That means taking lots more pictures, working harder, and keep creating, keep moving, keep that shutter going.

It sounds a lot easier than it is, and I know some of you reading this know from experience. Taking lots of pictures is lots of work, editing lots of pictures is even more work. Critiquing yourself and constantly finding new things to learn, ways to improve and become a better photographer is hard work.

But despite that, I may have walk away from a shoot frustrated because I wasn’t as happy as I could have been with the way it turned out, but I don’t think I have ever regretted doing that shoot, I always find motivation, inspiration and direction, even from shoots that don’t go as planned.

And thus ends my long(ish) ramble on my little self motivational speech. Have I also mentioned that blogging on a regular basis and actually finding something relevant to blog on is hard?!  Thanks for following even when it is just a random ramble These pictures are of MY kids and their Mimi taken in Albuquerque over Christmas break.

I am happy to say the year went well, and we are one year down of the program. Another unexpected twist of the year was in September when I got a call early in the morning that my dad, who has been in otherwise decent health, was on his way to the E.R. with a possible heart attack. It was an awful, horrible feeling that just left me feeling helpless. So I jumped in my car with my 2 kids and trekked across the country to see my parents.

What had happened was not a heart attack, but a pulmonary embolism caused by a blood clot. Thankfully it was caught in time and didn’t cause massive damage. He stayed in the hospital for a few days and was put on blood thinners, but all things considered came out remarkably well.

It is amazing to me the fragility and quickness at which life can change. One moment things are one way, the next they are completely different. I am so incredibly thankful that God saw fit to keep my Dad here, but it also really made me realize how important the here and now is. So this year, my new years resolution, live every day as if it was my last, love my family more, be a better father, be a better husband, serve my God and keep the perspective that each day is a gift that is not guaranteed. I think that if I do that 2012 will be an amazing year.

These pictures are courtesy of my amazing parents. I love you guys, and I am glad that I got to share this with you, hope you enjoy

Once upon a time I would never show pictures from something that wasn’t in my niche. I would keep them to myself because I wasn’t sure it measured up to my other work. But the truth of it is that everything I shoot is an extension of me and who I am, and that is half the purpose of even writing out these blogs. Otherwise I could write out a 2 line sentence and give you a list of my pictures. But thats not why I am here, I am here because I enjoy expressing myself both in word and photo… Thus the tagline – “life and photography”

As of late I have felt that my blog has been more photography and less “life”, but I hope that changes, and I hope to be posting more of everything, even if it isn’t a paid gig, or something that is not within my niche, or as is the case with these photos, a random basketball game that I went to as a spectator and took pictures from the stands. My photography is part of me and I hope it always stays that way. Thanks for being a part of it, I hope the new year brings lots and lots of new posts and pictures that will keep me busy and you reading Happy New Year!

I have two brothers in the Marine Corps. with 3 deployments between them, my younger brother will head back to Afghanistan next year, so this concert really took on a personal tone for me. The purpose of this concert series was to raise money for Freedom Alliance. Freedom Alliance is an organization that does many things to help and support our troops, but perhaps the biggest thing they do is provide college scholarships to the children of our troops that have and will pay the ultimate sacrifice or became 100% disabled in the line of duty. Freedom Alliance does amazing work, and have supported our troops and their families for years. Not only that, but they are supported and function wholly based on the contributions of people like you.

During the concert we were introduced to several of the people that are currently on these scholarships and heard their stories. It was an emotional roller coaster of a night as each performer and speaker came out to pay tribute to our troops. With the likes of Sean Hannity, Herman Cain, Michael W. Smith, Five For Fighting, Oliver North, Jeff Foxworthy and more, it could have been easy to lose site of what the purpose of the concert was, but each of them quickly surrendered the spotlight to the troops and their appreciation for them. It was a very touching and moving tribute concert that I was excited to be able to be a witness to. To all our troops, thank you. May God protect you and keep you safe this holiday season!

LeahAndMark have shot this event several years in a row, and I had really wanted to shoot it while an intern with them, but unfortunately, the show didn’t happen during my 3 months, so when I saw this on the calendar I jumped on it.

For the record, this kind of shoot is way off the beaten path for me, and thats a good thing. For me, it is easy to get pinholed into one style of shooting, one type of event, whatever. A quick way to break out of that, pick something on the very bottom list of things you would normally want to shoot, and go shoot that, it will stretch you beyond belief, and teach you a lot of things that you don’t already know.

For me this event was really frustrating. The lighting was difficult, there were a ton of photographers to work around/with, it was a completely new kind of experience for me, and did I mention it was also an all male show? At one point, I decided to abandon the look I thought I was going for, drop the flash and shoot natural light, even though it was way higher on the grainy side of what I like to shoot. But it allowed me to stop worrying about the lighting and really focus on the composition and more what I was trying to do artistically.

And that’s the point, if I am not able to grow and challenge myself artistically and I let my photography become just “work” – than there is a lot better things I could be doing with my time. I do this because I love it, and I love challenging myself and finding ways to re-invent myself and my work.