I was a firefighter since I was 20 years old. I’m 30 now for those of you who may make the mistake of assuming that I am older than I really am. For four of those years I diligently served my country as a combat medic for the 3rd Infantry Division, the most deployed unit in the entire armed forces. I think I’ve proven my “manhood” many times over and in doing so have earned the right to enjoy a good old fashion bubble bath. So there. In any case, tonight as I was so bravely exercising this God given right I had an epiphany. I want to be successful. No, I WANT to be successful! Well, at least I thought I did. But then I realized something. Who is to know how a man (or woman) is to measure his (or her) efforts in terms of being successful or not. If a man earns a million dollars a year yet hates his job is he “successful”? On the same token, if a college student is able to paint an amazing landscape from just three primary colors yet is unable to make her rent because no one will buy them is she “unsuccessful”? It was in this frame of mind, somewhere between the shampoo and conditioner, that I realized that because success can not be determined by money or talent or even efforts alone, it was not success that I sought after all. It was awesomeness. Whether people want to hire me or not, I now know that the most important thing that I can do as an artist is strive to produce images that I alone am simply proud of. Not by how much I can justify charging for them or whether others will think that they are even worth buying. I love what I do. I am blessed for even the opportunity to do this for a living. My camera is more than a tool, it is an extension of who I am. And in that love I hope to one day be successful. To truly be successful by producing  images that will make a bride cry. A mother weep. A father get choked up. But above all things I want to produce work that whether I do well in this business or not, I will look back on as a proud moment in my life. Orison Swett Marden, an early century writer, once said “When a man feels throbbing within him the power to do what he undertakes as well as it can possibly be done, this is happiness, this is success.” In that throbbing I hope to one day find my success…and hopefully my awesomeness too. And because every deep thought aquired in a bubble bath is better with a picture, here is one from a recent engagement session. Success? Check. Awesomeness? Check.