2015: Year In Review.
Well, that took longer than I thought it would. 2015 was a busy year, as it turns out.
At the end of each year, I make a habit of looking back and reflecting on the year that was. I think it’s a good exercise to do at this time of year, and as I wrote last year, I again found that it was a refreshing experience this time around. When I look at this body of work, I realize one thing. I shot A LOT. It wasn’t until I went back to the start of my January archives that I even remembered I shot some of these things.
But busy is a good thing. No, a great thing! Above is a gallery of my favorite pictures and favorite memories from 2015. Click on any individual photo to enlarge it. I’ve also included some of my favorite video pieces from the year.
I completed my sixth year as a photographer working in Major League Baseball, and my fourth as a Boston Red Sox team photographer. That role was made into a full-time Staff Photographer position in March, which I’m really proud of and thankful for. This season was as much about Fenway Park as it was the team on the field. Although the team finished last in the division for the second straight year, a collection of first class events, including concerts, football, Irish hurling, and milestones made for a really exciting year at Boston’s old stadium. I love the grind there, and I’m ready to recharge on some new creative initiatives with the team in 2016.
As a result of the full-time upgrade at Fenway, there were some sacrifices I had to make on the freelance side of my career. Taking two or three weeks off is tougher for me to do now, so I wasn’t able to make it back to shoot the Championships Wimbledon this year. I still got to shoot the BNP Paribas Open, though, where I witnessed some real history. I also shot and edited at some different events and games for Getty Images, which I’ve enjoyed immensely, and continued work for new and existing clients at events and weddings.
I also continued to grow on the video front, and began to work those skills into the corporate realm. Video is just as important as still photography, if not more, so I want to be sure to continue that work next year.
All along the way, I learned a lot, both about myself and about this crazy, fast-paced world I operate in. Looking back, there were some decisions I would rethink, but I’ve learned from those and think I’ve grown as a person. Most importantly, as I reflect on all of this, I’m reminded of how thankful I am to be surrounded by incredible people. Colleagues, mentors, friends, and family members. You’re only as good as the people you surround yourself with, and I’m really lucky to have great people in my life. Congratulations to all those people on everything they did in 2015.
Thank you so much for following along all year! Happy New Year!
2016 is going to be big.
2014: Year In Review.
I always like to make time to reflect back on the year that was. To me, it’s important to have a record of the work that I’ve done throughout the year, and in creating this post, found going back through this year’s work to be a particularly refreshing experience. I shot a lot, probably more than I have in any other year, and was lucky to be witness to some very special, historic moments.
Above is a loosely edited gallery of my favorite pictures and favorite memories from 2014. Click on any individual photo to enlarge it. I’ve also included just a few of my favorite video pieces from the year.
I completed my fifth year as a photographer working in Major League Baseball, and my third as a Boston Red Sox team photographer. Although the season didn’t live up to the dream World Series run of 2013, I still enjoyed every second of it. Fenway Park is always an exciting place, regardless of whether the team is winning or losing.
I continued to stay busy on the professional tennis tour as well, and worked as the official tournament photographer for my second BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, as a tournament photographer at my third Championships Wimbledon in London, England, as the tournament photographer for my second Connecticut Open in New Haven, Connecticut, and as a shooter at several events and appearances in between.
I kept traveling quite a bit, and thanks to a great working relationship with Elite Clubs National League Soccer, shot video and photos at tournaments in Florida, California, Arizona, and New Jersey. I also had the wonderful opportunity to work as part of the Getty Images team as a picture editor for NFL, and was embedded with an incredibly talented team at every New England Patriots home game this season.
On this blog, I posted a lot, and gave the site a much needed facelift. I’ve loved continuing to keep this record of my life and work, and I’m thankful for those who follow along. Here are the statistics from my yearly blogging report:
“The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 16,000 times in 2014. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 6 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.”
Overall, 2014 was a fantastic year. Like any year, there were highs and lows, and I learned a lot about myself and the profession I work in. But during this season, I’m always reminded of how lucky and thankful I am to be surrounded by so many talented, caring, and supportive colleagues, friends, and family members. I believe one’s work is only as meaningful as the people it’s spent with. Everyone continues to do big things, and it’s great to see how far we’ve all come this year!
Happy New Year! Much more to come in 2015!
Photos: Weymouth Club Interior Spaces.
Above is a gallery of interior photos I shot recently at the Weymouth Club Tennis and Fitness Center in Weymouth, Massachusetts for use on an upcoming redesign of their website.
I’m not an architectural photographer, but I think it’s a good skill to have in one’s arsenal, so I took this as a good opportunity to practice. I shot and post processed these using High-Dynamic Range (HDR) techniques, which I don’t do very often either. I think the HDR treatment, which involves shooting multiple photos of different exposures and stacking them together, gives a nice look and depth to photos when not overdone.
Photos: Isabella Stewart Gardner Third Thursdays.
Above is a selection of photos I shot on behalf of the beautiful Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston.
This event was part of their Third Thursdays series, which features some great art and music for guests to experience within the museum!
Photos: Christmas At Fenway Park.
Here are a few highlights from the annual Christmas at Fenway festivities at Fenway Park. No prize winners here, just a couple of holiday pictures.
Happy Holidays!
Photos: Boston Red Sox Holiday Caravan.
Every year, several Boston Red Sox players and coaches take part in a Holiday Caravan, during which they visit various hospitals and community centers to share some holiday cheer.
This year, infielder Garin Cecchini and pitchers Steven Wright and Heath Hembree were on the caravan, and made stops at six different hospitals: The Jimmy Fund, Boston Children’s Hospital, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Shriners Hospital For Children, Mass General Hospital, and Spaulding Rehabilitation Center. They also visited The Base inner city baseball clinic and the Four Seasons Hotel.
It’s always a great experience spending days on the road with the players. Thanks to Garin, Steven, and Heath, three great guys, for their time and for posing for so many photos over the two days.
It was also nice to have a quick byline in the Boston Herald from the trip.
Photos: Red Sox Foundation Visits Northeastern, Beth Israel.
Here are a few quick photos from the Red Sox Foundation’s visits to Northeastern University and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center last week. At Northeastern, the Foundation was hosting a fundraiser, and entertaining students with the World Series trophies and mascot, Wally.
At Beth Israel, this year’s class of Red Sox Scholars was given a tour of a few wings of the hospital, including the NICU and the Center for Minimally Invasive Surgery.
Photos: Boston Red Sox Sign Pablo Sandoval and Hanley Ramirez.
Today, we received the news that the Boston Red Sox acquired former San Francisco Giants third baseman Pablo Sandoval and former Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Hanley Ramirez. Although things have been very slow around here before Thanksgiving, today was a crazy day for us, filled with two press conferences and a couple different portrait shoots.
Here are a few basic frames from the day. Here and here are links to Facebook galleries with more images to look at. There are also two videos here and here that show myself and some of the other photographers in action. Welcome to Boston Panda and Hanley!
Photos: Boston Red Sox Recognize Mayor Menino Funeral Procession.
Today, thousands of people took to the streets to pay their respects to former Mayor, Thomas Menino, as his funeral procession made its way through the various neighborhoods of Boston.
It’s no secret that the Mayor was an avid fan of the Red Sox, so as the procession passed by Fenway Park, members of the team’s Front Office lined the sides of Yawkey Way and held Red Sox caps over their hearts as a gesture of thanks.
Here is a series of photos from earlier today, as well as a few of my favorite moments with the Mayor at Fenway Park during my three years here.