Calling All Self Employed and Freelance Workers! How to leverage emergency unemployment benefits.

There is SO much information out there now, it can be hard to cut through it all. I’m a landlord who has a few self-employed tenants that are struggling to pay rent. I’ve also had my self-employment income as a photographer drop by 90% in the last two weeks, so I’m compiling resources that might be of help to get us through tough times when income is partially or completely cut off.

It can be hard to focus these days (I know–personal experience). So I’m going to post a resource a day on this blog that will be useful to small businesses owners, the self employed, freelance, and gig workers.

This first resource is courtesy of the CARES act passed by Congress last week. This does a HUGE things for self employed and/or freelance workers, and depending on your state, gig workers:

(1) Allows self employed/freelance and/or gig workers to apply for unemployment assistance worth $600 per week through the end of July 2020. Whereas in the past you would not have qualified for unemployment at all, this is an emergency federally sponsored program administered by states called the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Program. You need to apply for unemployment through your state unemployment office to get this benefit. Here is the link to the Alabama Unemployment Office. Click File A COVID Claim to start your unemployment claim.

Be sure to certify weekly. Follow instructions carefully! For folks in other states visit your state unemployment office website for state-specific instructions.

Good Luck! Let me know how it works out for you!

Pollo Loco Taco Pecker

Henny Penny is getting a little aggressive with the people food lately. We were eating dinner outside and she hopped on the chaise and then hopped onto the back of Marley’s chair and attacked her taco! No children were harmed in the production of this video.

Good Eye


Miksang – Images by Christine Prichard

Thanks to Flash and the kids for excusing me from Mother’s Day festivities @ home. Instead, had an unbelievably great weekend at the Shambhala Center in Birmingham. Did a photo workshop on Miksang–or Good Eye. Awesome! These are all images made @ the workshop this weekend.
Hope to start a Miksang photo group in Birmingham soon. Great for all levels of photography experience from never held a camera to pro. The beauty is in it’s simplicity. Stripped down pure vision. No flash allowed. No cropping allowed. No Photoshop allowed. No manipulating the scene. Very different from what I usually do.

You Ought to Be in Pictures


Picture Party – Images by Christine Prichard

We hosted a multiple photo session bonanza at The Okey Dokey Ranch last week. Foul weather forced us into the garage; we had hoped to do an outdoor shoot. But we managed to get some fun and unique images anyway. Flash was a wonderful assistant, right-hand man and post-production whiz. Marley and Avery even got into the spirit by entertaining young and old while we shot, and shot, and shot.

A big thank you to the families, and especially the children we photographed–you were the best!

I’m posting some of my favorites here. Don’t you just love the sepia and hand-colored versions?

Funds raised from this shoot were donated to Alabama Waldorf School.