Year in Review 2011

December 31, 2011

Yes, this is a year-in-review post. Yes, there are words and not just pictures. Scroll down to see the pictures and skip the words.

This year was quite a year for me. A year of firsts. A year of much growth, professionally and personally, although on this blog, I generally post my thoughts as they pertain to my professional life. However this year brought such profound personal change, it'd be silly not to mention it.

This was the year I learned (and continue to learn about) multimedia storytelling. In December of 2010, I purchased a Canon 7D with the understanding of its importance, but not yet understanding how powerful it would be. At that point I had already started shooting my project about Ricky (Live Fast, Ride Faster). I've already blogged about that experience, here. However I was pleasantly pleased to see that my first true multimedia venture was recognized in a couple contests. 2nd place in the March Multimedia Contest of the National Press Photographers Association, and a 3rd place in the Southern Newspapers Association year-end contest. However, I know that contests aren't the end-all be-all, and placing in any of them, while certainly an honor, does not diminish the fact that some luck has to be acknowledged. That being said, I'd be lying if I wasn't a bit "chuffed" (my Welsh sister in-law uses that word) that Ricky's story was recognized.

I can only hope that the year-end contests like VPA, NPPA, World Press and POYi might also yield similar

recognition, despite the larger and more competitive pools of applicants.

As Ricky's story was being published I was happily sitting in my in-law's kitchen in Albuquerque, stuffing my face with New Mexican food, waiting to head up to Santa Fe for the Santa Fe Photographic Workshop with Ami Vitale. I had been awarded a partial scholarship to attend their workshop and was thrilled with the opportunity. I blogged about it here. What an important week that turned out to be. Using that experience, I threw myself into several more projects, all on my website, here, and turned 2011 into a truly productive year for storytelling, no matter how simple (How to Execute a Shot Put) or metaphorical (White Elephant). The

White Elephant piece was also awarded a 3rd place in the NPPA monthly multimedia video category for November, and I think it's safe to say that Santa Fe and Ami Vitale had a lot to do with that.

There is no doubt in my mind that video/stills and multimedia are here to stay and any working photographer that wants to tell stories is going to have to learn how to do it, or be left behind.

Already there are incredible stories being told every day using a camera, some light audio gear, and a message. This is the future of journalism, and storytelling. In fact it won't surprise me when you begin to see the Academy Awards documentary category being filled with journalists like myself with a story to tell and a little bit of equipment. It won't take a $100,000 budget to create a film anymore. That much is true.

But the year wasn't all about video for me. I saw the aftermath of a devastating flood that got little coverage outside of our newspaper. This was the first time I ever witnessed any sort of disaster of any type of magnitude, and there were no casualties, just a massive loss of property.

So I gained a tremendous amount of respect for those photojournalists that covered the events in Haiti, Japan, and the Arab Spring. I can't imagine how difficult it must be to cover these events with the sort of professional acumen like what we have seen in the past year. But I also recognize that it may not be my "thing", so to speak. I see these disasters and I then see the hundreds or thousands of photojournalist who descend on the country looking to make pictures (and in some cases hope to make a name). I can't help but wonder how many stories in our own backyard are missed by people focused on trying to find images outside of the country. There are many images and stories to be found here, and that's what I intend to do in 2012.

However, I would be comically remiss to not mention the birth of my first child, Eva. She was born on December 6, and she is obviously the biggest event of the year for me. A game-changer, so to speak. So not only does 2012 look to be a year where I really focus on finding the best stories in my backyard, but I'll be doing this all with an eye toward a bigger responsibility than making nice pictures or video.

Here are what I thought were my best pictures of the year. For the best multimedia, visit here.

Monacan Powwow, Elon, VA. May, 2011.

Penn Quarter, Washington, DC.

Daniel Beard, owner, White Elephant. Multimedia, HERE

Children in a gymnastics class, Lake Ridge, VA. I'd never seen kids this flexible, before.

A series of fires swept through the county

Annual Hoopsfest Slam-Dunk contest.

While these aren't the greatest photos, it turns out that this kid, a freshman, is really developing into highly-sought after talent after starring in the U-17 World Cup for USA. Herbert Mejia-Flores (or Junior Flores). Look for him...soon.