New Year's Resolutions for 2022

My approach to New Year’s resolutions has usually been that I don’t make one because they generally are destined for failure most the time. Or I do something like last year where I make ones that are too big and as a result of that very difficult to keep. With last year’s resolution the primary goal was to try post daily on TikTok. Unfortunately for me I ended up having trouble with that goal from the very first day as I failed to post a video on the first day of 2021. With each passing day that I didn’t post, I lost confidence that there was any chance at all that was going to suddenly change and start accomplishing. The lesson that I’m taking from last year has lead me to change my approach for my resolutions in 2022.

I’m sure there are some people out there that can go from 0-60 on goal with little problem, but I have realized that’s just not who I am. This has lead me to formulate a different approach for accomplishing my resolutions this year. My method is that I am progressively building my way to improvement beginning with small goals and working my way up as the year goes. So far I have found this system is very encouraging since right now I am easily accomplishing most of my goals and know it serves as a good base for when the difficulty increases as the months go on during the beginning of the year.

So I’m guessing you might be curious on what exactly my goals are this year. One of the my major goals is building my web presence. And for the month of January, my way of accomplishing that is posting at least once a week on a variety of different platforms including this here very blog. Then from there in February, it will be moved up to posting twice a week on different platforms. Beyond the first couple months of this year, I haven’t quite figured out where to set my expectations but I’m sure I’ll have a better idea when it comes around. 

Don't call it a comeback

Or I guess you can since it has been over 10 months since I last posted anything on here. Honestly, I’ll just leave deciding what to consider this up to you because what does it really matter. I never really went away and instead have continued to worked but just not posted about it. Basically I’m here today to tell you can expect me to start posting again soon and allow you a glimpse into what I’ve been up to with my photography over the last almost year.

So I’m guessing you might be wondering why I haven’t posted on here since time hasn’t particularly been scarce during this pandemic. I’d say that it can mostly boil down to the fact I’ve generally erred on the side caution. In my mind by not posting I was putting myself out there less and being safer as a result. Over the last year with photography there has definitely been a bit of hesitancy in taking on new photography work. When I did do photography, in the back of my mind there was a little bit of worry as to whether I was putting my health at risk by working and felt a little bit of guilt as a result.

Early on in 2020, it was looking like I was going to be having my best year in business. The shutdowns due to the pandemic definitely threw me off that trajectory as weddings were called off and having portrait sessions in my studio had to be halted. I realized that it’s pointless to dwell on what last year could have been like without the pandemic so I don’t spend much time doing that. Myself like many others has found a way to survive in this new normal. For me as a photographer that has meant still shooting weddings and only have portrait sessions outdoors while doing my best to wear a mask.

My studio space is the same place it has always been but it just hasn’t been used in about a year at this point. There have a been a few times where people have contacted inquiring about studio sessions which I’ve turned down since my studio is located at my parents’ home and they would prefer that I not bring any clients over at this time. Right now, I am aiming for starting to have the option of using my studio for photography when May rolls around. I figure by that time my parents’ will be be fully protected by the vaccine and I might have even received my first dose of the vaccine myself.

While my studio space hasn’t seen much in the way of portrait photography over the last year, it hasn’t just sat empty and unused. Instead near the beginning of the pandemic, I rearranged things so I could use it for my side hustle of reselling a variety of items on eBay and Mercari. This side business has certainly helped to keep me afloat during these tough times and it’s pretty cool to think these items that had simply been gathering dust are finding a second lease on life. The only real downside of running both my businesses out of the same space is cleaning up and switching things around when the times comes but I figure future Dylan can figure that out.

March 2020

The beginning of March seems like such a distant memory at this moment. At that time, there was a slight fear of coronavirus at that time, but most people could not foresee how things would drastically change in a couple weeks. I remember at the beginning of the month going to a couple events that had a decent sized crowds, like the Lobby Day in Springfield and CharletheFirst show in Milwaukee, and not being too worried at that time. Then the next week, I remember things beginning to change vey quickly with events being cancelled and places beginning to close leading me to realize how serious we should be taking coronavirus. That is when worry started to creep into my world and I began to question whether I would have been better off skipping those events.

