Goals, new stuff, and 2017

New beginnings.  Not only is that the monthly contest theme for my photo club this month, Linn Area Photo Club, but it is a good theme for today’s entry, and a good way to kick off the new year… and we’ll talk about the featured photo, too.

The photo:  I realized last night that the last NINE featured photos are from Michigan.  Now, there’s nothing wrong with that.  Michigan is a beautiful place, and Missy and I have been spending a lot of time there the last half of 2016.  It only stands to reason that many of my more recent photos would be from there, and let’s be honest, it’s easier to be excited about more recent shots than it is about something from eight years ago, no matter how good that old shot is.  Plus, we are IOWA Landscape Photography, so here you go.

The coming year: Some random thoughts…

• I have updated both my website and my blog.  It needed a refresh.  Now, all I did was change the colors around a bit, went for a lighter background.  I didn’t get all crazy and change everything up.  I reserve the right to do so at any time, though
• I am going to start marketing in a couple new areas.  Postcards and office wall art.  I feel that my work is well-suited to tasteful Midwestern-themed wall art, and this could work well.
• I have already started to a small degree, but I am going to dedicate 2017 to reviewing and re-working all my images.  I have scores of images that have never seen the light of day.  Some will be brought out, and some will be permanently deleted.  That last part I know will be tough.
• And, of course, more shooting.  A couple dedicated photo road trips.  Not sure where yet, but I’d like to expand my spring and winter options, especially.  Plus some Iowa waterfalls, etc.  Missy and I are also talking about a long weekend in Chicago, and do some exploring and shooting in an urban environment for a change.

Back to the photo and the present:  The above photo was on a day trip that I took locally in August 2015.  This one is one that has never before been published, and it needed to be.  It has a minimalist quality that appeals to me.

I have an almost identical photo of the same trees from the same vantage point in winter from a few years prior.