Setting Goals: 2016

Pozos y Casas (Holes and Houses). Dacono, Colorado, 2016

Before this year began, I set for myself three major goals with my photography. The idea was try to move my work to a higher level in terms of both quality and depth, and in terms of recognition. I figured if I could achieve at least one of these goals, I would be more than mighty pleased.

Well, I’ll be smackered if I didn’t achieve all three!

For the record, here were my objectives…

1. Get a piece or a portfolio accepted for an exhibition at the Colorado Center for Fine Art Photography in Fort Collins. 

The “C4FAP”, as it is informally called, has gained an international reputation for finding and displaying work from up and coming photographers around the world. I had tried several times before to have a piece juried in to an exhibition here but had never been successful–until this year. My photograph “Approaching Inferno” is currently on display, along with 49 other images, as part of the Traditional Landscapes Exposition currently at the gallery (until June 10th).

2. Get accepted into the Boulder County Artist-in-Residence Program. 

This seemed like a wonderful opportunity to spend a week at the historic Caribou Ranch in the mountains above Nederland, Colorado and concentrate on nothing but creating. Lo and behold, I got it! I will be at the Ranch, out photographing at every sunrise and sunset surely, from August 28 through September 3, 2016.

3. Get a portfolio accepted by Black & White magazine for publication. 

This goal seemed to be a bit out-sized for me at my stage. But, I thought, why not try? I had always admired the amazing cutting-edge B&W work in this magazine, which is nationally distributed but has an international audience. I think it is safe to say that it is pretty much the magazine for anyone interested in emerging photographers world-wide who work in black and white as well as news about upcoming photography exhibitions, current events in the field, stories about the more established and iconic photographers, and so on.

I submitted three separate portfolios to Black & White–and they accepted one for their “2016 Portfolio Spotlight”! [Announced in Black & White Issue #116 August 2016, p.10.] Only 24 photographers a year are highlighted in their magazine in this way–usually with a short one-page article about their work and three additional pages showing their photography. Needless to say, I am absolutely thrilled! I am still not sure which portfolio was selected or the publication date for my “Spotlight”, but I’ll do a more in-depth blog post when I get the details.

What a year!

Moral of the story? Set goals and don’t, don’t, don’t, give up until you start achieving them!

Possible goal for next year: Have my photography actually start to pay a significant portion of my photography expenses. Now, that will be a long shot! You know, the starving artist meme and all that…But we’ll see. Stranger things have happened, eh, ranger?