Hey All!

Just wanted to strike up some conversation about what you that your highest moment and lowest moment were for 2006. It can be personal or photography-related - whatever hits you. Be spontaneous and try to go with what first comes to mind....



My highest: My Emmaus Walk (spiritual renewal program) in Alabama! My sister Carole encouraged me to do there instead of here in Minnesota where I now live. It was AMAZING! If I had to sum up the experience: You feel the love and grace of God like never before!!!! Truly moving experience.

Lowest: Not taking my family to Alabama for vacation last summer (as we usually have done). My Mom's health is not great and she really missed the long time we usually can all spend together with my 3 little ones. I'm the only child that lives away. I have Carole and 2 brothers - their families all live within a 1/2 mile of each other, and I love 1000 miles away.

Thanks for sharing!

Claire

My Highest: a bunch of medium sized moments that add up to the highest Launching my website, getting my first referral call and booking from someone I've never met before, my first order, my first order over $500, my husband developing his own love of photography and joining me my business

My Lowest: The beginning of the year last year with my SIL, who was mad at me about a Christmas gift for my MIL, a BUNCH of family drama was stirred up in all of it which led to about 10-11 month out of the year of neither my SIL or MIL speaking to me or Chris. (but this Christmas was good and either they let it go, or are good actors either way this Christmas was pleasant)

Just noticed this thread--very nice to ponder...

Hmmm...

Highest:
Business:Discovering OSP, Showit Web, and all the folks here and the community that is shared.
Personal: Emmaus - working the June walk and sponsoring you on yours in September--phenominal!

Lowest:
Business: Being so stressed at Christmastime with paintings to finish. I'm going to change that from here on.
Personal: Not spending enough time with my husband.

But I look forward to an awesome 2007!!
What about the rest of ya??

Carole

My all-time high of 2006 was the development of a sense of freedom in some major areas of my life: my art, my relationships, and my faith. It's been huge for me to feel like a weight has been removed that I never knew was even there.

My low: The past few months of navigating my relationship with my parents. I'm 20, the oldest of 5, and in school-- which is turning out to be prime-time for conflict as I am becoming an individual and developing opinions different from theirs. My new freedom-jazz is not going over well with them...

Great thread idea. I think it's so important to check in with yourself, I just never remember to do it without prompting. Thanks for the prompting...

High: The crazy, crazy busy fall portrait season that has made it possible to kiss the day job good-bye on 1.11.07. (I'll be self-employed!) And all of the amazing clients who have allowed me to be part of their lives and priceless moments over the course of the year.

Low: The toll on my wonderful, wonderful husband as he has allowed to me to invest all of my time in making this dream happen. I'm looking forward to being a better-rested, more present spouse in 2007.



Shannon - Emancipating, including your thoughts and opinions, is always hard girl. Hang in there. Sometimes it is OK to pull the Band-Aid off slowly...

High: The birth of my Son in June, Seeing my business grow beyond expectaions

Low: Seeing him (my son) suffer through Pnuemonia at Thanksgiving

Jason, I hope he's better now! Bless his heart...

Carole

My highest: Starting my biz this year and keeping my head above the water financially..so excited to see what 2007 brings!

My lowest: Finding out my father in law needed triple bypass...and then the next month of my husband being with his family in Sweden while his father had surgery and recooperated. Not Fun....but he is better now, so we are praising God for that!

Great thread!!

Highest: "officially" starting my biz, booking someone I didn't know beforehand , getting my first big order. Oh and finding OSP!


Lowest: Actually, this just happened. My best friend just stopped talking to me for no reason and I absolutely cannot think of why....it's so involved and I'm not going to bet into it here. But holy cow am I confused!!

That's hard, Alyssa! Hope it all works out...
Congrats on business!
Claire




Prayers for your FIL's continued recovery! Good luck in your business!
Claire




I know that pneumonia is hard!!! All my family (husband and kids ages 7, 6, and 4 /12 at the time) had it at the same time 2 yrs. ago. It was like a TB ward at night for 2 weeks. Very scary especially for little ones...

Blessings!
Claire




Be YOU, girl!!! Be true to yourself and love your family, too. They will probably eventually come around, but if they don't, that's just how it goes. Offer it up to God, and He will handle!

