So - How was your year?

[Asylum Steve]

Peach Boy (sorry, Steve, but whenever I see the names of some of the burbs of Chicago, I can't help but think of the movie League of Their Own - "I'm a PEACH!")

Not to rain on your thread (it's a great topic), but if I had to sum up my 2004, especially the latter part, I'd have to use the words major disappointment...

I had two very important fashion shoots washed out towards the end of the year, one in Chicago and one in Miami, simply because the models bailed on me for no good reason at the last minute. I had invested much time, money, and energy in both these projects with absolutely nothing to show for it, and this with quite a few magazine and agency folks waiting to see the images.

That was a 1- 2 punch that left me very dejected and actually had me wondering why I'm trying to do this for a living...

Still, I'm not only a glass is half full kind of guy, but actually a "I'm sure the waiter will be around with some more water any minute!" guy, and I have nothing but confidence that 2005 is going to be a break-out year for me. I still have tons of ideas and opportunities, and those are the things that are most impotant.

And I now realize that I need to have better control of situations like those two shoots, do not just blindly trust people I'm working with, and make sure I have backup plans to prevent disasters like that from happening again.

BTW, 2004 was good for me in other ways. My photoshop and web design skills improved measureably. The project shown below was crucial to my confidence as a shooter and digital editor, as it taught me that I can salvage very good imagery from what appear to be mediocre photos.

Oh, and BTW2, my Chicago trip had a very nice silver lining as I was lucky enough to spend some more time with you and the other great folks from this site at the Gathering!