The seriousness of the current situation really began to sink in during the evening of March 11th. On that evening it was announced that the NBA season was being suspended, Tom Hanks and his wife had tested positive for coronavirus, and that there would be a ban on travel from Europe. As I went to bed that evening, I remember being stressed and hoping that when I woke up the next day that I would find out this was all a bad dream. Of course when I did wake up the next day, I found out that the world was not returning to normal and I was wondering what to expect next. At that time I had a couple photo jobs scheduled in the next couple days and I was unsure if those would still be occurring.

Those couple photos gigs did end up going along as planned and were the last bit of photography I did before social distancing and shelter-in-place went into effect. My daily has not been changed all that much during this pandemic versus prior to it. Most weekdays no matter what’s going on in the world, I spend most my working hours over in my office/studio space at my parents’ place. The main difference is having more people over at my parents’ home. My sister, Josie, came back early from studying abroad in Prague since her program was closed down early because of the pandemic. Meanwhile, my mum, who is an elementary school teacher, has been home as well since all the local schools were closed down around the middle of March.

So I’m sure you are curious to know how things have been for my business during the month of March and what I’ve been up to. Well, this month actually started off strong with a few photography gigs. Before things began to shut down, I had an engagement session, did headshots for most of the staff at Heart of the City, and a senior portrait session. Then during the second half of the month, I’ve had time to work on a couple things. The main task that has taken up a decent amount of my time was putting in work on reselling items on eBay. A lot of the items that I’ve listed most recently were from an early March rummage sale in Gurnee with a variety of other items that I found at both my home and my parents’ home. This time has also allowed me to finally update listing of prints I was selling on the Facebook page for my business. Part of the thought process was that I was hoping to contribute to the virtual ArtWauk. However, when I went to participate I didn’t see much of anyone posting their work. Well, that’s it for now, I hope everyone out there is staying safe during these trying times.

February 2020

Usually writing my monthly blog post late into the month doesn’t seem all that strange. However, with everything that has occurred with the coronavirus pandemic, it feels a little strange this time around. February really does feel like a time when life much simpler and everything seemed to be moving in the right direction overall. If you were to take the month at the surface, it didn’t look over impressive, but I was certainly feeling hopeful about what would be coming the rest of the year.

This month didn’t bring with it much in the way of photography gigs, but it certainly felt like things were moving in the right direction. I once again participated in the bridal tasting and preferred event at Illinois Beach Resort in Zion, IL. Compared to when they held their event in January, the event in February was better attended and there was just a much better energy in the room overall. It was nice getting to participate in an event like that early in the month. The rest of the month I got a few different inquiries from brides about being their wedding photographer. It was beginning to look like I would be having a busy summer with a calendar full of weddings.

The month of February also saw me begin to get into the business of reselling to make some money on the side. I started off my business with a combination of unwanted items from both my apartment and my parents’ home. I have a strange assortment of items from clothing all the way to figurines left behind by my Nana available for purchase. I was really excited when I thought I had sold my first item pretty quickly after listing them. However, I would soon find out that the only reason this person was interested was because they knew I was new to selling and were trying to run a scam on me.

I also had a decent social life during the month of February with some interesting variety to it. To start the month I went to CLC for a Friday evening showing of the Chinese film, “A Long Day’s Journey into Night”. The next weekend, my mum and I did our usual and checked out the February edition of ArtWauk. Then following weekend was one with a couple performance with a Friday night trip down to Three Brothers Theater for a visiting comedy group called Deep Space Comedy. The next night I went over to Waukegan High School to catch their performance of “Midsummer’s Night Dream. So I’d say looking back at February now and especially in comparison, it was a pretty darn good month really.

January 2020

2020 has gotten off to a bit of an uneven start, but I’m happy to say that I feel like I’m making progress. My energies have mostly been related to my photography. The first Saturday of the month I spent my afternoon at Illinois Beach Resort for their bridal tasting and vendor event since I am a preferred vendor over there. Then the following Thursday, I had my first photography gig of the new year. I did photography for an event to celebrate the fact that Feroze Hanif was donating the money that he won as one H&R Block’s Franchisee of the Year to the Ray Bradbury Experience Museum. The Thursday after that I was yet again doing event photography with this time it being for the Lake County Community Foundation’s Engage Lake County that took place out at the University Center in Grayslake. The final victory I had in my business during the month of January was getting booked for three more weddings this coming year.

