2009 Year in Review

2009, what a ride - in more ways than one. At the start of the year I paid a visit to Jer in Lima to celebrate his birthday and shoot a short documentary I hope to be posting soon. Production also continued full steam with my good friends at St. Vincent - when you see an exam room it's for them. And I was happy to do another segment for In the Life over the summer.

Once again the changing seasons were documented in Central Park, along the Hudson River bike path and upstate in the Catskills. There is the usual slew of brunches and gatherings with the usual lovely crowd and a few new additions. I was happy to welcome my mom to NYC, and visitors from California, Texas, Peru, and Italy. Besides a trip to the Jersey Shore, there was a very special week on Fire Island, and a nice holiday with my brother's family in Gig Harbor. When you see ruins they could be in Turkey, Portugal or England. If I saw you this year, you will probably see yourself, but don't blink, over 25,000 photos were edited to under 5,000 and crammed into 20 minutes of video.

Reading the video summary from last year I noted the impact of the economic downturn on friends and family and hoped for a better 2009. As we all know that didn't happen. In May I also became one of thousands of Americans laid off due to the recession. Though I was lucky to have freelance projects to fall back on and a good group of people to network and find support. Now I remain open to new opportunities and possibilities for freelance projects or a full time position.

In this spirit, simply wishing for a better 2010 is not enough. Rather, it's necessary to learn from experiences both good and bad to be able to navigate this new environment. Just looking at my own country I see it's not enough to elect someone who stands for change, you still have to fight for progress, for health care, for nutrition, for jobs, for the environment. So I hope that in 2010 you find the energy and will to stay engaged and make change any way you can in your world.

This video is dedicated to my dear Aunt Betty who passed the day after Christmas.