I always start these posts off with something like “Man, it’s been one hell of a year! It’s going to be so hard to pick just 5 photos– Blah Blah Blah”. But this year was different. Not for lack of trying but I hardly shot anything at all. Looking back at my blog posts for the year I have only made 5 updates in all of 2021.
In many ways this makes me feel kinda sad, and like I haven’t been living up to my potential. I’m not even going to try to argue this point otherwise.
I, like many others, look at Instagram and Twitter (I gave up Facebook at the end of 2020 and really haven’t looked back, but that’s a story for another time) and see hundreds of photos each day taken by peers and other creatives. I try not to, but most of the time I can’t help but ask myself “Why aren’t YOU putting new content into the world?” “Why isn’t X shooting with me” “Why aren’t you out there in the world more?”.
It’s extremely easy to get wrapped up in all of this and look past a lot of the great things that have been going on in my life that aren’t EXACTLY photo related. I hope I can share some of those things with you today (as well as a few photos in the process).
First thing I’d like to mention is that in the beginning of the year, I had a new job opportunity fall completely unexpectedly into my lap. That in itself was a big change that will play very heavily into some other EXTREME accomplishments that happened this year.
The most important of which is that I bought a house. That in itself is huge, but what this actually means is that I now have my own studio and workspace. Which for someone who has been a bit of a photo-nomad his entire career, I can’t say enough how stoked I am to not have to carry gear in the trunk of my vehicle all of the time.
Forgive the shitty iPhone panorama, but it’s hard to see everything in one photo.
If you are at all interested, here are some work in progress photos. It’s not at all finished, I still need at minimum a bunch of paint and some other equipment, but for now I have more than what I need to get things going.
Back in March I took a very sudden trip to Arizona to meet up with an old college friend, and in between sleeping almost an entire weekend i had the chance to meet up and shoot with Goddess Celeste DeVille which in some ways re-sparked some of the things I loved when I started shooting.
Due to the nature of her work I was only allowed to capture her from nose down, but we still had fun creating some wonderful images in the process.
Shortly after finishing phase one of the studio build out, I invited Karina Treance into the studio for some test images (and because I needed to familiarize myself with some new toys…which…happens a lot these days).
It’s weird to me that I’ve had that backdrop basically since my beginnings as a photographer, but never really use it anymore. But it was all I had until I got the paper roller system set up.
I’m fairly certain I have about a hundred more photos from this session that I haven’t even looked at because I learned the hard way that my almost decade old laptop just isn’t cut out to handle modern camera files pumping in 10 at a time.
I’ll get around to those one day I guess–
Last year I started a project I’ve been calling “The Cats who Live with my Friends” and while shooting some of those images, my local hair-witch reached out and asked me if I would be interested in capturing her cat Cinder.
I mean, of course I said yes. I’m nothing if consistently on brand.
for the last several years I’ve been having to cat-vicariously through my friends after the loss of my fluffy friend back in 2015. Since that happened I have had the attitude of “When it’s time for another cat to enter my life, then I will have another cat”.
Well, the universe called, and I answered:
It’s hard to believe that this little creature who was left in my care when she was less than a pound, has become the thing I have photographed the most this year.
Around the time I was re-learning how to become a cat-dad, I reached out to the always lovely CharLee Cherie. CharLee is great for a number of things, the least of which is answering positively when I asked my group of friends “So, do I have anyone who owns a ball gag?”.
By the way, I still have your robe here at the house. So next time you are out this way come get it.
Around this time Sig Sawyer of The Fandom Nerdlesque (no strangers to this blog, and of whom I sit on the board as media head…I guess? Which basically translates to me being a delightful pain in the ass about making sure everyone has great photos of themselves) reached out to me and asked me if I wanted to take a stab at some graphic design for a show poster.
I am a lot of things, but a graphic designer I am not.
I put together something that I thought was kinda interesting, and even though it never got used I don’t think it should live forever in cold storage.
As we got towards the end of the year, and the beginning of the “spooky season”, Brandie ended up in my studio wanting some particularly witchy photos.
…she brought her own props.
And that’s pretty much where the year ended for me. I’ve been taking on a lot of projects for my day job, and haven’t really been shooting all of that much for the second half of the year (or really the most of the year).
I’m hopeful for 2022. There are a bunch of upcoming projects that I’ll be spearheading for The Fandom, so keep an eye out for those. And through them as well I have reconnected with some of my earliest Atlanta friends which hopefully will lead to some new images as well.
I think I’m going to end this update and the year of 2021 here. We are almost halfway to the end of December, and I don’t really have anything else on my dance card for the year. But if something ends up happening before then, I assure you that you dear reader, will be the first to know.
Postscript - I was cleaning out my phone and remembered that just last weekend that I took this photo:
I’m reminded that I have come so far. And even though I give myself a hard time for not shooting a whole lot this year, I have to remember that other people’s highlight reels are not their play by play. And that in the best of times “[I’d] rather be Nine peoples favorite thing Than a hundred peoples ninth favorite thing”.
I don’t think I say it enough, but for all of you out there who support me, who keep me around, who hang me on your wall, or who just “like-follow-subscribe”, Thank you. Thank you for keeping me going. Thank you for taking the time to look.
I create for me, but I post it for you.
