….to “O Holy Night” — Christmas Eve — and feeling so fortunate…

…all the former angels…

We watched “Cinema Paradiso” last night, the first time I’d seen it since I was in my late-20’s living in Chicago (the Fine Arts Theater on Michigan Avenue in Chicago is either first or second, toe-to-toe with the Ritz Theater in Old Town Philadelphia, as the venue where I’ve seen the most films. countless brilliant memories…).

“Cinema Paradiso” hasn’t simply stood the test of time, but has, I believe, grown in its importance over the 30-plus years. Certainly in my life it has.

Life is so powerfully profound. I embrace the enormity of it and embrace the minutia of it.

Would that we could splice our own personal final scene into a montage of joy, understanding, acceptance, loss, hope, resilience, tears and recognition….

Utter, complete whirlwind of a year…. God only knows how the years gather so much momentum as we age….

Before it’s over, however….

I’ve said to friends/family/clients for years that Siobhán actually runs this business, while I merely take and edit the photographs. I’ve felt uncomfortable for a long time that the business is my name, while we both work full-time in the pursuit. I simply never knew it would grow so big….

This week, following a wonderful several days with our daughter and son-in-law (and a lot of conversation/cocktails/conniving…), I decided to surprise Siobhán by renaming our business to include her name.

I had a list of well over 50 possible names, and a lot of them were terrific and personally meaningful, but at the last moment I thought “What about simply adding her name in what’s already a well-established name brand in the South-Central Indiana region?” There’s no justifiable reason, likely, to rebuild name recognition from scratch.

By adding “and Siobhán”, though, I think the original name (“Jeff Norris Photography”) retains the integrity and brand recall, while giving Siobhán the recognition she deserves for all these remarkable years of growing the business. Her last name is Hanna, but I didn’t want to do something cheesy like “Jeff (and Siobhán Hanna) Norris Photography”, so we’ll just roll with it as it now exists in its updated form!

The milestones and accomplishments of hard work, terrific photography and unmatched service continue to roll in…. We’ve been blessed with year-over-year growth since the inception of the business, and this year passed the $100,000,00 mark for the first time…. Nice psychological step for a small business in a small Midwestern market. We might’ve had a few cocktails to celebrate, though I don’t remember clearly…

It was never my/our goal/intention to make X amount of money — I started the business simply as a Bucket List Labor of Love — but it’s certainly rewarding to earn income based solely on the quality of my/our creative work. It’s humbling and enriching and I’m thankful daily. We can earn significantly more, if that were our goal, but we’re so fortunate to prioritize travel and adventure over economic gain…. The right mix is key.

For 2022, we’re taking off January, February and March to travel. Starting April 1st, we’ve decided we’ll only work Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Forty weeks and three-days-a-week and more time to XYZ while still giving 120 days of the year to clients who’ve asked to collaborate with us….

Dear God: Thank you. From the depth of my soul, and with my head bowed — Thank You.

Having a shared love of a sports team is a time-honored surefire way for a family to celebrate, suffer, hope and cry together, through the seasons/years/eras….

To incorporate a family’s adoration for their team in photographs is a fun extra step in photo sessions.

I love how you can feel the pride, camaraderie, lightheartedness and unbreakable bond among the “fans” in this joyful family image….

Likeminded spirits….

Evan and Kinsey packed up their seven kids, sold their home, and headed out on a year-long cross-country adventure throughout America. One awesome day after another, winding and zagging and exploring the wonder of the country’s byways, while the children got firsthand experience with history, architecture, cultures, customs, etc…..

After experiencing so much, and having plenty of time to consider options, they decided to return to southern Indiana, buy a new home and build their family roots right here…. In the meantime, they’ve now incorporated an exchange student (from Italy) into their large, awesome family.

We were thrilled to photograph the family before they left (not knowing if we’d see them again), and then even more thrilled to get a call a year-plus later saying they’re back and would like updated family portraits…. Part of the joy of being a photographer isn’t even visual — It’s the shared intimacy of meaningful connections. Emotional connections between/among people are inexplicable, miraculous and a cause for genuine, heartfelt thankfulness.

“If I had more time, I’d….”

Find something that awakens awe in you, and, for the love of God, let the awe embrace you and embrace the awe right back….

this month has been brilliant.

i’ll hold a bloom of October 2021 in my headhearthand for the rest of my life.

Life.

Is.

ComplexBeautifulShortAweInspiringMiraculousPreciousPoeticWonderousBreathtakingHeartbreakingMusicalJoyfulProfoundAllTooBrief….