Can you believe it? 2022 is upon us, where has the year gone? As long as 2020 was, 2021 moved along at warp speed. I had a fairly good year and here is a list of what happened in my 2021.
I became a Nali (grandmother) on January 21 and flew to Arizona to meet him in February (thank you Jimmy & Natashia)
Lost my beloved Harpo (my cat of 12 years)
Adopted not one, but two new kitties. An older female stray I named Shai and a kitten from Ocala, FL who was named Sherman. Shai was 7 according to her past records and Sherman was 10 wks.
Concerts and events started to pick up some
Became the official photographer for US41 Radio and continue to work with my wonderful friend Matt Mangas
After a year I was able to photograph the PBR once again at Hertz Arena
Contracted Covid19 in late July early August, but thankfully for the vaccine, I had a mild case
Planned another trip with my girlfriends in North Carolina
Planned my trip to Arizona for January 2022 for his first birthday
Was able to see my grandson when my son and daughter in law came to Florida for a brief visit
Spent a lovely Christmas with my youngest son Tommy Owen
Won a fishing reel from a local YouTuber Digital Four Ten so I decided to rig myself out with a new pole and some gear and a license; will finish the year fishing the Estero River
I didn’t get to blog much this year, but due to the current world situation, there wasn’t much to post, but I did a little
Looking forward to the blessings of 2022!
Considering the way things are and the closures of 2020, 2021 was great and I’m sure it passed so quickly because of all the things that happened. Here is a short video of what the year has brought me.
Every year I start out with, “I’m going to blog more, I’m going to shoot more and I’m going to post more”; then, reality hits and it doesn’t happen. This year, because I want to take better care of myself mentally and not put the weight of this upon myself, I am not going to set any resolutions. However, my usual goal setting is going to happen, because I achieve more when I set goals, but they will be things that will enrich my life and not make it more stressful or things that won’t make me feel guilty if I fall through.
Another thing that is going to happen this year, is I’m going to focus my energy more in doing concerts and open myself up to doing more local band portraiture work.
I also want to do more nature photography which takes me to my happy place. I will continue to do the occasional wedding and portrait shoot; in fact I have a wedding on the books for August of 2019 and I know I will be photographing my favorite little and her family a few times this year. I really want to focus on what drives me which is the music and being out in nature.
I want to grow my Instagram and will be focusing more on the concert side of that with my @photocreationsbydeb page. I may create a new one for my own personal work with the natural environment, but time will tell.
The point is, I’m not going to goal myself to the degree where I beat myself up if I don’t achieve the goals. I’m putting them out there, if they are completed, great! If not then that’s ok too and I will just work smarter on the important ones.
A Quick Look Back
In 2018 I decided to take a full vacation, somewhere other than Florida. I went to North Caroline to spend time with girlfriends who know me better than just about anyone (and they still love me, imagine that!). I began planning early which made the excitement build. It was such a wonderful trip with lots of mountain air to clear my head and exploring new and exciting places.
Most of the time I enjoy looking back on my year. However, this year I slacked, a lot, and I have to make some changes. I just didn’t get out as much as I normally do. Even during camping season it seemed it was always interrupted with something I “had” to do. I wasn’t as intentional as I had been the past few years. I didn’t create good content for my Facebook page and actually neglected it. I had something happen that set me off into the “not good enough” thought process, which in turn caused me to purge a lot of unneeded stress in my social media life. But I would go out and take photos and think, “these are not good, what am I doing trying to create good photos when I can’t do it?” I really had to shake that mindset; I am my own worst critic.
Life was disrupted with a move in the middle part of the year and it was during a very stressful time. I’m still trying to adjust. Then, in September we were hit by one of the largest hurricane’s in recent history. Irma totally upset my world, but I came out a whole lot better than many of my friends did and I can tell you I am most grateful for that blessing. Yet, the stress was still there and even guilt that so many lost so much and I didn’t. I can’t explain why it was that way, but it was; again I am so grateful to not have had any damage.
Sometimes life gives you those old lemons and it’s not always easy to make the lemonade. In fact, I have thrown a lot of lemons away because I just could not bring myself to make them work. Ever feel like that?
I’m looking forward to a clean start with 2018, I won’t make promises I can’t keep, but I will put a lot more effort into making it an incredible year personally and professionally.
Here’s a look back on what I did accomplish photographically:
A cute Super Hero
Four homes down from me.
