{A whole bunch of news rolled up in to one blog post...}

{This is going to be an all out brag fest - my raw off the cuff feelings, you've been warned! -- And it's a long one!}

First of all, this must be a week of milestones, realizations, and down right just plain awesomeness.. I'm typically not the type to openly gush on my photography page {or blog} about the thrill some things bring me... and I'm kind of a stickler about seeing posts about how great someone thinks they are... but darn it,  it's high time I start acknowledging my accomplishments.

So.. I log in today to my deviant account and have in less than 24 hr had six requests to feature images of mine in online communities, this isn't the most requests a photograph has received as there is one in my collection with 32 group entries ... but it is definitely enlightening to see something like that when I log in to my account.

Up next on the list of big news is that I will finally be doing some tangible commercial work at some point {either this year or next} for a production company who has requested my services for their marketing and press related items. I'm not exactly sure on all the details, however I have read that they were recently picked up by a multi-billion dollar company, so this could potentially bring in a lot of excellent traffic to my business. Which feels even strange expressing ... because they could have chosen a high number of people to be involved, but instead they chose me... that speaks volumes and I am truly humbled.

In other news, this week my fan page hit 1,000 fans. I never thought that day would come... I'm not a silent tagger and I only participate heavily in one online community {one that has provided me with the most therapeutic help and moral support from respectable photographers} .... I tried out a marketing strategy that ended up working well to bring in local viewers... because let's face it - having 1,000 fans means diddly if they're not applicable. The majority have stuck with me, because to be honest I thought many may end up turning the other cheek... I guess that's my critical nature, but I'm very happy as I've picked up a lot of sessions and added a few more weddings to my roster.

I had something else to share...  oh yeah, so I took the leap of public scrutiny {by the pros... } and entered a photo in a photography contest.

I entered this:

I love this photograph on several levels. I'm typically the type of photographer who always chooses the colored photograph over the b&w... many of my favorite photographs {if not all my favorites} are non-posed and candid, when photographing children I typically have smiles and laughter which I feel is conveyed better in a colored photograph. However this series consisted of Chloe's much more serious side, the emotion she portrayed conveyed better emotionally {to me} through a b&w photograph. I personally find that to date this is one of my better photographs... even if it is breaking some rules of composition and the model may not be expressing the most widely accepted look... but that's what draws me to it and makes me love it even more. It's mysterious and quite honestly put .... it moves me.

I'm actually for once not over analytical, not telling myself "you should have done THIS... and why didn't you think of doing this?" or  "it could be better" and that's ironic because I produced some of my best work this week and it's the very first time I was publicly criticized, very interesting dynamic. Regardless, I'm a little unfazed.... maybe because the remarks weren't tangible nor all together that threatening.... and I'm actually proud of this series. I'm excited about this photograph and so I decided to just do it and submit it to a photography contest. I'm not expecting anything to come of it... but I can always hope. So fingers crossed for that.

It's funny to me, at the beginning of the year I said that this year was going to be a big year... of course, I had a lot of doubt behind that statement... I'm hoping to prove myself wrong and hoping this year IS a big year. It's so hard in this area to get any recognition... you really have to push to get what you want and it's very easy to become discouraged... I've been feeling nothing less than blessed lately, I'm finally understanding that dreams are attainable if you set your mind to it. We really can achieve anything with the right attitude, the right devotion, the proper knowledge and individualism. I'm ready. Bring it on.