2018, like all years, was full of opinions, triumphs, tragedies, loneliness, and thankfulness. I’ve spent 20 minutes sitting here, thinking about the good things and the unexplainably unfair things that I have seen my friends and acquaintances experience this year. They seem to defy a neat moral, but they do reinforce a thing that I’ve been thinking about. Life is easier together. This year I’ve made baby steps to experience that in person. I’ve spent much time looking at others through a screen. It’s a safe way to see the world, but hardly a substitute. For 2019, I want to see more of the world in person. I want to feel the real joys and the real sadness. The real cuts, and the real healing. I hope to hear opinions from real people this year, and express fewer opinions in the virtual world.
This year instead of trying to theme my Best Of too tightly, I picked things that represented more of the total experience. Some of these photos are for the joy of photography, some are for the necessary business side. Some photos, somehow bridge that magical divide between fulfilling and paying. Some are rejected ideas that may get another life someday. Some are as safe as can be. Some are my most risky concepts so far. They all combine to hopefully show the reality of all work. There can be basic routine and adrenaline-tingling decisions in the same week. I hope to embrace both more fully in 2019.
To all of you who have hired me or recommended me in 2018: Thank you. It’s hard to convey how much your faith has impacted me. As a small company, I don’t have much of an advertising budget, but I have discovered that your word carries more weight than all the money I could spend. When you refer my services to a friend, you are doing something that I truly can not accomplish by myself. Thank you again, and I wish you a wonderful 2019.
Grant Beachy
