In a quick recap, last year started off rough. It was a struggle out of the gate, but luckily enough I had some real good buddies that helped me find my stride. Graduating was a real gut check and there’s no way I would have kept my sanity if I wasn’t surrounded by people going through the same thing. Trying to be a professional photographer is pretty much swinging for the fences and it’s definitely not something that you can achieve alone. I worked on a few large projects this past year that I would have never been able to pull off previously, now that I’m headed into 2012 I only have bigger and grander projects in mind. If this past year taught me anything, it’s that there will always be someone to lean on. Regardless whether it was something personal or professional I was never turned away from someone that could help me out. I learned a lot about being weak or clueless. I’m a better person now because of it.

I’m starting 2012 somewhere that’s foreign and strange. 4,667ft above sea level, Fort Huachuca, Arizona, is going to be my home for the next four months. I have a lot to learn here, not just about being a Military Intelligence Officer, but I’m sure as hell spending a whole lot of time thinking about thinking. I foresee a lot of chillin’ on the ridge line with Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. The little spare time I have here, I still don’t know how I’m going to handle being away from photography for so long. It’s looking like there are gonna be some desert landscapes in the next four months. I’m making myself a promise to have a plan. Last year ended on a high note, and while there’s gonna be a bit of a break, I’m coming back to the East Coast with a vengeance. I want to hit the ground running coming into the summer and there’s no way I’ll be able to do that without the collective help of everyone I’ve leaned on in the past. The expectation of 2012 is very simple, to be awesome. Here’s to rooftop raging, camaraderie and cranking this sh*t to eleven.

For the second project in Photo 1A we were supposed to create 3 detail prints. I did the regular acorn and manhole cover but I wanted to experiment with something. Crunched on time I had a friend come over and pose for this one. Much of this photo was inspired but that really confusing ad by Reebok. I imagined all those bodyscapes I’ve seen in art galleries. Shooting this was actually pretty tough, it was a single lamp held by Byron. Luckily in black and white I didn’t have to worry about any white balance mess. To get the magnification I wanted I had to use my 85mm, but even still I couldn’t get close enough because of it’s minimum focusing distance. Btw, the depth of field of a 85mm f/1.4 @ mfd is SO thin. I had trouble getting the belly button in focus! This was the best of the couple of frames I shot, but I still had to cheat a little and crop it. Hope my prof doesn’t notice. Or read this. Damn.

In case you were wondering here is that silly Reebok commercial: