Late night ramblings on Christmas and photography

So here it is...after 3am in the morning. What I set out to accomplish did not get done. I guess I set my goals too high for the evening. www.MattApgar.com did not get finished tonight, in fact, there are no visible changes on the web. That's cause I've been ass-deep in images for the past 6-or-so hours, re-toning, re-sizing, re-captioning, etc. Ugh. At least I have a few sections worth of images set to be uploaded tomorrow.

So I uploaded this image tonight cause it reminds me of the fond memories I have of Christmas. Not the packed shopping malls, not the hours-long traffic, not the hustle-and-bustle of getting shopping done. It's a quiet moment, a subtle frame that, in my opinion, shows Christmas the a festive yet commercial holiday it is. It's a two-year-old image that was never published, yet I think it certainly fits the mood of the season. As I sit here on a break from working on my website and potentially getting ready for bed, I'm glad that all of my Christmas shopping is done and awaiting arrival at my house for wrapping. I didn't have to go out and wait in long lines, fight for a parking spot, or deprive some crying child of the only toy left in stock at a retail store. Although the latter might actually be kinda fun, in a demented sorta way. This year, I created photobooks for my family and friends of the work I've done as a photographer, using iPhoto. Personally, I would take that sort of gift anyday over a gift card or some merchandise that I would rather return, despite the guilt of doing so. Heck, if all my friends were artists, I would love nothing more than to get some kind of artwork from them. It's personal, thoughtful, and meaningful. Hell, it sure beats a new tie rack!

I'm really anxious to see the books I made. I've never used iPhoto to make books before, so I don't know how well or how poorly they'll come out. I've heard really good things about them from other photo friends, so I expect that they'll come out looking somewhat decent. I ordered an extra copy of each book I made to be added to my already overflowing collection of photo books. Yeah, last thing I need is more books. However, these books are something I think I'll really cherish for years. I hope my friends and family will too!