below it and horrible flooding and temperature rises around it. Its impact on that part of the world is felt by millions of people, and is resulting in a terrible loss of life and illnesses that are destroying the economy and society of the area. Photographs depicting the visual impact of this environmental disaster are in demand right now and will continue to be so for months to come. Do you have images that meet this need? Maybe. It is hard to anticipate what the next “need” will be, but you can work hard to make sure you have enough images of subjects that might be popular in the future. Photographs of endangered animals will always have a need, but then so do images showing us how something “used” to look until humans moved in with their bulldozers and plows. Right now, on Israeli television they are starting a new series on the history of Israel, gathering together an archive of visual images from over 50 years ago. Do you have images of how things used to look somewhere? Read everything and learn about how the world works to find out how you can fill a photographic need.
Every business gets bogged down with stuff and things piled high. Take time to hire yourself to clean up your business, thus improving your job performance. When you are working within a clean, organized space, you tend to feel more committed to your work, less overwhelmed, and definitely more professional. There is a belief that when you make space in your life, because nature abhors a vacuum, it tends to fill it, and often what comes into that space can be increased business and clients. Clean up your business and maybe you will find a new purpose and motivation.
When was the last time you dusted off all the filing cabinets and boxes of images and really inspected what you had? It’s time to clean out some images and evaluate what you have and what you need. Make a list of the image categories you have. Thought you had dozens of whale photographs but you actually have only three good ones? Put that on the list of images you need to get. Too many photos of reddish egrets? Maybe you should look at your marketing plan and find a way to start marketing this fact. While poking, prodding and cleaning up, make sure your inventory system is working for you. Can you find what you need quickly and easily so you are ready when the request comes in? If not, consider updating your filing system in general.
If you designed your own logo and business card, great. Maybe it is time for a change and a fresh look. Does your logo really reflect what your business is or what it was? You can do it yourself, but consider hiring a professional graphic designer to update your image. Since few nature photographers ever meet their clients, their first impression comes from the papers and images you sent out. Make sure you send out your best.
A project is a well-defined self-assignment based upon one subject, technique, or location. You can pick a diverse subject like butterflies or narrow it to a specific subject like helicon butterflies. Pick a subject and then write out a plan of action to pursue it photographically. Pick a subject and/or location close to your home and office to start with, allowing you to continue with your current business efforts and still have easy access to your project.
Write down all you know about the subject, and then go and research some new information. Where is it found? How does it live, eat, reproduce, and die? Is it big or small or does it change sizes over time? What is unique to it? What is dependent upon it and what does it depend upon? How does it keep itself safe and protect itself from attack? What is its purpose in the chain of life? As you research the subject, make a list of questions that come up, as the more you know the more you want to know. Consider the subject an interview candidate. What would you really want to know about the life and times of the subject? Make a list of interview questions you would ask if you could sit down with a personification of the subject and have a chat.
Brent and I spent several years in and out of Jasper National Park photographing big horn sheep as a self-assigned project of ours. We enjoy these socially friendly creatures that are often found right along the road, stopping traffic and tourists. Their amazing ability to scale the steepest cliffsides and mountains fascinate us. Throughout this article on working on projects we’ve scattered some of the images from our own self project.
Get out a calendar and start filling in dates and times over the course of the life of the subject. A good project is one that lasts over time with repeated visits, not just for one day. If your subject is an animal, when is the prime mating season? Does it develop special fur or feathers during or in advance of breeding time? When is it nesting? Does it migrate? Where and how much territory does it need in order to keep the gene pool healthy? Does it eat once a month or constantly? What time of day is it usually feeding? Go through the life cycle of the animal and chart its course on the calendar. The same with a location. What does it do each season? Are there more animals there in the winter or summer? Does it experience all the seasons and diverse weather conditions? What kinds, how much, and when? List all of these in your calendar. Then time your photographic excursions to capture these prime moments.
One trip won’t do it. Even if your subject is the life of a fly, keep going out and finding new subjects over and over again. Work it from every angle. Take notes. What did you discover along the way that you need to come back and photograph? Did you really capture the essence or do you have to keep working at it?