Rod Stewart & Cyndi Lauper
Ted Nugent
Stars on Ice
The Late Chris Cornell, two weeks prior to his death
My New year started with a bang and it really has kept sparking ever since. Upon looking at my calendar I really don’t come up for air until May. However, I enjoy staying active and busy and I’m truly blessed to consider myself a working photographer. I have worked hard to get here, and I am confident only wonderful things will be coming my way this year. Here’s to an incredible 2017
Happy New Year! It’s always exciting to begin a new year, that change of numbers is simply filled with excitement of what the next twelve months may bring.
I began this blog in late 2013 and wasn’t really sure where it would take me, for this next year I have titled the blog to fit more with who I am and what I am all about; Life, Love & Passion Through the Lens. I’m so excited for this next year, not only to grow my blog and my photography business, but to amp up my personal growth. Many new things will be happening with the addition of some marketing influences in internet radio and a new marketing video will be produced in the next couple of months. Exciting times are coming!
I have made mistakes and learned from them. My proficiency in using the editing software I own is increasing, and I am growing as a photographer. I have increased my wedding photography presence. I am shooting more concerts and I was able to photograph a local production of an original play. I even had a photo photo bombed by a Clydesdale! Enjoy!
2016 has been one of the best years, I’ve ever had, and I know my momentum will only increase and I will continue to learn and grow.
I want to share a few of the highlights from this past year……….enjoy & HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Time seems to be passing by way to quickly these days, I barely find myself catching up with one thing and it’s already on to another. I will say it has been a fabulous year and has ended with a bang.
I was able to photograph a lot of great bands and to work several large festivals, which is always fun. I have met some incredible people and have broadened my social network. Last fall I joined a little photography Meet-Up group and fell in love with the people, many have become really good friends and we have all grown together. We have learned and participated in numerous excursions and enjoyed each other’s company.
I have expanded my business this year to include a small home studio, it’s not perfect, but it works for me and that’s really all that matters. I have stayed busy with portraits and weddings and hope to increase that business next year. I was told this year my wedding price is too expensive , but the potential clients who said this got exactly what they paid for by not using a professional. I learned this is not my battle to face, because I am geared to a certain type of client and I will gladly allow the them to learn their lesson.
This year I finally purchased my dream lens; the Canon f2.8 70-200mm. This lens is awesome for my concert/wedding and portrait photography.
The Future
I am looking for 2016 to be bigger and better than ever. I have had an invitation to go to Vietnam and photograph a resort there and will be working out the details of that potential trip and my son may go with me; I can’t think of anyone I would rather work with more than him. Which brings me to another note, he will be opening his first full solo photography art show on January 9, 2016 and will run through the end of February. I’m excited for him as he is quite talented and has captured the flora and fauna of the Everglades quite well.
Another new feature for this new year is the rebranding of my business. I unveiled a new logo and will incorporate it within my website/blog and all social media. I have also finally changed my Facebook page web address from the former kdphotocreations to: http://www.facebook.com/photocreationsbydeb. This was two years in the making, but at the time I had recently ordered business cards that had this address on it and needed to use them up; I received my new business cards and now I am ready to put a final note on a past element of my business.
I hope to do a lot more teaching this next year and expand on my basic digital camera workshops and add editing to the mix. I also want to be involved with a few more communities. I will include myself in the need to be taught, I am constantly wanting to improve my own skills and continue to grow and simply be better. Learning is huge for me, and there areas I struggle with, but I try to find those who can teach me. If you are unwilling to learn and add to your craft, your craft will die a slow agonizing death, I’m not willing to allow that to happen.
Each year for the past couple of years I have adopted a new word for the year, instead of setting unreachable new year resolutions. I have grown in leaps personally by applying these words to my life almost daily. I began with ‘authentic’ and last year was ‘joy’, this year it will be ‘creative’ and I will do whatever I need to keep up my creativity. I have a plan to create a wonderful show for a museum or gallery. I will expound more on this once I am confident of the progress and talk to the powers that be in order to create this wonderful exhibit. I will say it’s something that is extremely close to my heart and it’s going to be wonderful.
So as my eyes shift from the rearview to looking forward, I would like to wish you and yours a very Happy, Prosperous and Exciting New Year, hug your loved ones more, and enjoy time spent with those you care about.
Life, Love & Passion Through the Lens 