So...photography.  Well, I've barely shot anything all year.  Some work for a friend, and a session with Ada.  That's it, and that's okay.  My work was at home this year.  That leaves me with the question of how I want to continue, if I want to continue.  For now we are still going through the health battle.  We are on the upside, it seems.  I have had a disconnect with photography as it is this year.  I haven't kept up with trends, or education, or equipment upgrades.  The biggest convention that I've wanted to go to since I begin this work was in Atlanta this year, and I passed on it.  Honestly, there are a lot of good photographers out there, and probably even more bad ones.  There are some great ones that stand out, that lead the pack, that make me want to be a better photographer (Barb Uil for one).  There are an awful lot of good ones that are so repetitive....meaning I see the same locations, posing, light, etc.  It's not bad work at all, it's just tiring to me to see it over and over again....even if it is great in every aspect of photography.  Quite frankly there's not a lot of variation that can be done most of the time.  Pinterest hasn't helped matters any.  Everyone has a photography board of the cutesy newborns in baskets with hats all snuggly, the sweet families in a a field, the couple in an edgy downtown scene.  Right now I'm just sort of tired of seeing the same kind of work.  Again, not bad, just...without a better word...boring.  So as for me, I'm taking some time out to do the family thing, think about where I'd like to be as a photographer, and think whether or not I want to venture back in to portrait or wedding work, and if I do what I want my work to look like. I love candid moments, and I always have.  I first set out to be a photojournalist back years ago when I started my photography journey at school.  That didn't come to pass.  That's part of the reason weddings appealed to me.  There are photographs that stick out in my mind that I've taken either at weddings or sessions that are totally unposed, in the moment, pure emotion stuff.  Those are my favorites.  I have learned this year as we struggled with Jeff's health, as he had many days where he couldn't be involved much at all with Ada, that the two of us couldn't do the projects we like to do together, that we wondered if what might be at play with his health might take him from us much earlier than we ever intended...I have learned that the day to day things are meant to be cherished.  I have enjoyed taking snapshots of mostly Jeff and Ada having sweet moments together.  I wanted her to be able to have something to look back on if the worst came to be.   Here are the photographs of 2013 that mean the most to me, that I couldn't imagine not having. Many of these are iPhone photos so the quality may not be superb.  These are the top ten, in no specific order. Then a slideshow with some other favorites of the year.

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