Don’t limit yourself exclusively to that subject. Consider widening your perspective to include the interrelationship that subject has with its environment and other animals. If you are working with a spider that eats flies and you never have a picture of a fly, aren’t you missing something? Part of defining a subject is to define all the relationships around the subject.
match stories and articles. By studying the photography used in 
With the growing interest and enthusiasm in nature, mail order catalog layouts have changed. From early cartoon drawn caricatures of products to the full color layouts of today, many catalog designers are using natural images as backdrops for their products. It is now common to see earrings framed against a stock photo of mosses and lichens and sunrise images of Yosemite in snow behind warm weather clothing.
, about a coroner who solves mysterious deaths in Virginia, the phrase jumped out: “The wind flailed trees and swamps, and snowflakes were flying.” From the pages leapt this vision of a storm. Two days later, storms bashed our trailer in Denver, and I looked outside and “saw” the manifestation of those words and dashed for the camera gear. You never know where inspiration will come from.
Living in a small space, especially one the size of most American bathrooms, combined with the fact that the small space isn’t standing still all the time, well, storage can be complicated. It isn’t a matter of where to put things, but how, why, and will it fall down and hit someone in the head while the vehicle is banging down the road.
We love Walmart, Costco, Sam’s Club, and all the places where we can save money buying bulk. The only problem is where to store the bulk when we buy them. When possible, keep your purchases small and buy less of them, or get really creative about storing what you do buy. We will often shop with friends we meet along the way, dividing up the bulky spoils. We also think twice about every purchase we make. There are times when a 32 pack of batteries do come in handy on the road, but can we live without a 24 roll pack of toilet paper? Sometimes the bulk purchases aren’t as handy when you are trying to store 24 rolls of toilet paper. Smaller packs of bulky items make wiser purchases when space is at a premium.
Before we get to the kitchen, look around at the other spaces in your RV. Where can you store things and how? What about the storage areas outside? Some motor homes feature huge basement storage areas, excellent for camping gear, grills, and even bicycles, but not handy for food or clothing items. Think about the container sizes that would fill the space and what you will store in the outside compartments. Generally, you will want to store tools, water filters, hoses, barbeque grills, charcoal, and picnic items closer to where you will use them, which is outside.
Generally the kitchen and living areas are combined, but most of the storage space found in a recreational vehicle outside of the bedroom is in the kitchen area. Some RVs feature bench seats and couches with storage underneath, but let’s concentrate on the kitchen area. This is the area where storage planning is the most important, since it is the area that usually stores the most stuff, unless you eat out all the time.
For months I stared at a narrow spot above the refrigerator. I knew there was wasted space there. Brent explained that it was a space for releasing the heat from the refrigerator. I did some research and found that the majority of the heat was released through the back air vents to the outside and not upward. Again with a hammer I tapped and tested, and finally punched in the thin plywood sheet blocking the 10 inch space above the fridge. Sure enough, little or no heat from the fridge and we put in a brace to hold the VCR and car CD player and radio. Very convenient "found" hidden space.
Under the stove, there was a huge empty space that held a small inverter that changed the 12v power to 110v. It hummed all the time, which was annoying, and it didn’t require all that space. When Brent rewired the entire trailer to accommodate the new generator, the inverter was moved to the generator compartment and a huge storage space was opened up. He made a new door to match the cabinets and we had a new storage space.
Most RVs are designed with thin and inexpensive (okay – cheap) laminated composite and press woods. These tend to fall apart when cutting or drilling, so move slowly. Cover all raw edges with protective molding and be prepared to build or buy cupboard doors to close your new spaces, if necessary. If you are a real do-it-yourself person, choose lightweight woods such as pine or mahogany instead of woods like oak or walnut which are heavy.
