2022: The Season Ahead
I am highly looking forward to the 2022 season. This one is going to be a little different that years past, but in some ways the same. Mentally, I am preparing myself now for what’s ahead.
In 2021 I focused on photographing local events (Big time! 14 to be exact, the most ever for me in a single season) and helping Dellwood Disc Golf with content creation. Now I’m not one to set goals or resolutions for the year, rather I set intentions.
Looking back at the 2021 season I remember thinking that I wanted to keep an open door for anything possible, life and the universe certainly showed itself with that!
For 2022 my focus is to experiment more, be consistent and finish the race (where I will re-certify myself as a savage, I will explain that.). For me, I find it easier to set goals this way. By keeping just a few words in mind, this allows me to focus and allow time for life to unfold, without holding expectations.
Experimenting more: Creatively, it’s not that I have found myself in a slump. What I have noticed is that I am in a routine and I’m not stepping outside of my comfort zone much. To change that up I am going to work with film more. When I started in photography, that’s all I worked with. Digital just wasn’t accessible and I’m so grateful for that. I’m going to work with all sorts of film too: black and white, color, Cinestill, Purple and more!
I am mostly excited about the purple film right now by Lomography. I’ve never seen anything else like it. What inspired me to try it in the first place is Maya Beano’s work, her nature scenes are dreamy and otherworldly.
I am also going to work on aerials! I just bought a drone: DJI Mini 2. This has long been a dream of mine, and too be honest I mostly want to photograph my shadow from above. I haven't flown it yet due to the cold snap that we have here now but the allure of long shadows and a birds eye view is engraved in my head.
Consistency: I want to consistently create. Good days, bad days, I just want to create more period. Reason being, I want to build my muscle memory more, so that I can grow and expand more.
The Race (and savage part): I am doing the Chicago Triathlon Olympic Distance in August! Training for this and doing hard things in general is just the nature of my beast. I love how human it makes me feel.
In high school I discovered that this beast lives inside of me after my cousin passed away (he drowned), and I was taking a lifeguarding class at the time. I missed so many days of class so they made me make up laps... I did 40 in a row. That was the moment that broke me in the kind of way that makes you realize anything is possible, if you are willing to go there. Ever since then I have biked, ran, walked and swam obscene distances (that is, obscene according to most that I have mentioned these things to). I like it. And I like that David Goggins mentality, so yes I am going to recertify myself as a savage because right now I find myself getting older and too soft, and this just needs to happen.
So those are my intentions for 2022: experiment, be consistent and complete the race!
2022 CALENDAR
My calendar isn’t finalized for the year by any means, but theses are just a few of the events and bucket list things I plant to cover this year. Aside from these events, building the stock photography gallery is going to be in full swing, and I hope to add a couple of road trips in-between too.
FRACTION RUN AT THE CANYONS
DUSTY BROWN AND TAN COLORS REALLY MAKES THE CANYONS POP!
TAKE A LOOK AT LAST YEAR’S PHOTOS HERE.
BELTANE - I’M GOING TO PLAY IT!
ILLINOIS STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS - THIS YEAR IS THE 40TH!
U.S. WOMEN’S DISC GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP - MADISON, WI
CLASH AT THE CANYONS - OUR LOCAL FAVORITE TOURING PRO EVENT
FEATHER FRENZY - WOMEN’S GLOBAL EVENT
LEDGESTONE - HOW COULD YOU MISS THIS? DID YOU KNOW I WON THE FIRST EVER LEDGESTONE FOR FPO IN 2011? AND HAVE GONE EVERY YEAR SINCE
CHICAGO TRIATHLON!
J-TOWN CHAMPIONSHIPS
MOVEMBER DOUBLES
