On the last day that the courthouse was open in 2011, we filed for Divorce. The end of my marriage has been the top story for me this year. I’ve tried and succeeded in not getting too morose about it but, it has sucked. I’m super fortunate that the circumstances allow Kristen and I to remain real friends today and beyond, I mean real friends. We are still figuring it all out we just know we can’t be married.
The first significant thing I did this year was to spend a day with Conor O’merian at Petrified Forrest and Painted Desert. What a great reminder how much fun it is to get out. Spending a day with another shooter and trading ideas was an amazing wakeup call. I needed to find a group to shoot with.
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I had also committed to start photographing more people. If I’m going to do this as a business, I need to shoot portraits.
Desiree and Dave asked me to shoot their engagement photos. We got lots of great images that day but, there was one that truly spoke to me.
Then I was asked to photograph two sisters, Aimee and Emilee. These two were a joy to work with and as you’ll see we were going to work together again.
My annual trip into the Grand Canyon again left me with no pictures of Ringtailed cats. I did however, leave with a new best squirrel picture for 2011.Then came the visual Collective. This loosely knit group of mostly 20-something harmless ne’er do wells with a common creative interest has truly given me a bit of organized challenge in my photography this year.
This submission earned me the "Executioner" award. Mostly for not quite following directions. Hey, they said "Monochrome". Black and white infra red IS monochrome. On steroids. And sugar.
Melt Flagstaff provided endless opportunities for dragging the shutter and working the crowd.
On labor day weekend tvC brought a full spectrum of lighting gear into the Lava Tubes. Oh yeah, they also brought 8 photographers and a model.
I set up a Ladies Formal Portrait Shoot in my home studio. While I scheduled and therefore bit off more than I could chew, I did come up with a number of amazing photos.
tvC's next adventure brought us to Supai Village at the bottom of the Grand Canyon.
Great hiking, new friends and a great workshop.
I started (and finished) a pair of DIY Projects. The wholly improvised Pizza box ring light and the Senior Fotographia approved Beauty Dish. Both are working rather well, thank you.
I also started fine tuning the in home studio so that knocking out some portraits in the house was more intuitive and less of a production.
Oh by the way, don't forget the Zombies!
Fall got me back to my old friends, Landscape and Architecture.
I also began looking for art with my Iphone.
Help-Portrait played a huge role in the end of my year. It was an experience I'll look forward to from now on.
And not simply because we got to the the effect of Ghost peppers on Matt Beaty either!
Finally, I will leave you with this: Sunrise, December 31st 2011. (Hey It may have been the last one)
Frankly, this year has left me tapped. New friends, new challenges and the core principles of my life have been the only thing that made sense out of it all. Now I need a nap. And maybe a movie.
Dano
I absolutely support your decision to move to blogger. Xanga drove me nuts, too.
ReplyDeleteI think you've got some beautiful images in 2011! I also think you can afford to be a bunch more picky in your edits and that we ought to brainstorm some alternative solutions to your in-home-studio setup. You can do loads better portraits given your people skills and photographic abilities.
As your friend, and I do consider you a friend, I feel obligated to push you to greater photographic and creative hights. Let's kick ass in 2012!
Agree with Matt, my personal fav is the b and w shot of the tree with the peaks in the background, looks great. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDelete