"Shootabout List"

I've been talking with my friend Bea about a list of photographers who live in different parts of the country who might be willing to share info on their neck of the woods if another photographer wanted to vist that location. Seems like there are a ton of great places, but without some basic knowledge of an area one could spend forever just trying to get into the right place at the right time. Something like this might save a lot of time and effort, especially if someone has already done the leg work. Not sure about this idea...I'll have to think about it a bit more and visit with my buds about it.
I made a very interesting discovery about myself over the last few days. I really don't want to do photography for a living. Seems like all the 'newbies' think that's the way to go, but I'm not so sure that's right for me.I don't want to do weddings, and I sure as heck don't want to be like some of the 'experts' ansd sell myself to the highest bidder. I've noticed a lot of these folks seem to have to work their tails off selling their workshops, CD's, etc. I mean come on!! $800.00 for a CD on how to make fine art prints? Nobody's that good! I want to take photographs, and I can do that now much better than I could under those circumstances. Sure...I'd love to work for National Geographic and travel the world, but that isn't going to happen.
I also know the grass always looks greener 'over there'...but when something becomes a job instead of an avocation it takes on a whole different personality. I don't want to be driven to photograph to survive. I want to be driven to photograph because I have something to say.
So...I'm going to concentrate on improving my skills and setting goals for shoots that let me do just that.
We'll see what happens... :-)