regardless of your choice of weather, i hope this finds you enjoying the best this season has to offer.

large note of thanks to everyone out there and all the fine folks that i’ve had the pleasure of coming into contact with this year. has been the best year yet for me in so many ways. many of them photography and business related but in the ongoing cosmic balance of life have to hand the award for best of the year to my son.

his entering our world has changed absolutely everything for me – visually speaking or not. has brought new meaning to what my good japanese friend always talked about in terms of having goals and moving through challenges. don’t worry, not about to flood this space with bad ass pics of my boy, maybe another day.

truly wish that with the twisting and turning of events over the last few months that has left the condition of the world seeming surreal that each of you finds a way to happiness and peace. may the coming holidays be a time of rest + recuperation and 2009 be a chance for us all to start anew with whatever we pursue.

there’s no doubt now that world economies are in flux like never before and it’s having a huge impact on the photo, advertising, editorial and newspaper markets. hell, it’s affecting every aspect of our field including the vendors we rely on and the stores we choose to purchase from. there are dire predictions from shooters in every corner.

money is one part of this business that many seem to shy away from. i’ve always preferred to deal with it upfront – regardless who you’re working with. we all need it so get it settled and everyone’s free to work. seth resnick pushes this view all the time, “business first, creativity second”.

with this in mind, the coming year will prove challenging for most if not all of us. shrinking budgets and slower work will mean being smart. of course, ideally we’re smart all the time and run our businesses accordingly so there won’t be any huge changes, right. if you are looking for ideas here’s a few. i always find it amazing though how many people are out of touch. and even more amazing (appalling?) is how many corporations and businesses simply don’t seem to get what’s happening out here on the ground.

outside of our control is what the manufacturers are putting into the market for us as “pros”. having been a nikon man for years i made the switch back in 2006 and never looked back for too many reasons to list. a firm believer in the vision not the tools i rarely dabble in partisian politics but i have to admit that nikon’s lastest move with their premier camera is beyond me – $8k is steep. especially with the good folks at canon breaking all expense models with the new 5D Mark II releasing this month (should have mine any day now). though the characters are not the most appropriate, this video really hits the spot with a few laughs. feel free to play it for your non geek friends and see if they get any of it to rate how far digital photography has seeped into mainstream culture.

and if you have any questions left as to the viability of video entering our world with the merging of technology in both these new cameras then let south korea dispel that notion. time to start longing for those film cameras …