Starting off the New Year by looking back at last year or the year of a train wreck however you’d like to think of 2020.

I am not going to hyper focus on Covid, how it hurt and effected my business and life in general because we all felt/ and are feeling its effects in some way or another. Honestly, I want to come into 2021 with a focus on what I took away form last year, what I learned and what I accomplished.

Yes, for a long while it didn’t seem like I would accomplish anything because of cancellations and honestly those are flowing into this year for me as well. But I was able to get out of my own way eventually and find a footing, find away to be a little productive, even if it meant less photography and more, sigh, computer and office work.

I started working on a memoir focusing on the last ten years as a photographer. Things I have learned and tips and tricks. Things I wish I had someone to guide me through when I was getting started. By this point I am about at the half way point on the first draft— huge accomplishment for the person who would rather tell stories in images than with words. My goal will be to complete the first draft, edit, review, finalize and hopefully see it published this year or very early 2022.

2020 saw me return to my roots and start with less commercial photography and more fun horse shows, zero rodeos, and just a handful of sporadic portraiture. It was a year that very much felt like the beginning of my career when I was finding my footing and finding clients to even photograph.

Coming into 2020 my bookings and projections had it being the highest earning year for me of course that was before Covid. Covid changed things for me but maybe slowing down was a good thing. I got to see old friends, and really think about my businesses future. I love what I do and there is a demand for it, but I love bringing new creatives into the fold and passing on what I have learned. Mentoring has become appealing, teaching has sprung an interest and I have even thought about pursuing an MFA.

I could have let 2020 defeat me, I could have taken each cancellation as a stab of a knife into my business but instead I am looking to the future and how I can adapt and change to still do what I love even if perhaps it isn’t full time.

2020 brought me a short day trip up to Cleveland, Ohio area to reconnect with a college friend who got engaged at the end of September. She had always joked that I would be her photographer for everything but often when jokes are made in shared environments like colleges where you spend a lot of time before entering the workforce and life they don’t usually hold up. I was pleasantly surprised and thrilled when she contacted me and allowed me to be part of her journey to the aisle.

Also I was in love with the location she chose for her engagement pictures. Squire’s Castle. It was beautiful, and though challenging because of the people and sheer volume of photography happening at once I think we got some amazing shots.

And then 2020 flowed into a huge project and opportunity when I was hired to create the flyers, the posters, the digital marketing for one of the first live shows of 2020. A Christmas Thrill show. My instructions light and bright but festive and exciting.

I was initially approached in September for the show but the venue was unconfirmed and until finalized they were delaying official hirings because with no venue no show. Understandable but that cut creation time down by a lot for me because marketing is for the most part a time game. It needs to be eye catching, cohesive, but it needs to happen at x times to be effective.

Needless to say, the venue confirmed, the marketing creation got underway and I pushed myself to make something better than anything I have done before. I love what I created, the clients loved it and from what I can tell not being close to them the prints look amazing. I was pleased. But these clients had new request could I make a QR code poster and a commercial?

I had no idea. Sure I could do a poster but how does one make a QR code that works? That was something new for me. But I figured it out and off it went to the client. Then I was asked if I could create videos and do a commercial. I hesitated to say yes on this request because video isn’t something I am strong at. I definitely work primarily with still images so moving video scares me.

I said I would try and from the commercial came addition video request. I got creative I redid logos to make custom video intros, I played with Garage Band to get the right music, the get it looped and that was a first for me. It took me longer to do the videos than multiple different kinds of graphics, at sizes and for print or digital use but I was pleased by what I accomplished.

As is the case with 2020 the Celebrate show was postponed due to rising Covid numbers and as of writing this post no new dates have been confirmed. I do hope when a new date arises I am able to attend the show as one of the commercial photographers, so then besides a delay and possibly rendering my best graphic work to-date useless I will get to be an even bigger asset to the show.

2020 wasn’t all bad, I got to take some fun images, I finally had the time to meet with a friend and capture the family photo we had been planning just unable to synch schedules to create, I saw images as finalists in contests, and even explored some unique cell phone captures.

Needless to say with all the crap 2020 threw at us, I still got to create, I got to grow and most importantly I got to learn new things. I can only hope that this continues into this year. I hope to see progress on my book, I hope to work with the many clients I missed last year as well as new ones, and I hope I can make a decision about pursuing a graduate degree.

Sometimes set backs are a chance to find a new way forward and 2020 could have broken me but instead I am focusing on everything it gave me. 2021 welcome I hope this new year provides an easier path forward but I will rise to challenge if its bumpy as well.

Stay Healthy and Happy Friends and may this year be far better than the last.