Be blessed!
Claire

Congrats, Jen, on your business and website!!! I got a new site too last month, and I'm so excited! Hope your family issues work out, too!

Blessings!
Claire

Highest: Having my wife join me on this photography adventure (thanks Honey!!!), which has ultimately led to a strengthening of our marriage, this forum, the friendships, and the absolute photo-hi of OSPS2, and all since July!!

Lowest: Watching my wife coming out of surgery just before Christmas 2005, beginning the year not sure exactly how everything would turn out from that, and then watching her struggle with the business owner that she had been doing contract work over the last few years, watching her become more and more dissatisfied with that.

Highest: Hearing your son's cancer is in remission.

Lowest: Doing a google search for me, then click on search images, then search with omitted results and finding that 14 out of the first 22 images that come up actually belong to another photographer that shot with me and worded his meta data to make this happen. Plus a few other things related to this but I don't want to get into all of that. Then when I called the photographer on it he said he sees nothing wrong with it and we just look at things differently. The whole thing ranks as the most unethical thing I have ever experienced in my twenty plus years as a photographer.

(that's all I can say)


My own answers:

Highest point of 2006:
2006 was the best year of my life. 2006 WAS a high point. The highest of the high for me was probably WPPI and meeting everyone. Follow that up with being asked to teach at WPPI in 07, lots of good family moments & OSP South - as well as our top 10 weddings absolutely ROCKING...well I can't pick.

Lowest point of 2006:
Burning the "Breaking up with Matt" CD for Sarah. Alls well that ends well, I guess. I hope 2007 is better personally. 2006 kicked business butt but had a great need for more personal time.

(Oh, and I'd like to learn how to sleep someday)

Lowest - separating from my husband, accepting that he is going to divorce me, and I have no control over it.
Highest! - New Years Eve 2006 -Realizing that my worth is completely in the Lord, and having the best time of my life in the arms of friends and family in Oregon- really appreciating life and all I'm grateful for. Just the fact that at 12:00am I was looking excitedly, whole heartedly toward 2007.

Highest, everything, 2006 was just amazing
Lowest, I seriously cannot think of anything, I am very pleased

In regard to Frank, I am pretty sure you never called or emailed about the Google Images issue, in fact, this is the first time that I am noticing it. I do vividly recall an angry phone call from you that lasted quite some time that had to do with a videographer that filmed a wedding with us who I thought, and still contend, did nothing inappropriate during a wedding where you felt wronged, but this specific topic never came up during that discussion or in any subsequent conversations.

As to my assumptions for why the images on my blog come up higher than your own:

-All of my images are accompanied by alternate text tags which are required to post an image in Word Press. As far as I know, it is meant to allow screen readers to describe an image to a visually impaired individual. When working hard in the middle of the summer I elect to copy and paste my alt-tag descriptions from image to image to save myself several minutes of precious time.

-The reason for the text stating "Wedding with Frank DiMeo" is to fairly credit you as the contracted photographer for that event. By reading the post you should note that it is made evident that I was the second photographer and am not, in any way, misrepresenting those details to a prospective client.

Should you wish to discuss this in private, I am more than willing to speak with you.

For the time being, I am going out to play basketball for a few hours so I will return this evening

well my highs: It would have to be starting up a business with my wife form nothing and watching it grow in 3 months time and continue to grow ever more. Celebrating 9 years of marriage with 3 boys, and getting involved and learning more about photography.

Lows are: well just being so busy at times that me and my wife not having enough time together, not wanting to have a relationship with my dad, and wondering if that will change.
at times hating my job and wanting to leave so many times and trying and trying so hard to want that quick fix but nothing ever happening.

Stewart C.

Highest - Getting engaged, and getting my fiance hooked on photograpghy (she's now my second shooter )

also

This was my first full year shooting weddings, and it was so much fun to shoot 22 weddings... which is ironic since to that point in my life I had been to like 2. It was so nice being able to jump in with both feet and not looking back. I never second shot a wedding with anyone but busted my butt and was able to do it!! Now I feel so incredibly comfortable doing it, and my work flow and what not is so incredibly speedy now!

