I posted an abbreviated version on my Facebook page of my plans for the new year but I know not all of you make it over to those parts.

Anyway, for 2014 my goals are:

- To simplify. To simplify in everything so that I can put my energy and focus into the things that matter. This goes for work and life. While I have always been a big fan of the "Getting Things Done" methodology I found that I was constantly chasing some new to-do app or reconfiguring a workflow unnecessarily. Just overthinking it in general. For this year my organizational tools are going to be narrowed down to Wunderlist and ShootQ alone. And when it comes to photography I suppose I'll summarize it this way: it's an odd feeling to accumulate the massive amount of equipment necessary to be a professional wedding photographer only to realize how little equipment matters. It's the awareness, anticipation, and skill that allow one to consistently capture those split second moments that matter. Megapixels do not.

- To create. I guess this isn't much of a change, in the sense that I have literally been a working photographer since college, but it's in the "how." In general I'm just looking forward to getting back to the basics. For me that means film, iPhone photos, and weird cameras. For my clients that just means I want to continue to get even better at telling the story of your day in a thorough and artistic way. Trust me, that sounds somewhat generic but it's everything.

- To Share. I want to share more of what I've created. My existing clients are always my first priority and (with one exception years ago) I always get them their fully edited images in 3 weeks. It's not easy to cut the industry standard in half but I do it because it's what I would want if I was hiring a photographer for my wedding. Unfortunately that means my blog suffers and I want to change that. I also want to share more of ALL the photography I do and that means more personal work like the two photos from beautiful Glen Arbor, Michigan below. I also want to share more about me. Art, music, family, whatever. It's a big decision to choose a photographer and I'd like you to know better who I am so that you can connect with and share my style.

So there you go. Not that anyone was asking but I feel like there's value in taking a few minutes to think about the new year. Five days in and I can't wait to see what the rest of the year holds!

Glen Arbor, Michigan