When you take your camera on the road, everything you take with you becomes part of your photography equipment – and some items will surprise you. Did you realize that the vehicle you travel in is part of your photography equipment? It is. It holds your equipment, it gets you to and from your photographic location, and it serves as a blind, tripod, and background. In our article on the 
paths? Or high in the mountains? Will you be traveling over rough terrain, muddy roads, sandy beaches, or sand dunes with a danger of getting stuck? Choose the 
will some be willing to sleep in a tent outside? How much equipment will you be carrying? A single camera with a good complement of lenses and a single tripod, or vast lighting equipment, multiple cameras and lenses with several tripods? What about snow mobiles, bicycles, scuba gear, scooters or motorcycles, ski gear, camping gear, and the other stuff people often fill their RVs with? How much room do you need for whatever will go inside the RV?
sitting, and exploring, that we often forget that there is another side to camping and traveling: down time. This is the time you spend eating, sleeping, and existing inside your recreational vehicle. It happens. You arrive at a location and the rain coming down floods everywhere and you are stuck inside for a day or two waiting for a change in the weather. Or you planned on clouds and the bright sun is out with heat wave temperatures and you can’t photograph your subject because of the high light contrast. So what do you do? Take into consideration how long your trip will be, the time spend inside traveling, and the time spend inside the RV while 
What about using the vehicle as a blind? Most animals whose habitat roams near highways and roadways are accustomed to seeing vehicles on the road and tend to ignore them. Step out of the vehicle and you become instantly noticed, but stay inside and you are ignored. From within the vehicle, you can often use it as a blind to photograph wildlife without distracting them. How much room do you need inside to accommodate your equipment in use and to move around to get the photograph? The huge crew cab 
Whatever vehicle you choose, there are pros and cons to each one. Here is a look at the most popular different RV types and some of the reasons you might consider them for your nature photography or travel photography.
A Class C motor home is a combination van or truck and camper. Access between the driving area and the living quarters is open. These are ideal for a single person or couple, or a small family in the larger sizes. Some Class C motor homes can sleep eight or more people, though there usually isn’t much moving room with eight people awake. The ease of access between the driving and living quarters makes it easy to use this vehicle as a blind. Because the footprint is only slightly larger than an average vehicle, it is easy to park and camp. The Class C motor home also enters the arena of height concerns, limiting access to areas with low height tunnels or tree branches and gas station roofs. Some Class C motor homes have the engine strength and suspension design for towing a small vehicle, permitting the motor home to be parked and another form of transportation used to gain closer access to distant sights. Depending upon the design and insulation, some can withstand fairly severe temperatures and weather conditions. Gas mileage can be expensive, though some modern vehicles show great improvements in that area.
wheels), pop-up trailer (a box on wheels that expands or lifts up when camping), tent trailer (like the pop-up, it expands up into a tent on a box on wheels), and the fifth wheel (a travel trailer/camper combination). A travel trailer is parked and disconnected from the towing vehicle, allowing freedom of transportation while the “home” stays put. Size matters due to campground size restrictions and the ability to hold your equipment and passengers, but these tend to be the most popular and flexible recreational vehicle combinations, and a good choice for many part-time traveling nature photographers. Travel trailers can come with all the conveniences of home or just be a glorified bed. As a blind, these are only useful when parked in a natural area or when attached to the vehicle parked alongside the road.
If you are giving up your home for the road, it’s important to understand the benefits and restrictions of each state in order to choose a permanent address that will be most beneficial to you. 
Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. When you think about retiring early and taking off from our busy lives to travel in a trailer or motor home together, you dream of the wide open roads and chasing adventure where it leads. The last thing you consider is 24-7. Yes, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.
Clean out the expectation cupboards in your head, just like you clean the cupboards in the trailer before stocking. Toss out the salt and sugar that’s gone all clumpy and start with a fresh batch of good thoughts.
Fred and Andi just celebrated their thirty-eighth wedding anniversary with the investment in a new motor home. Their first shake-down trip was an overnight and things went fine, and they felt they were ready for an extended trip. They planned a two month trip to visit their grandchildren who lived 2000 miles away. By day three, Andi complained to a friend, “Everything I do is wrong! For almost 40 years I’ve taken care of the house and now I can’t even wash the dishes right! I just don’t understand him!” Fred admits he didn’t see a problem until they had been on the road for two weeks. “Andi refused to talk to me or even look at me. She just sulked the whole time. I felt like everything I said was wrong. We were supposed to be having fun.”