I like many people have tried to make changes to go with changing of the calendar to a new year. One of my goals for the new year has been keeping up with my routine of running semi regularly. At the end of 2019, I was doing pretty good on keeping up with my running. Unfortunately in the first month of the new year it has been really hit and miss for me. Part of my problem is that I’m resisting getting a gym membership even during the cold winter months and as a result have to coordinate my run with the Field House’s times where Waukegan residents can use the indoor track for free. The first available time for city residents to run is at 9am ends up cutting into the work day. Meanwhile for the later time starting at 7:30pm, I struggle to motivate to change into my running clothes and hit the track after the work day.

There are also a couple new ventures of mine that have started in 2020. For one, I’ve been spending about an hour each day doing a little housework at my parents’ house. This is meant to help supplement my income during these slow winter months. The second new endeavor for me is I’ve entered into the area of stock photography. Starting in the middle of January I started to upload some of my past photos to Adobe Stock. Here I am more than a month later and I still haven’t quite caught up with my back catalog of photos. You can bet that once I am caught up, I’m going to start getting back out there to take some new photos.

Overall, I’d say it has been a decent beginning to the new year. My social life has been fairly quiet the last month, but I won’t complain too much about that. A lot of time my weekend nights have been spent being a homebody cuddled up on the couch with my cats enjoying a few drinks and finally watching Orange is the New Black on Netflix. Otherwise those evenings were spent hanging a bit with my parents and even occasionally my sister, Josie, before she headed to the Czech Republic for her semester abroad.

July 2019

The month of July was certainly more of a month of work than play. There were a few times where my photography took me took familiar territory. With the first gig of this month it was the fact that I was photographing my former hairdresser, Maria, and her family. The next two gigs the familiarity sprung from the fact that they took place at a location, Bowen Park, that I’ve been to on numerous occasions. Granted, they could not have been two more different jobs. The first was a 6-month milestone portrait session that had originally been planned for June, but ended up getting pushed back due to the weather. To contrast with that, the other work I did at Bowen was capturing a wedding ceremony.

The end of the month ended up being a little busy for me as I had three different photo jobs in the last week. Last Friday I had motivation to get my studio space back in order as I had someone stop by to get some basic photos for a modeling portfolio. Then on Saturday, I traveled up to the Menomonee Falls, WI area to photograph a wedding. To close out the month, I had a portrait session for a pet turtle of all things at Bevier Park. I’m trying to get back more into blogging and tell you at least about some of this different shoots that I had in July.

As previously stated, my social life was certainly more low key during this month especially when compared to last month. The most noteworthy social time was the second weekend of July. The weekend started a little early for me as I took Friday off since it was the day a bench at the Waukegan Public Library was getting dedicated to my maternal grandparents. The next day, I checked out Scoop the Loop with some friends since it was happening in downtown Waukegan. Finally, I closed out that weekend on Sunday by getting together for game night. Other than one busy weekend I didn’t have too much going on in my social life.

Currently I don’t have much planned for the month of August. The only things on my schedule are photography gigs the next two weekends. First, there’s a wedding that I’m photographing tomorrow in Crown Point, IN. Then, I have a party that I’m doing photography for the following weekend. Meanwhile, I don’t have any definitive plans as far as social engagements. I’m debating whether to catch a concert or two, but there is nothing definitive at the moment. Well, until next time. hope all is well.

October 2018

I’m a little late on posting about the month of October, but the optimist in me figures it’s fine since the month of November isn’t quite half way over right now. Overall I would say October was a decent month even if there was not a ton going on in my world in regards to business and social life. I had a couple different photo sessions and one major social event during the month.

My first photo session was late in the month and brought me to the new tower of the Lake County courthouse for wedding photography. I was a little unsure of what to expect when I decided that we should take the formal photos indoors since the weather was not looking particularly good on that Saturday. I was happy that security there helped me out and pointed me in the direction of the best spot for photographs in the building.

