I heard once that people mostly judge times in “before and after.” As in “before I graduated high school” or “after I got married.” We remember our lives as these chunks of time. I think we do it because it’s easy to mark time by these major moments. I have never thought “after I bought that shirt.” It is always major life events. In the very end of 2010 I had two such events…well I had one and only time will tell about the other.
In October I went to New York for an event called NYC Fotoworks. Basically what it amounts to is speed dating for photographers. I was able to get meetings with people I would never have gotten on my own. I received so much feedback on my work, mostly all positive but there was defiantly some criticism, which I welcomed with and open mind. My very first meeting was with Marcel Saba from Redux Pictures. In our short time we discussed my work and my goals and he told me to keep in touch. A few days later I followed up with him thanking him for his time and opinion. A few emails, phone conversations, and a contract I became a contributor for Redux Pictures. I hope that this event is one that I will use when discussing my career.
After the event in New York I headed up the coast to Massachusetts to visit with one of my aunts. While there I was able to take a short drive to visit my Grandmother in New Hampshire. While I was in New York my Grandmother was diagnosed with Cancer. So now more then ever it was important to see her. We spent the afternoon watching Swamp People and visiting about whatever came up. We did talk about her illness and she was very clear about her wishes. She was happy to have lived the life she had but didn’t want to go through treatment. We ended our time together with a portrait session, which ment a great deal to me. Less then a month later she was gone. I know that I will mark time by this event.
I know that there will be many more of these moments in my professional career and personal life. I hope that marking time by these events will make me better at both.