It seems simple, but after years of togetherness, we often stop listening to the other person because it seems like the same old thing is being said. If you haven’t been listening, it’s time to start. Remember when you first met and how you relished the long talks and walks together just pouring out your souls? You still have things to say to each other. Get in the habit of listening to each other again.
When was the last time you laughed together? The road offers a lot of challenges, some fun and wonderful, others exhausting and stressful. Laughter releases the stress, gets oxygen into your system, and improves your immune system. Brent and I have learned to laugh at the littlest and the worst of things. We laugh and tell it each other that it could only happen to us. “Just another chapter for the book!” Immediately we find ways to make breaking down on the Alaska Highway with a burned up transmission into something funny. Stuck in an RV 24-7, there is little to hide from each other, including bodily functions. Since we couldn’t hide them, we decided to score them. “That was a three. You can do better.” Just another reason to giggle. Practise now finding things to laugh at.
Each campground treats your length-of-stay differently. Just about all campgrounds offer different rates for stays of one day, a week, and a month. Campgrounds make the most money on day rates and few will permit stays longer than 3 weeks, while others limit stays to 3 months. Each one is different. Call ahead to determine the permitted length of stay and whether or not they have long-term sites available. Many campgrounds are set up on a first come, first serve basis and if no one has checked out of the long term areas for months, the odds are slim they will do so soon.
Being available for work means being ready by the phone for the call from the recruiter or company hiring you. Some campgrounds offer day rates for phone hooks and at others you must pay for installation of a telephone. If you are staying for a while, this could be worth while. Most campgrounds are good about handling mail for their tenants, but not all. Check in advance on how to handle incoming mail. If the campground doesn’t allow mail service, some post offices still accept general delivery and many provide short term post office boxes. Mail service companies like Mail Boxes, Etc. and others rent temporary addresses.
The road to a successful business can be long and bumpy. If you actually take your business on the road, these bumps can be hard on your equipment, too. When planning your mobile office, you need a flexible and compact office equipment system that fits in a small space and weighs little.
Technology is changing and evolving very fast. Things are getting smaller and lighter, making it easier for the mobile office. Cell phones can reach anywhere and the technology is available to pinpoint your position almost anywhere on the planet to within a few feet. Cars talk and direct you to your destination. Many RVs now feature microwaves, satellite TV, and all the technology of a home and office. It takes a lot of work to really get away from civilization.
Remember the old Timex watch commercials? Consider every business product you buy like a Timex watch: will it take a licking and keep on ticking? Really examine how durable it is and how much juggling and slamming around it will take. Make sure it is padded and protected when traveling. Get a full warranty when appropriate. Keep those records with you with copies in a safe place outside of your RV.
A few years ago, the mobile business had only one choice: a desktop computer. Today, 10 times the capacity of those old systems fits inside a slender, lightweight laptop. Many come with 14 inch and larger monitor screens, easing eye strain. With USB and other easy connections, you can add a wide range of accessories.
The security of your office equipment also means protecting it from damage. Living in an RV, you are dependent upon someone else to supply you with electricity and water. A generator will keep you going away from electrical hookups, but even that can have repercussions on your delicate computer and/or electronics. Invest in a quality generator and inverter to keep your electrical power stable. A battery powered computer backup system is great, but if you travel frequently, you have to remember to turn it off every time you disconnect the RV from power. The best investment for protection against brown-outs, power surges and unstable electricity is a good surge protector right at the electric hookup, protecting the entire RV, not just your computer equipment. Unstable power has fried microwaves and televisions as well as computers.
Whatever your business, when you take it on the road everything becomes more complicated. Make it easier by starting off simple with the very basic equipment. The less you have and have to rely upon, the less that breaks down or causes you stress. Make a list of everything you have to check and prepare for moving and double check it before you start the vehicle.
