Introduction
“There are some people who live in a dream world, And there are some who face reality; and then there are those who turn one into the other.”
With the relaunch of my website, I have decided to reboot my blog. Today, I will share a what I will be posting on this blog, on my accompanying YouTube channel, in vlogs, and on social media (Professional Instagram | Personal Photography Instagram). Additionally, I’ll cover some of what has happened this past year. Time has flown by; a wild roller coaster ride over the last year or so.
Let’s get to the TL:DR version of what I wish to cover in my blog. There will be occasional updates of things going on with my photography business, but I don’t want that to be the core of the blog. I will work to keep business related posts (marketing my services) to that information I feel would be beneficial for sharing or promoting. I want this blog to share experiences and knowledge relating to photography and Ireland (from the perspective of a person who moved from the US to Ireland). This may be in the form of blog posts, vlogs, BTS (behind the scenes) videos, sharing relatable experiences. This may be a tall order, but come along as I find my way in a new country, Ireland, and through growing my photography business in Ireland.
My family and I sold our house, and the majority of what we owned and moved to Ireland in December 2022. We came over with eight suitcases, three boxes we shipped (thanks to the US Postal Service 2 of the 3 made it here; yes that is sarcastism), our savings transferred to an Irish bank and our German Shepherd, Kira. CRAZY right? Yes, it has been a huge undertaking, and as much as we researched and planned, it still has been a bit of a rough road. That said, we stand by our decision and we love living in Ireland, frustrations and all. Fortunately, Irish people are friendly and extremely helpful with helping us navigate our integration with Irish society. More details on this in future posts.
By the way, it is amazing how many Irish people have asked, “Why would you move to Ireland?” I guess it all comes down to perspectives. But why did we?
We have two children, a sixteen year old boy and a thirteen year old girl, and moving to Ireland will provide them with experiences of seeing other parts of the world and to broaden their education. Frankly, I am not overly impressed with the current state of education in the US. I will tell you I was very pleased to see the wide scope of studies the kids are presented here in school. My daughter, at 13 has a business class among other well rounded subjects. The testing coming out of secondary school, the leaving cert, is no joke. The kids are adjusting, and have had a bit of a learning curve with integrating into the Irish school system. My son, is being challenged in school for the first time. He would say he was an “A” student without much effort in the US, here he has to work to be a top student.
As for my wife and I, we wanted a to jump off the consumerism train, a society constantly embracing debt, and a society that continues to politicise everything, dividing the country. On the positive side we want to be able to travel and see more of Europe, and Ireland is a fabulous launching pad to do that. We want to be able to send our kids to school and not have them practise active shooter drills, or end up with tens of thousands of dollars of debt after graduating university.
We both felt unfulfilled in our careers. We loved our jobs, the people we worked with and the companies which we were employed, but we were ready for a change. I definitely wouldn’t say I loved my job, though it was a very good job that paid me well. We both have a very strong creative side. In my case it has been pulling at me my entire life, but my generation, maybe family in a sense, was pushed towards careers that were more stable, in other words not in arts or creative endeavours. So I got a business degree in accounting. I like numbers, and I am very good at accounting, but I just wasn’t feeling satisfied with my work.
So when we decided our dream life was moving to Ireland, we also decided to jump into making our long-term hobbies in to professional creative businesses. In my wife’s case, she has started Zen Furniture Ireland, a furniture up-cycling business. I have been shooting photography for at least 35 years, mostly personal projects, but taking professional gigs throughout the years. We had too many commitments for me to make the leap to full-time professional photographer. Selling everything, and moving to Ireland has opened up this opportunity for me; that and the support of my family and parents. You only live once, and sometimes you have to take risks to fulfil your dreams.
We have been in Ireland for a little over a year now and are slowly getting settled in. It hasn’t been easy, there have been more hurdles to navigate than we anticipated, and we expected a fair amount. No country is perfect by any means, but we feel Ireland is a better fit for what we want for our family, and with the help of our new neighbours and friends we are finding our way.
I launched Dave Haworth Photography in July 2023, and my client list is steadily growing. I am loving what I am doing, and I do feel fulfilled with my work. I wake up each day excited to shoot photos or video for my clients. While I try to live within the moment, to enjoy and be grateful for what life has to offer, I also enjoy taking a step everyday to grow my photography business in to something special, blending technical skill with creative vision to provide visual assets that tell my clients story.
That is the sky view. Please follow this blog, and my other social media channels below if you are interested in photography and Ireland, as I share experiences and what I have learned along the way.
Sláinte.
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