I believe the Blackfoot are farther West, close to the Rockies maybe.  Central Canada has a large native population - I believe this area is typically Salteaux & Assiniboine and a lot of Metis.  Winnipeg is a fairly large city with a lot of native culture so I'm pretty sure the small town kids from afar come to big cities like here or Regina on the prairies.

Thank you for all these friendly informations! One day I will travel America - who knows, may be next year?

I had a desire to do nature photography for a long time. I got some books and learned the basics and specifics without actaully owning or using a camera. I applied my degree in biology to do some volunteer wildlife field work. I was given an SLR in 2004 and we used slide film.  I bought my own camera a week later.

I kept using slides and by word of mouth i was contacted by some people looking for slides because they were preferred by publishers. I met a photo researcher from NY in 1996 and she encouraged me to shoot stock and to think beyond just nature. I bought Ron Engh'ss book " How to Sell and Resell your photos". In the 90s most of what i sold was by word of mouth. I sold some shots for a birding field guide and also I was the guy local businesses went to. I also had some graphic designers asking for photos.  I made more money selling prints from slides. I started scanning and posting on the net in 96 and i had a strong online presence in photo galleries.

 In 2007 I finally went digital. That was about the time that DSLRS were affordable and had enough quality to make a decent print. I applied to some stock photo companies and they ignored me. Since microstock is open source I decided to give that a try. I did well the first year but still made more money selling direct. A sale to a winery of one photo for a wine label made more than 100 microstock sales. As prices rose my royalties also did. The iStock Vetta program was very good for me and I had a top selling photo in that collection in 2010. My royalties per sale  are still increasing but sales are dwindling. New files don't get enough attention to catch on. I cannot afford to invest in microstock photography now. I concentrate my energy on marketing prints. My work is niched and does not have the broad appeal of some business stock

All the jobs I ever took since I bought my first camera allowed me to do at least some personal photography on the job. Getting on the inside of things was key to having whatever I  success have. These days my income is all online stock or print sales and a photography related online job. I own my own home but live I live on a poverty level income.

Lots of interesting stories here. As for myself, I only took the plunge into stock last week. It's something I often thought about but didn't think I was good enough. However, I love a challenge and love to learn new things and like you, want to become good at something.

MS fits in well at the moment. I'm a primary school teacher but mostly stay at home with my two children right now. For the last 6 years I've been trying to sell photos, art and craft online and in a couple of shops. It's been a huge learning curve and not been easy. I'm starting an MSc in psychology in 3 months and would love to make some money to pay even a little bit of the costs! I think it may take a while though...

Am really enjoying learning about MS and it's great I can do it home. Macro is what I particularly enjoy.

Good luck,
Vic