I love what I'm doing and people see that IT'S SOOOOO MUCH FUN!

Lowest - The worst thing was loosing some loved ones. My step-grandpa passed away... One of my good friends from high school (played in a band with him) was killed in a car crash.... And my fiance's uncle passed away as well.

Rock on, girl, with the Lord!!! Don't know any details of your divorce, but it doesn't matter. You can start with the clean slate that God offers to us to start anew in HIM. Hope your 2007 is full of blessings in all that you do!

Claire

DE COLORES

I did Koinonia (that's what they call it in Erie, PA) back in ummm 1998!


So my High: Seeing all that My Father has for me! Enjoying my wife and three kids!

ETA: Oh.... and OSP


Low: Well, on occasion my sugar gets a little low.

Wow, a lot has happened in one year. I look back at 2006 and feel like it was 3 years in one.

Lowest: Losing my sweet puppies (I am a huge dog lover) and my grandfather within 2 weeks of each other.

Highest: Watching the Lord grow my business to 5x what it was in 2005 and specifically my trip to NYC where I got to know some amazing people.

I had this happen in the last year as well, it was one of the hardest things to deal with, especially since she wasn't communicating AT ALL. No word as to whether she was upset or angry, or if I did anything, or if it was nothing and she just needed to close herself off from the world. Eventually, I decided that if she wasn't going to talk to me about it, than I wasn't going to take it personally. I resolved myself to sending little love notes her way to let her know that I was thinking about her and that I was there for her with an open ear if she needed to talk about anything. I received my first "sign of life" from her just before Christmas. The note was still distant and cold, but I was glad to know that she was alive. It's unfortunate that she has to live with whatever resentment she's living with, but I figure that she'll talk to me about it when she's ready to stop feeling that way. For now... all I can do is show her that I'm open to listening.

Lowest: Started 2006 as a new mom with a 3 month old, having no clue how we would supplement my husband's income but having already quit my TV job knowing I just had to stay home with this munchkin.

Highest: Subsequently being taken under my brother-in-law's wing (www.clayjacksonphoto.com) and being encouraged, mentored and otherwise helped to start my photography biz. Booking and shooting my first solo wedding, second shooting for Clay and others, booking 3 videography weddings with my husband, finding OSP, and marinating in the love of my daughter and husband. Can't complain about any of that. Yeah!

DE COLORES!!!!

Wow, Neal, thanks for sharing your Decolores! Awesome spiritual experience, huh??!!! You're automatically a friend!!

Be blessed, brother...!
Claire

Here's one downer of mine: MY bestfriend stopped talking to me all together this past year, too. The last time I heard from her at all was in November of 2005. She moved to Connecticut the year before that, and we continued talking, but then when she moved back to NY, I had to call her mom to find out her phone number. I called her, we had a nice conversation and I said... now that you're back in town, we can get together again! I was all excited. But thats the last time I ever heard from her. Not a WORD.

Must be the year of the "bye bye best friend" thing. This girl has been my best friend since 9th grade. I totally don't get it.

On the upside, I have met TONS of great people this year. My business is kicking BUTT. My relationship with my one-and-only REAL bestfriend sweetie-pie, loverbuns is at an all time high. I am NOT working for anyone but myself (and my family, of course). My Dad actually admitted that he likes what I do. (thats BIG, trust me) I am NOT in an abusive relationship and I have control of my life for the first time. It took me a LONG time to get to this point and I am enjoying every minute of it.

And you have an awesome new avatar, I really like it!

The "Low" :
Realizing 2006 was not the year I could go fulltime, and I still gotta report to "El Day Job."
Paying increased property taxes!

Getting "High" :
Discovering how to shoot in "manual" (thanks eric)
Getting married to my best pal
Going to Kauai for the first time
Meeting the Legendary Daniel J. Watkins at Partner Con
Watching my wife go fulltime
My baby boy taking his first steps
Finding out we are having another one in June 07

Yes it all happened in that order!

Thanks! My Matty took it.

Neal, DE COLORES!!!! Instant siblings in Christ! Wow--isn't it amazing! I wonder who else has done Cursillo, Kairos, Emmaus or Koinonia??

Blessings to you and your family,
Carole