Going all philosophical.

   Yesterday was my 39th birthday. Something i like to do around this time is to look back on the past year and ask myself what i accomplished and if i'm happy with the way the year went. I have never really been one for new years resolutions, to me they're just ways of setting yourself up for disappointment and dissatifaction. So how did I do this year? Pretty well i think: a banner year for my own personal business  including branching out into photojournalism,  quite a bit of personal growth as well as making some business decisions that i think will be great to me in the future, lots of new skills learned, and a ton of fun times with friends and a few personal projects conquered.
    I encourage everyone to do this kind of self-analysis every once in a while, maybe not yearly. For those people that seem to never be happy with their surroundings or your lack of progress or even feeling like maybe you're going backwards, you really are in control of your life. I will never forget something i was told once, "if you feel like you're constantly swimming against the current you have two choices: either flip over and ride that current and see where it takes you, or get out of the river and re-evaluate where you are and pick a different spot to get in and take another go at it." Seems simple stupid, but so many people struggle with this. By all means i don't feel like i'm exactly where i want to be, but i am quite happy with how my decisions have turned out. I made some personal choices a while back to either be happy where I am or change it. The best birthday present i could have given myself. Try it.
    I leave you with only one image today. Although it's nothing spectacular or profound, read into it what i see: at his age the world is all his. He can make it whatever he wants and i sincerely hope he does. So i present to you my Tad, larger than life. You can still do this, it's never too late to take your life by the reigns and steer it in the direction you wish it were headed.

   I think I should take a second and thank some people that have helped me or inspired me this year. First off, I wouldn't have been able to do half of what i've done without my incredible wife tammy. She really gets me, which isn't easy. Next there is a group of photographers: Chris Hsieh, who is a constant inspiration for me business-wise and a great sounding board. Thank you brother, sushi soon! Then there's Rik Andes, who along with being a stellar photographer, is a constant force that reels me back in even though he doesn't probably know it. i find myself thinking "what would Rik do or say?". He's going to read this and say "really???" but it's true. There's a few people i have to thank for my transition into photojournalism, Ginny Hagin, i never ever ever would have thought to try it if you hadn't suggested it. Luke Townsend, I can't thank you enough for all the advice, and i hope your endeavours on the path of Buddhism fulfill your life as they have mine. I can't leave out all the wonderful people in The factory, my group of awesome photographers, you all inspire me and keep me motivated. Last but certainly not least is my best friend Heather. I love you girl. You deserve a medal just for putting up with me, and you're the best friend anyone could ask for.
    I know there are countless more people in my life that i owe thanks to, I can't squeeze them all into this post. So i just have to say thank you to them, you know who you are and you enrich my life daily. To all my friends and family and people that support my strange world, thank you. Simply put to end this post, don't settle for anything less than true happiness, and don't stop until you're where you want to be.

T.
    

My top ten favorites from 2011

   For me, compiling a gallery of my favorite images I shot this year is a ridiculously hard thing to do. I love them all. I pour my heart and soul and imagination into everything i shoot. Sure some things allow more creativity than others but i try to give them all as much thought as i can and do whatever i can to make them the best i can. It was tough, obviously. I stopped at 88 images although there were countless more I could have included. When i decided my long-overdue blog post would be an even smaller culling from those favorites it was a bit easier believe it or not.

   My choices for this top ten list are almost all for personal reasons, which i will try to explain along with each image. If you don't have the attention span to look through the whole gallery (which i will link to at the end of this) then this post should be a pretty good representation. It was easier to make this list because of the impact each one had on me, my work in terms of growth, and the new direction some of them have taken me, namely in a more journalistic role than i honestly ever saw myself moving.

   A few words on what i look forward to in 2012: first off this past year has been one of my most successful ever. Not entirely in a way of business growth as much as a reaffirmation of where i want to go and where i do not want to go. I shot my 100th wedding this year and i have a renewed love for them. I'm slowly figuring out that I really can put my own touches on them and impart some style into them. Sounds like it should be a no-brainer but it's a fine balance. Secondly this year has taken me in a photojournalistic direction that i had really never explored before. Working with the great people at the Hype Weekly, Manhattan magazine, and a surprise front-page for the collegian has hooked me. I look forward to doing much more of this kind of work, as well as a few more opportunities along these lines and branching further out into commercial work. No worries for all of my non-commercial clients present and future, you all still come first.

   Ok on to my top ten images of 2011... (they are in chronologic order, i couldn't prioritize them!)

This is one of my favorite families. One of my first shoots of 2011 and they were so fun and full of life this image will be one of my favorites for a very long time.

One of my favorite things is to combine visions with someone. This is my good friend Jill. She and I talked about doing these and both our ideas were nearly identical.This image was featured in a gallery show this year at the Manhattan Arts Center, as well as being used (to my surprise!) to represent the whole show!

These are three of my four kids. Enough said, almost. The thing that makes this image stand out to me is that it was entirely the idea of my oldest daughter Emma. My badasses.

When photographers go out to play together magic happens. I wish I could take full credit for this but it was actually the idea of my good friend Cat who was also shooting and the beautiful model Melisha, who is also an extremely accomplished photographer in her own right. She just also happens to be a stellar model!

As i said above, this year really renewed my love for wedding photography. This couple was elemental in that.  Theirs was a very unconventional ceremony and it was surrounded by love. 

Featured in an earlier blog post, this image is the end result of the cooperation of  several of my fellow photographers with help from a few models and extras. Another one that will be in my favorites list for a very long time.

This image pretty much propelled me into photojournalism. I was asked  by the staff of the Hype Weekly to shoot for a story on the Zeandale Art Project. In the process, along with making a great friend this was my first cover image. Truly addicting to see your work in print, let alone on a cover.

Alex caught me on one of my least creative days i can remember. I very rarely go into a shoot totally blank but i did this one. We walked, we talked... and by the time we called it a night we made some great images. Again maybe the thing that makes this image appear in this list is the fact that out of it we became good friends. A spectacular image with a little secret.

I am always willing to go outside of my comfort level. I will never forget the night we made this image, mainly because it was a big creative boost. 

Everyone that knows me and my philosophies toward photography  are aware that to me technical perfection  is not high on my list of priorities. While i don't intentionally try to break the rules, i do it quite often. This is a terrible image technically. there is almost nothing perfect about it, except that it perfectly describes and portrays Jess. 

There you have it. My labours of love and the pursuits of a passion that is nearly all-consuming. I have so many people to thank for this year that i cannot possibly try to list them for fear of forgetting someone. I think that's a subject for another post. These images all made it here for very personal reasons. I hope i didn't miss any here or in the complete list that any of my long time followers think should have been included. I encourage you all to comment and tell me if i did. As with nearly everything i do, these lists are a work in progress. Thank you all and I love every one of you. I wish you all a fantastic new year and hope you do the one thing that is most important in life, whatever it is that makes you truly happy.

Terry.

if you'd like to see the entire gallery, just go here:

http://szelphotography.com/site/#/galleries/my-favorites-from-2011/1/ 

and take a look around while you're there!