Unlike the past few years, I am beginning 2015 at home by the fire. There are no travel plans in sight, except for meanderings down memory lane as I attempt to winnow 5 boxes of family photos and personal history into a small collection. Having successfully printed a book of my trip to Iceland I am feeling inspired to collect the family photos and history, digitize them and put them into a book or two. Digital formats will come and go, old snapshots will yellow and crumble, but I still have faith that books will be around for future generations to enjoy.

Creating family books is only one of many projects that will be keeping me busy this winter. My website and portfolios are getting a thorough review during my mentorship with Alison Shaw. As you notice changes, your feedback is always appreciated. I continue to seek out new and interesting ways to present images. I don’t know why, but I have this dream of printing images, really big, on silk, metal, and vinyl. The first biggie – 4’x’4’ image -is scheduled to go on permanent display mid-February at Graphic Innovations in Rhode Island. I am hoping to complete a 12’x4’ image for outdoor display before 2015 is over.

Another project is learning how to use a GoPro camera. This tiny, indestructible beast is not commonly used by fine art photographers. It belongs to what I call the “adventure nuts.” These are the young people that like to cycle to the top of the Himalayas, kayak over 100 ft waterfalls, surf the killer waves, hang glide off cliffs, etc. You know the type. They love GoPro cameras because they can be out in any weather, mounted on any helmet, bike, sled dog...and take videos and photos.

My adventure plans for the GoPro are much more modest. I want to put it into the streams where I have been shooting The Garden and the Brook images. Can I capture the meeting of plant and stream from the water’s perspective? Can I shoot botanicals from below, looking up through the water? What do ripples look like from below?

The only way to learn how to use the GoPro is to experiment and watch YouTube videos. All of the videos are of course done by twenty-somethings who, unlike me, never struggle to read the print on the camera’s tiny LCD screen. Their youthful exuberance is the perfect antidote for feeling old when the Medicare card arrives.

Wishing you the best in 2015.