It has been a great year. I have learned a lot from 2013… for better and for worse. I feel beyond blessed to look back at my year in photography and see how far I have come. Someone once said “your first 10,000 photos will be your worst.” Well, I am not sure where I am in number of photos total but I do know that I have no where to go but up.

 

I went from a photographer experienced in families and couples to a maternity photographer to a newborn photographer (thanks to one sweet friend, Amanda, who loved my work and thought it would be perfect for her new family of three) to a consistent wedding second shooter (thanks for the vote of confidence John Cain Photography) to a girl who is busy every weekend with shoots. Like I said, I am beyond blessed and keep pinching myself to make sure this is real. Sure, I like my photos, but to know that others like them as well makes me so happy and feel on top of the world.

 

I found a bucket list with a few “goals” for my future recently that I probably wrote about 4 or 5 years ago as a wide-eyed, fresh-out-of-college kid (I still feel like a kid). Back then I really wanted to take photos as at least a part time gig but was to scared to put myself out there. Luckily, I got a few votes of confidence from friends and colleagues and I started trying…and here I am. When I found that 5 by 7 notecard with my hopes and dreams scribbled down on it and it said “be a part-time photographer”(among a few other dreams like be fluent in spanish and go back to Italy), a part of me cheered for myself like a mom would after their kid scored their first goal and the other part had a hard time not tearing up. I couldn’t believe I did it and was doing it. And it is still a shock.

 

So, there is nothing left to say but thank you. Thank you to everyone who believed in me, supported me, who likes my work, who has hired me, and hired me again or who referred me to a friend or who just knew I could do it. I am not sure I will ever not feel like a kid with a camera in my hands, but hey, I kind of like that. “Stay foolish, stay hungry,” right? Steve Jobs just knew.

 

Here is a short collection of my view from 2013. Like I said, it was a good year.