The other photo session was with the Vasher family and took place on Halloween at Independence Grove. I was surprised at how nice the weather was for this shoot as it was comfortable to be outside even without a jacket. This is actually the third time I’ve photographed them over the last year-and-a-half. It’s always interesting getting to see the growth over time and being able to capture it.

The big social event for the month of October was going to Florida for Suwannee Hulaween with some friends of mine. Normally when I’ve attended festivals, me and a few people opt for driving to the festival grounds and camp in a tent. This time around we decided to switch it up a bit and fly out and rent a R.V. This was my second year going to Hulaween and enjoyed it as much this time if not more since we had the luxury of our camper to help escape the elements. Some of my favorite acts from the weekend were Manic Focus, Break Science, Minnesota, Gramatik, and Tipper.

Currently, I do not have a ton of plans for the month of November with my business. The only upcoming photography gig this month is capturing pictures for Faith in Place’s Annual Fundraiser. Also, I will once again be participating in Small Business Saturday and selling prints and gift certificates for photo sessions. I will be sharing space with a few other talented artists in downtown Waukegan at the Parlor. I also have some of my artistic work currently on display at Family Piano Co, Urban Edge, and the Jack Benny Center in Bowen Park.

My calendar is looking rather sparse for the rest of the month. This weekend was actually decent as far as events to attend was concerned. On Friday, I paid a brief visit to Booner’s Place for a networking event that drew a pretty sparse crowd. Then on Saturday, I had a good time going to my friend Julio’s new place for an apartment warming party. It was a ton of fun getting to hang out with a group of friends that I had not hung out with in quite awhile. Also, I’m counting this evening as an extension of the weekend since I’m planning on going to Sketchbook Brewing Co. for their 4th anniversary celebration. The rest of the month, I do not have much planned, but then again that can change pretty quickly sometimes. Well, I hope everyone has a good month of November and great Thanksgiving!

August 2018

Photography work was minimal for the the month of August. One of the bookings that I thought I might have at the beginning of the month for a Racine couple's 10th anniversary fell through unfortunately. Meanwhile as I posted about in my last blog entry, I did the Larsen family portrait yet again this year. Also noteworthy for my photography is that I will have a few pieces on display at the Family Piano Company. Currently the photos on display are from summer since my plan is to have pieces that coordinate with seasons of the year. It's definitely a very cool opportunity that Family Piano Company has allowed me in using their space.

My big adventure for the month of August was going out to Colorado to see Pretty Light Live perform at Red Rocks Amphitheater. I'm very happy that I ended up finally making a trip out to Colorado after talking about it the last couple years. It was a great weekend with great music and friends in a beautiful environment. The only complaint I can possibly think of is that we did not do more exploring. Granted I'm hopeful that I'll make it back out that way some time to explore Colorado further. 

The month of September will definitely be an interesting one. On the first day of this month, I had my first big gig of the month as I photographed a quinceañera. Right now, I'm less than 2 weeks away from photographing the wedding of one a classmate from high school. Meanwhile as far as fun activities, we are now in the midst of one of the most exciting months on the sports calendar. College football started this weekend with my favorite teams, Notre Dame and the Ohio State University, winning their opening games. Then this weekend, the N.F.L. kicks off and the Bears face off against the Packers. And there's also my Cubs making a strong case once again to participate in playoff baseball again.

Spread the Hug

Spread the Hug is an organization that I first became involved with as a volunteer.  It all began in May 2017 when I came across an ad on Craigslist looking for a photographer for free hugs in downtown Chicago. Once I took a more thorough look at the ad and the related site (spreadthehug.love), I was impressed by the organization's mission and felt like it would an interesting opportunity for me to help out. The mission of Spread the Hug is breaking down barriers between people, reducing fear and hostility, cracking open hearts, spreading love, and encouraging a culture of kindness -- ONE BIG HUG at a time.

While the founder of the organization, Mark Abrams, was in Chicago for a business conference, he decided he would spend some time spreading the hug in the city. Our crew for this event consisted of 4 people: myself, Mark, another photographer named Meagan Baker, and a videographer named Anthony Lasala. Going into this, I think most of us thought we were only simply going to be chronicling Mark hugging people outside the Water Tower Place in Chicago. Instead, Mark encouraged us all to participate and we all did at one time or another. 

