2018 Year in Review
2018. Where do I begin? This year was such a whirlwind of crisscrossing the country sharing my photography at art shows and teaching the craft that it’s almost a blur. Almost. By July I had been to 32 states this year alone, nearly all of it driving, and had quite a string of bad luck that put me nearly at my wits end. I promise this will not be an entirely whiny post, but to set the stage of how my year started out here’s a brief summary of the stuff thrown my way:
At the beginning of the year I purchased a used large format 44” printer that turned out to be a lemon (I managed to get about a dozen 8x12 prints out of it). By the end of January, it was evident that three of four big workshops I had planned for the year needed to be canceled due to 1. Hurricane damage 2. Forest fire damage 3. One pesky national park changing their rules on where workshops could go. Grrrrr, not a great start to the year. Then my art show van broke down after my second show of the year in February, costing me a few thousand bucks to fix and also causing me to miss one of the biggest shows in Florida (double whammy). A string of very promising shows turned into duds because of crazy weather and then to cap it all off my van decided to die for good on the side of the road in Wyoming just a few hours from my destination of Salt Lake City. It was loaded up with lots of big prints, my tent and supplies for what was to be my last art show of the season. As the stench of the fried engine wafted, I called my wife and told her what happened to try and figure out my next move. After I hung up the phone, all I could do was laugh. Shit happens as they say, and it was happening a lot to me, and all I could do is roll with the punches. I had a time cushion and did manage to make it to the SLC show in a haul, but my van was off to the salvage yard. After all that and then some, my year got better. A LOT better!
One of my ongoing goals in life is to stop and take it all in more often. To be present and enjoy the moment. Somehow sitting there on the side of the highway, I was able to briefly do just that. And there were so many times over the last year under kinder circumstances that I was able to really stop and smell the roses. Even better there were a number of times where I was able to be FULLY present, have time stand still, and recognize at the time that THIS moment is where my life is. THIS moment is one to savor, and the past was behind me and the future is unknown, but right here and now is where I am on the timeline of my life. I absolutely love and treasure those moments when they hit me no matter how big or small they may be. So without any further adieu, here are some of the highlights of my year in chronological order, with the best certainly happening last!
Winter trip to Zion in January turned into a heater, with weather getting into the upper 70’s and me standing in the middle of the Virgin River creating images.
Being in Philadelphia, my home for the last 20 years, to watch the Eagles win their first Super Bowl and then celebrating on Broad Street with my camera in hand.
Having my best single day of sales ever at the Atlanta Dogwood Festival (and then nothing but rain on Sunday.)
Spending a week in mid-July with my wife in Glacier National Park. Then the next week teaching an amazing group of students in Glacier, followed by a personal trip into the Canadian Rockies from Banff up to Jasper. A month to remember for sure!
August vacation in Hawaii where I was able to photograph sea turtles and the last of the lava flow into the ocean.
Fine tuning my printing skills and photography business by taking workshops with Mark Metternich and Aaron Reed respectively.
Exploring and camping all up and down the Oregon Coast in August. What an amazing and beautiful part of the country.
A September trip to Iceland for some fall colors and northern lights. I was able to overcome my fear of heights and hire a tiny plane for some aerial photography over the amazing braided glacial rivers in the Icelandic Highlands.
Spending my first fall in Glacier National Park which was totally void of crowds and full of wildlife (bears aplenty!)
Becoming a father in November to the most amazing and tiny little girl. She’s got me wrapped around her finger and I just couldn’t be any happier!!!!
Being able to spend Christmas with both my family and my wife’s family for the first time. Brought together by our newest addition, all to the big family farm house where we got married a number of years ago.
As far as what I was able to create during the year, I am content with where my imagery is at the moment. That isn’t to say that I am completely satisfied as a photographer or know it all. In this art form you never stop learning or feel like your work is complete. It’s all part of the creative process. But rather the body of work that I was able to produce this year, and the efficiency with how I was able to accomplish that, is something that I’m quite proud of. Being able to visit a location and slow things down to appreciate the environment that I was in more. Opening myself up to the experience and avoiding tunnel vision in the field. Then get my shots and go back to being present and enjoying it all. As opposed to running around like a mad man and scrambling to make something happen in the field like in years past. Growth is important and essential to being an artist and I feel like this was a year of tremendous growth for me both professionally and personally. Be it photographing a rusty car from a few inches away or a glacial river from a thousand feet in the air, this year I was able to create what I believe to be my best images to date.
Building on the last year, I couldn’t be more excited for what 2019 brings and my new chapter of fatherhood. For that reason, I’ve decided not to do any art shows in 2019 and focus solely on workshops and online print sales. I want to be able to spend as much time as possible at home enjoying all of the precious moments that I possibly can with our new baby. It will be a tricky balance to still maximize the travel part of my business by doing it in spurts. With trips planned to Utah, Oregon, Montana, Iceland and Patagonia for the coming year, there will be plenty of opportunities to get the creative juices flowing.
If you have read this far, I can’t express the gratitude that I have for all of the people that have been following along my journey, those that inspire me on a daily basis, and especially my clients. Lastly of course without my super supportive wife, none of this would be possible and she amazes me every day. It’s an honor and a gift to be able to do what I love. Thank you all and wishing every one of you peace and happiness and a prosperous 2019.
CB
3 0 I M A G E S F R O M 2 0 1 8
