Resolution: A Healthy Balance

I, like a lot of people, do not believe in creating New Years Resolutions. I never have. It is not that I would break a resolution or two, I just do not believe in them. Part of my personal philosophy is to create realistic goals and complete them. I would never set a goal that I didnt think I wouldnt be able to complete. For 2012 I have taken on an additional responsibility. I am going to be volunteering at the Holyoke YMCA. I am no stranger to a gym, as I have been committed to personal fitness for a number of years now. My goal in 2012 is to create a healthier balance between my work, photography, business goals, and fitness. I have been working on new projects and venturing into newer business plans. As things change, new projects, and new business being ventured, I need a much stronger balance in my life. Volunteering within my community will have its benefits and help to give a healthier balance to my work load. I am looking forward to a hard working and beneficial year. I never leave home without a camera. I always make it a point to have one with me at nearly every moment. You just never know when you will need to make a photograph. It is this desire to always have a camera with me that gives me a creative balance between shooting for a client and for myself. A few days before Christmas I was traveling from the studio to the mall to pick up a few last minute gifts when I drove by a burned out house. This property caught fire one afternoon in the fall. On the afternoon of the fire I was unable to get to the scene to capture it. As some of you know I tend to arrive on scenes of fires, make some photographs, and contribute to the media publications in the Western Mass area. But on this afternoon I was passing by, had a few minutes to spare, and made some post-fire images. The images show the carnage and devastation a fire can have on a building or house. The house stood alone, abandoned and left unoccupied. Due to the abandonment of the property, there was no one inside. No one was injured. It is sad though, to see someones former home, memories, and belongings having been destroyed. The Holyoke Fire Department, like every other community is outstanding and does a phenomenal job when they are called to action.