Happy New Year!

So I get really reflective this time of year. Although I do a lot of personal and professional reflection, I thought it would be fun to look through my pictures and pick out of few that were memorable to me.

These are not my best pictures... I'm not even sure they are all favorites. But they are significant steps for me... mostly in photography... a little in life... sometimes in both.

In January I went on Good Works' "Walk for the Homeless." It was a powerful experience for me as I had been reading a lot about minimum wage issues and so I choose to do the walk to Wendy's. Ever since I had a child I have been thinking a lot of what it means to earn a "living wage." The walk was insightful in that it put flesh on those thoughts.

As a photographer, this was my first photojournalism-type shoot (although I was not asked to be a photographer, I just showed up with my camera and took pictures!) My friend, Jared, went on the same walk with me... and it was great to shoot with him. After the walk we compared pictures and talked about what worked and what didn't. It was fun.

In the Spring I took a photography class from the university. A friend and fellow Centralite, Sarah, taught the class and it was incredible just to sit and learn from her. One of the projects was to do a portrait that captures a hobby or passion of the person you are shooting. A friend and media guru, Beth, was doing an art show and she agreed to be my model.

This was the first time I did a photo shoot with a person other than my daughter or wife. And to be honest, it was a bit nerve wracking. I didn't realize how "intimate" taking pictures would be. There is this sense where you enter into the personal (and psychological) space of another. When I shoot, I usually focus on the eyes... so there is all this eye contact (remember, I'm an introvert!). I am also trying to engage the model's brain, so I'm talking. And, oh yea, I have been shooting pictures on manual settings for a total of 3 weeks... so I'm all caught up in the technical aspects of the picture as well.

I must have shot 100 pictures of Beth! She was an excellent model and very patient with me, but by the end of the shoot I felt like I ran a marathon. But I learned a TON that night. Later another friend, Bruce, (who is a professional photographer) came over with me and Beth volunteered to model again for both of us. Afterward, Bruce and I went to Donkey and did a mini-photo clinic. What an amazing gift both Bruce and Beth gave me in that experience.

This picture is significant to me in that this is from my first "shoot" approaching a total stranger. I was at an event with my wife and this guy and his daughter were there. I was struck by all his tattoos... contrasted with the unblemished arm of this little girl. And so I just went up to him and asked if I could take some pictures. This is not the best or even the most engaging, but it is my favorite...

Jared and Tobias asked me to take pictures of them creating their movie for a contest they were entering. This was really fun for me as it was the first time I had ever been invited to be a photographer for an event. Therefore, I felt like I had full reign and could do whatever I wanted in terms of getting in people's faces, etc. Doing this shoot taught me that it is much easier to take pictures of an event when you have been asked to do so and people expect you to be the "photographer" not just an annoying guy with a camera. Now, if I were being paid, I would have been VERY nervous... but fortunately (or unfortunately) I was not!

Okay, more later... but now it is time to hang out with my family some more!

Blessings and Happy New Year!