My roommate Josh on a normal morning in Athens.

2008. What an absurd year, for most people. If you spend enough time on the internet you’d get the feeling that the world was ending, or at least that the U.S. was. But, as garbage as things might seem I’m going to take a minute to say thanks for what was overall a great year. We all have bad days, and I may have had more of them than usual the past year … but I used to be such an optimist, to an annoying extent. I’m taking that mindset back for 2009, because it’s that mindset that makes things happens. There is good to come from every bad situation. My “bad” (at least that’s what a lot of other industry folks say) situation is that I love photography and it’s so hard to make a living at it anymore. But, here’s why life is good.

1 : I have a great family. I am going to (naively) navigate the waters of the freelance world following my graduation, and one reason I feel like I have a shot at this is because I love my family and they are okay if I move back in with them for awhile, while I try to pick myself up by my bootstraps.

2 : I love my friends. There are a lot of folks who move on after high school and never want to see those folks again. Different state, different country and a whole new life. I love living in new places and have lived in 5 different cities since 2002 … but all the while I’ve been fortunate enough to have great friends back at home who don’t really care about photography.

3: I love Ohio University. For the most part. It’s not a bug free program that I’m in by any means (and they need a good film scanner!), I nearly burn myself out at least a few times a year … but I think I’d be hard pressed to find another place that offers the type of supportive and passionate environment they offer from both classmates and faculty, especially at the price. All I really need to do is look at my portfolio before I started. I’m not sure how much better I’ve gotten, but I have more direction and a lot more photos to choose from at least. It’s given me a great opportunity to shape who I am and where I want to go.

4: I love photography. It doesn’t pay all my bills yet (possibly never), but I’m having a great time exploring all of the possibilities it offers and am so thankful to devote so much time to something that’s so often quite simply an enjoyable and therapeutic activity. Even if it doesn’t last, I’m thankful for these years.

5: I love real life, it saves you from the constant gloom talk on the internet. Sure, things have gone to hell in some ways, but there are driven, happy and optimistic people out there that are cranking forward, and I’ve been meeting them. It’s just important to realize they don’t waste their time pondering the death of the industry on internet forums.

6: I love the fact that this industry is very hard to break into. I need a good challenge. Win or lose, it will be an interesting journey, and all the more worth it if I’m still making photos 15 years down the road.

7 : There’s one other love, but she likes to keep a low profile =). Thanks for your support, see you in a few days.

Hoping everyone has a good, safe and fruitful 2009. Here’s to the unknown and what it holds.