What a crazy year 2009 has turned out to be. Personal issues aside, it has been one hell of a ride as far as my “photography” goes. I tried to pursue the business aspect of “photography” and never quite took flight. I was headed in the wrong direction as far as what my creative vision was and my own personal goals were for expressing myself artistically. I’m glad I took a break, regrouped, determined what I would and wouldn’t shoot, and came out on the other side feeling like a million bucks, no longer stifled by the constraints that the terms “photography” and “photographer” seem to box you in to.

A lot of good things began happening for me in late 2009, both personally and related to my creative outlet. With the launch of Appeal Magazine, I have actually had the most fun and fulfilling times creating art for the covers, fashion spreads, and articles. The editors of Appeal have given me almost complete creative control of the photographic elements of the magazine and I love it. I can honestly say that I am dedicated to and believe in this new publication because I definitely feel they are 100% committed to me and assisting me in making my visions come to life.

With the close of 2009, I am hoping to launch my “throw your name in the hat” Model Discovery web site. This site will allow interested parties to register and provide their physical characteristics as well as their modeling and artistic interests for the possibility of being cast in an upcoming project of Jeff Cross Photography. A project could be for my own personal portfolio (and that of the participant), a client for use in advertising, or for artwork that is to be used in Appeal or any other publication. So, if you’re interested in working with me and Jeff Cross Photography on upcoming projects, visit http://www.jeffcrossphoto.com/discovery/ for more information or e-mail us at discovery@jeffcrossphoto.com.

I am also hoping to launch a little contest on my web site within the next few weeks. I’ll keep the details to myself for the time being but just know that the reward for the winner will be a $25 iTunes gift card. It will be very enjoyable for me to see this contest transpire. I hope you’ll visit often and stay tuned for further details.

And, last but not least, early next year I am planning to have a full-fledged web site and portfolio up and operational again. I took my entire site, blog, and photo blog down in August of this year and haven’t done anything with my site since. A lot of you have been asking about my blog and/or portfolio so just know that it will return and soon!

I think that pretty much gives you the highlights of 2009 and what to expect in early 2010. I trust you all have had a very Merry Christmas and keep it safe this holiday season. I look forward to corresponding and working with you in 2010! Once again, Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Happy New Year!!!

Until next time…

A week or so ago I had the opportunity to work with model Heather Tutolo Barnette. We were shooting one of my concepts for a cover image that will appear on a future issue of Appeal Texarkana Magazine in 2010. During this shoot, my trusty assistant, Chris, allowed me to burden his wife with the task of recording “Behind The Scenes” (BTS) video footage.

As my videography skills aren’t what they should be, or existent in any shape, form or fashion, it took me a whole weekend to finally come up with the video you see above. While my skills in video aren’t much, I am very happy with the way this video turned out and want to share it with the world.

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I’ve been out of the game for a while lately, or so it may seem. In reality, I’m actually playing a different game and started on September 1st of 2009. I’ve reinvented myself. Not only as a person, but also in the way I approach my creative outlet that most call “photography”. While my outlet may be called or thought of as “photography” to some, to me it is yet another means of artistic expression for me. A means of internal expression and relaxation, if you will.

I shut down my Web site in the latter part of August, 2009. I pulled my portfolio, pricing, services offered, and my contact information. I began turning down potential clients. I was in the process of being repurposed internally which also meant putting things on hold externally. To put it bluntly, I shut the doors on my photography “business”.

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