It started off as a whim in Sept. 2005...just wanted to see if my auto P&S photos were good enough to sell. SS accepted me on my first try, and then I promptly forgot about the whole thing for two months.
Remembered "Oh yeh...what was that site again?" and discovered that I'd earned a whoppin' $1.20. That was it.
But that moment I decided to make a serious go of it and spent every available hour learning how to shoot photos, post-processing and developing my portfolio with the goal of eventually switching careers (I didn't ever know how to use a camera when I started!).
The switch came before I was ready when I unexpectedly lost my job in Oct. 2006, but I made a go of it instead of looking another day job. Now I'm a full-time stock photographer/reviewer earning at least 3/4 of my income from the micros. The rest of my income is from providing in-home assistance to my adult disabled daughter...which I'm able to do now, because I'm no longer tied to a day job.
So...whenever someone asks "Is it worth the trouble of uploading to this site or that or being a part of the micro game," I reply with an enthusiastic "YES!" That paltry $1.20 from SS changed my entire life.
