2019. ARJ to the power of 10!
It’s unbelievable that I didn’t really realise until I sat down to think of a title for this post that this year was my tenth year of photographing weddings!! I still don’t really feel old enough to have done anything for ten years – but ten years it is and I’m proud to not only have reached that milestone but to still be enjoying making photos more than ever. I wish I could recount with vivid accuracy how I felt in Christmas 2009 knowing I was embarking on the career that would change my life, but I can’t really remember!!
What I do know is this year has quite possibly been my overall favourite year ever of being a photographer. I don’t know why, I can’t really put my finger on it but I finish the year with a real feeling of contentment, satisfaction and gratitude. I’m sure I probably feel like this every year but I really think 2019 was something extra special and pulling together my self-prescribed limit of 150 photos for this post has really been a joy. I’ve smiled through the whole process remembering the people, places and moments that made up the last 12 months.
2019 was truly a year worth celebrating, and that’s what I’m doing with this annual post that I’ve done every December since 2012.
As always I’m not calling these photos my ‘best of 2019’. I really don’t see my work in a way that any one photo is better than another. When I’m picking for this post I just pick the photos that have stuck with me for one reason or another throughout the year, or shots that feel very ‘me’ for whatever reason that may be! It’s so nice to create this collection each December, to scroll through it and smile and sigh and laugh and see this little time capsule that sums up the weddings I captured and the photographer I am at this very moment. The main thing I always want to see, as I always say in these posts is variety – I don’t want to ever feel one-dimensional as a photographer and when I see the completed post I want to see what I think is a perfect blend between real spontaneous moments and my own brand of directed portraits. And this year I’m delighted with that mix.
Thank you to all the amazing couples who asked me to capture your weddings in 2019. Thanks for making me feel so welcome in your lives for these brief moments. Thanks for your trust, your enthusiasm for me and my work, and for some of the best food I’ve ever eaten this year!
And if you’ve already invited me to capture your wedding in 2020, I can’t wait!
Merry Christmas to all of you, and thank you to each and every one of you reading this – however you have supported me and my work over the last ten amazing years. Starting this business in September 2009 and shooting that first “ARJ” wedding in Feb 2010 changed my life, and created a life I never expected to be leading. I love being a photographer, I love making photos that make people happy and I plan to continue doing so for a long time yet!
PHOTOGRAPHERS: If you want to learn about how I make my photos and run my business, head to NineDots and join up!
Enjoy the photos. Where better to start than with the euphoric faces of Maurice and Temi!
