For USA readers, yesterday was Thanksgiving – I spent the day with family, being thankful for so much. For the international readers, I hope you joined in yesterday, or perhaps will join me in some thankfulness today.
Front and center on my list of things to be thankful for are: health, family, and community. Health makes the whole thing possible; family–immediate and extended–gives me the daily dose of what love really means, as well as the strength to live a full life; and community–my friends, my amazing staff, co-collaborators, and you–make it all so exciting, rich, and inspirational beyond my wildest dreams. All these things are wonderful and worthwhile things to celebrate.
Within the always-humbling, sometimes-overwhelming presence that this community has in my life, I draw an immeasurable amount of inspiration and motivation. It’s continually shocking for those times when I receive your thanks or kind words, because in my head, our roles are reversed – I feel like the one who clearly derives the most benefit from your participation in this constantly growing community. Words here cannot extend a big enough thanks to you.
Let me take a moment to thank a small handful of friends, collaborators, organizations that have for some reason or another recently made an (another?) impression on me. This is not an exhaustive list, but rather a short one that is present for me at the moment. They are all, in some unexpected ways, not to be missed:
NON PROFIT ORGS
4Culture.org
Blue Earth Alliance
Help-Portrait
MUSIC
Head Like A Kite
Victor Shade
Say Hi
Fences
Shabazz Palaces
GOOD PEOPLE
The Superformula
Ace Hotel
Vince Klimek.
Matt’s In The Market.
Foodista
Small-Lot Wines
Mike Horn
Build LLC
Theo Chocolate
Lastly. If you feel inclined to, please share in the comments section below something you’re thankful for. Anything sincere–and this is not just for the USA folks. It might be a USA holiday, but gratitude is worldwide. I’ll select a handful of comments and send you a signed book or something else to show my thanks for your sharing.
Oh, and I always love this reminder: “Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.” – William Arthur Ward Have a great weekend.
I am thankful to be a part of Help Portrait this year. I am thankful that I am going to be able to make portraits for women and children at Trinity Rescue Mission in Jacksonville, Florida next week.
I am REALLY thankful to the local Walgreens near Trinity. They have gotten on board in a major way. They are providing for each subject/family for FREE, an 8×10 print and 2 5×7 prints. We aimed high and told them we may have over 60 subjects and they still agreed.
Gotta say too that I am thankful for my wife. She has been so supportive in some major decisions I have made recently and I also have to give out thanks to Jesus, my Lord & Savior.
Thanks also goes out to you Chase. Your willingness to share information, ideas, and be an encouragement to the photographic community is awesome.
Over here in Belgium it was “business as usual”, but I guess it won’t take another decade before we will incorporate it into our lives and culture, just as we did with Halloween ….
Hope you had a wonderful day,
With love from Belgium!
I’m incredibly thankful for being able to follow my dreams and to take pictures for a living.
-Jack.
Honestly, I’m incredibly thankful for YOU. Since discovering your blog, and Creative Live, I’ve learned so much that has helped my freelance career. You’re a great inspiration and you’re giving back.
Ray
I am thankful for the few who were my childhood friends, those who still are and those I have come to know later in life.
I am thankful for the opportunities that life has presented to me.
I am thankful for taking advantage of many of those opportunities.
I am thankful for the people who gave me a chance, or took the chance on me.
I am thankful for the people who believed in me.
I am thankful for the people who loved me.
I am thankful for meeting, growing up with, and having all my loving grandparents.
I am thankful for the little things.
I am thankful for the experiences that I have been through, survived and learned something from.
I am thankful for having a two parent household.
I am thankful for my wife, kids and pets.
I am thankful for my first computer.
I am thankful for all the people who took the time to teach me something.
I am thankful for the times I was left alone when I needed to be.
I am thankful for all the things the future will being.
But the thing I’m most thankful for: Someone willing to interview me for a job. :)
I am thankful that my Marine son called my from Afghanistan. Enough said.
I’m thankful for a lot of things, but specially for
– The life that I have, it’s not glamorous, I don’t have money (actual “savings” $3.51, yeah that’s wright…!!!) my photo business sucks big time, I don’t have a photo shoot since September, I don’t have money for presents this year, it has been lots of pressure since in top of that I’m a newlywed. BUT I’m really grateful because I have the love of my wife, my family & friends & I have one of the most satisfying charity of all, I just finished a beautiful “Wanna live” series of boy with cancer & another with “Homeless Families”, just beautiful to see how different they see life when they see how they look, as one subject said “I didn’t know how beautiful life can be because of how immerse I’m in my situation, this gave me hope” THAT’S LIFE, when you can give to other & your own heart fills with REAL life. I’m not even average money wise, I’m filled with questions on how tomorrow will be, but as far as I have something to give I’m LIVING…!!!
Greatful for the love I feel when I hold my baby girl Emily in my arms a give her a cuddlesqeeze!