Helping and participating in this event in Chicago, ultimately lead to me becoming a seed of sorts for Spread the Hug. Once I got my hug dealer t-shirt in the mail, I began to wear it for one of the days of the festivals I attend. Over the last year, I have dealt hugs and given out awesome cards at Hulaween, Pretty Lights Detroit Night 2, Okechobee, Summer Camp, and Electric Forest. And don't worry because I do not plan on calling it quits any time soon. If you're interested in participating yourself, follow this link here.

Mark Abrams, founder of Spread the Hug

Ahhh!!! I haven't posted a blog in 3 months!!!

I'm pretty sure I don't have many people who follow this blog right now so I don't think there have been too many people eagerly waiting to know my whereabouts. And also I'm not really sure where to even begin honestly. The last few months have been an exercise in my ongoing battle to try to find the proper balance between work and play. There was even a time briefly where I had to manage working two jobs at once. 

Over the last few months, I have had an interesting assortment of photography jobs. Late in the month of April, I chronicled Faith in Place's trip down to Springfield for Advocacy. Then I ended the month by capturing photos of Greek Orthodox christening. Then, I began the month of May by working once again for the Waukegan Chamber of Commerce for their Wake Up with Waukegan event, which had Congressman Brad Schneider as the guest speaker. Also during May, I assisted a local photographer by the name of Marie Schoblocher with a wedding up in Kenosha, WI. 

Looking back, the month of June was actually pretty busy and perhaps that's part of the reason it went by so quickly. To begin the month, I participated in a couple different art fairs. The first one was on the first Friday in June and was called the D.I.Y. Art Fair at Cracken Cakes and More in Beach Park. While there was not much in the way of people that visited that art fair, I'm always eager to take any opportunity to try to get my name out to a wider audience. Then the next day, I had a tent in the Dandelion Wine Art Festival. This is the 4th time that I have been a part of this festival. I keep coming back because there is generally a decent turn out and I usually sell a piece or two.

In addition to art fairs, I also had a decent amount of photography work during the month of June. In fact, there was a four day stretch where I had a photo gig each day. I started off on a Wednesday with me doing photography for the Waukegan Chamber of Commerce's Golf Outing at Glen Flora Country Club. The next day I went out to Itasca to do a couple headshots for Premier Design + Build Group. My Friday evening was spent having fun doing photography at a 3 year old's birthday party. My final job during this stretch was actually photography for the 3rd Annual Kicks to Cure Cancer Foot Golf event at Salt Creek Golf Club in Wood Dale. My final gig of the month was a week later when I did photos for a married couple's joint 50th birthday, which they coined as a 100 year celebration. 

Meanwhile when it comes to fun, I have been at a different music festival nearly every other weekend it seems like recently. I ended the month of May by going to Summer Camp Music Festival in Chillicothe once again. Then a couple weeks after that I spent the weekend in Chicago for Spring Awakening Music Festival. It was actually the first time I've attended the full weekend in a few years. Finally, during the end of June, I returned to Electric Forest in Rothbury, MI, for my 3rd straight. It's always such a fun festival that you can count good music, art, and vibes. 

And with all that, I feel like I've gotten you all caught up with my life over the past few months. The month of July has been interesting so far and will likely continue to be the case. During the first week of July, I got back from Electric Forest and had a low key 4th of July celebration at my parents' place. Meanwhile, yesterday started off with me doing photography of a baptism ceremony at St. Paul the Apostle Church and the reception afterwards at Primo.

 Tomorrow, I'm beginning my trek out to another music festival, Camp Bisco, which is in Scranton, PA. This is my first time going to this festival, but I was inspired to go since my two friends' that went last year really enjoyed it. Plus, I think it's a little cool that it's in the city where Dunder Mifflin is located in the show "The Office". The weekend after I get back will be interesting as well. There will be lots of family in town since my cousin, Agnes, will be getting married in Chicago. I'm unsure of how much I will be seeing of visiting family though because I have a couple photo gigs that weekend. I have a family portrait session on that Friday and the next day I will be missing my cousin's wedding and instead be photographing a backyard wedding in Burlington, WI. As I said, July will be an interesting month.