The year started out with a bang with us attending Summit 2023 in Kansas City, in January (brrrr). Summit is an invitation only event of the top school and volume photographers in the country and this was the fourth year we have been invited. We spent time in meetings about where the industry is going, talking about new products and what we wanted to see. We also shared thoughts about our businesses needs and visited with other photographers that we had a lot of common business concerns with. Sharing with likeminded business people was a great way to start the year. We have been invited back for 2024, and this time we will be in St. Augustine, Florida (better weather expected).

About a week later we were off to Las Vegas to SPAC, the largest international school, sports and volume photography convention in the world. We went to classes and got some great ideas we came back with and implemented right away and spent time in the Tradeshow finding new products and delivery options. Overall January was a very good time to learn and get invigorated for the busy year ahead.

Upon return we went straight to work and haven't looked back really until today! 2023 has been a hectic, fun, rewarding and busy year. We welcomed two new grandchildren, one in April and one in August.  We are now grandparents to three wonderful grandchildren. It's hard to believe we are already grandparents to three sweet babies!

Awards and honors came as well. In 2023 Mike received his Masters degree from the Professional Photographers of America (PPA). Now he has his Masters, Craftsman and CPP from the PPA and joins an elite group of photographers worldwide that have received this honor. In October the Georgia Professional Photographers Association (GPPA) held it's annual awards banquet. Mike received first place and and an honor print in the senior portrait category. He also had an honor print in the children's category as well as the illustrative, landscape/scenic category. One thing that sets many of Mike's awards apart from most is that the portraits are actual clients, not models, doing a styled shoot for only the purpose of competition. That is something we are very proud of. Why does that make a difference? Because we are working with what clients come to us with and not a controlled environment where every detail from clothing to props is planned and controlled specifically for competition.

As fall approached we have had the busiest season ever. We have also had some of life's curveballs sent our way with sickness and older parent issues. But we are grateful for the love of family, our wonderful clients, and our schools and sports leagues that keep us busy and allow us to do what we love everyday! We are truly blessed!

All in all 2023 is about to go down in the record books.   We hope your 2023 has been a good one and we wish you a wonderful Christmas and blessed New Year. Looking forward to an even better 2024!