There is something crazy fun about looking back at the pictures you take every year. Trying to narrow down what you want to show when the fact is, you love what you do sooo much, you want to post everything. I love the way I get reminded of the story of the year. So much is forgotten over the course of 365 days. The little trips, the families you met, the couples, the moments, the friends…it all makes me who I am as a photographer and I cherish being able to return one last time to remember how the year went down.

When the year began, I had high hopes it would be huge for me. I figured that 2011 ended on such a high note, there had to be some serious momentum carrying over to the new year. And I was blown away. All my goals were kind of destroyed. 16 weddings. 50ish lifestyle sessions. And a ton of engagement shoots. Not to mention all the fun from storm chasing, which included being part of a local monsoon TV special, chasing a storm live on the local NBC affiliate, speaking at Ignite Phoenix and getting my ugly mug on the ABC Nightly News.

I think the biggest thing to happen in 2012 though was a general sense of clarity. I’ve been doing this over four years now (which really isn’t a very long time), but it wasn’t until this year that I felt like I discovered who I was as a photographer. I found my style. I stopped shooting everything under the sun and focused on what I loved. I simplified things. Storms, weddings, families. That was it. And it brought an incredible sense of peace. No longer did I feel the need to go out and shoot every sunset, or do headshots or random events just because they paid cash dollars.

That of course doesn’t mean things wont change, or my style wont change…but what it does allow is for me to focus on clients and the work itself…not on figuring out what I want to do. And that is exciting.

And 2013 is already looking awesome and busy. Cannot wait to see what happens.

So here are the photos from this past year. They start off with a picture of a couple who’s wedding I shot on January 1st, 2011. They had a baby a year later and invited me back to photograph the little guy. I loved that. And then there is a trip Joshua Tree National Park and the Salton Sea with a group of great photographer buddies. From there it’s families, senior photos, couples, weddings, a trip to the plains for a little tornado chasing and then the monsoon season here in Arizona, plus a wedding in Utah, then family shoots again, weddings and a brief trip to Oregon.

I couldn’t narrow it down much further than this without feeling like I left something out! Hope you enjoy the look back.

 

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The Tree of Life

The Forgotten

The Calm on Salton Sea

Sunset on the Salton Sea

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Cholla at Sunset

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Gust Front

The Hand of God

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A dying monsoon storm

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Sunset on Page Ranch Road

A strike in south Tucson

Con Air

A haboob rolls through Phoenix

Incoming

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Double Impact

Trips

Back to the Future

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Crossing the Road

A trifecta

Thunder over the Bradshaws

Thunderstorm on Luepp

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Chocolate Falls

A micro-burst-haboob-storm

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From top to bottom

A show on Interstate 8

A barrage of lightning

The heavens opened

The sun sets on the monsoon

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A December sunset

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Foggy Multnomah

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