How will you be paid? By cash or check? When possible, make arrangements to be paid by direct deposit to your bank account, limiting the hassle of working with uncooperative banks far from home. When will you be paid? Weekly? Monthly? When does your first pay check arrive? Some companies require an employee to wait until the first full pay period to be paid, sometimes a three or four week wait. Will you need cash in-between pay checks? How is that to be handled? If you are working overseas, ask for payment in US Dollars or your home currency.
If work permits or visas are required, put it in writing that the company will handle and expedite keeping these permits and visas up-to-date, covering all associated expenses, keeping your attention on the job and not taking time off to deal with it yourself. If the job requires other special permits, such as food handling, driving, and other licenses, make sure these are up-to-date and specify which are to be paid for by the company.
Put it in writing on how the termination will be handled. Do you need to give notice? How long in advance? How much notice does the company have to give you when they let you go? Will they have to pay a termination fee if they break the contract or will you have to pay? Consider how to end this peaceably, so both sides benefit.
Computing your time means categorizing your time. There are 7 basic parts to categorizing your time: Preparation, Task, Help, Interuptions, Dependence Upon Others, Review, and Equipment. The Preparation stage is the the part of the task that involves getting ready to start. It can include finding things, getting the equipment prepared and ready, and gathering the information and resources around you to make this task happen. The Task stage is the actual work done on the project at hand. Often this is the smallest part of the consumed time, but sometimes not. Interuptions are the phages of the project where other work or people interupt your schedule and they must be taken into account.
There are some down sides to computing your time. If they anticipate the job will take 3 weeks and you tell them it will take 1 week, the company is under no obligation to reward you for your speed. If you tell them the job will take 3 weeks and you complete it in 2, they might compensate you for speed and possibly cover the remaining 2 weeks, or they might not. It is up to you to negociate how and when you are to be paid for your particular services. It’s a matter of balance, figuring out how to keep the company happy and pleased with your work, and still pay rent and put food on the table.
Temporary jobs are available in every field, with a high demand right now in construction and communications maintenance, installation and repair. There is work available as a bookkeeper, secretary, receptionist, pharmacist, caretaker, cook, bottle washer, pet groomer, baker, dentist, doctor, medical technician, engineer, law assistant, court reporter, satellite dish installer, sales clerk, ticket taker, bus driver, computer programmer, fruit picker, mechanic, graphic designer, teacher, carpenter, nurse, gardener, writer, pizza delivery person, tour guide, product demonstrator, product tester, magazine subscription seller, landscaper, Santa, waitress, security guard, seamstress, public speaker, catalog salesperson, laundry machine maintenance technician, auto shop stocker, grocery delivery person, political campaigner, door knocker, you name it, there is a need for a temporary position or fill-in for a sick employee.
The traveling worker moves from job to job, independent of a corporate boss and the weight of running a business. They can work in one industry and in one job position but work for a variety of companies, changing when the job is up or when they feel like it. They can work in a variety of job positions, changing their interests within the industry to accommodate changes in the business or their own interests. Or they can take on any job they find as it comes along. They are the most versatile workers on the road.
The more flexible you are regarding the work and working conditions, the easier it is to find a job. Some people are happy enough to be near relatives or the warmth of the sun so they will scrub floors and toilets for 20 hours a week to be there. Others work because they need the money and the rest is unimportant. If you just want to take your life on the road and find whatever job finds you, consider the following questions:
What do you want to do?
Job hunting from the road can be difficult. There are many temporary job recruitment agencies, but it’s a challenge to stay in contact with them when you don’t know where you will be from week to week. The Internet makes it easier to find a job before arriving in a community, but not always. Looking for a job, whether long or short term, is the same. You need to have access to a telephone with an answering machine. You need to keep your resume up-to-date and ready to fax or email upon request. Many agencies require a battery of tests before consideration. Many require face-to-face interviews, but others will work from telephone interviews. If you work with a national or international recruitment agency, you only need to go through this process once and they will forward your records from location to location. Most temporary job agencies do not charge the worker but pass the fees directly to the hiring company.
