I’m not much into the holidays. I remember my distaste for them starting when I was young. Life was going along so merrily then suddenly there was an interruption, an intrusion, a holiday. It was Christmas, I couldn’t just spend the whole day doing whatever I liked. .no this was a ’special day’ meaning that there were certain things that HAD to be done and most likely my friends HAD to be somewhere doing something as well.

This holiday feels different. I’ve spent the last 4 hours alone in my house working on the computer and thinking about life, especially the photography part of it. I’m working through what could be called a growth phase, spending lots of time trying to define what I want most out of this photography obsession. I’ll post more about this soon. But now I’m just reminded how great it is that the obstacles I’m working to overcome are things like trying to decide whether I love to shoot aerials or outdoor adventure photos better.

Today is thanksgiving. I have a LOT to be thankful for. Here’s a few things that come to mind: Good, no make that great, health. Ability to pursue my photography passion not just for fun, but for a living. That stuff you might have heard about it being a bad idea to make your hobby your job, my experience has been the opposite, go for it! This last summer was dreamy, traveling around Alaska shooting photos without a schedule. Surf trip to Yakutat, Alaska in October. Financial security, I’m not wealthy per se, but I don’t have any real money worries. Each day I wake up whenever feels right, and see what the day brings. My office is 20ft from my bed, and the kitchen is nearby. Today’s visual thanks goes out to surf, and my surfing buddies, two special parts of my life. Yesterday we had some good waves, and great times. For thanksgiving dinner I’m heading over to a surfer friends.

I’ve heard that being grateful for something brings more of that into your life. So, if that mysterious power is listening: I am thankful for every wave and if there are waves tomorrow I’ll be thankful for those too.

Hope you are well. Here are a few recent surfing photos from one particularly enjoyable day in early November 2008.

A little self portrait, a little distorted but it still brings back some good memories.