Do you choose a word of the year? A word that guides you in your photography and/or life in general? I know many photographers who do this. This is something new for me just in the last couple of years.

I have chosen words that I felt applied to the way I wanted to approach both my photography and my life. In 2020, I chose the word “Internal” as my year started off with some challenges where I had to rely on my internal instincts even when they led me to some tough and uncomfortable decisions. 2020 proved to (obviously) be a challenging year and my word continued to guide me through making business decisions in the face of a pandemic as well as looking inwards with my own work.

Following the crazy of 2020, in 2021 I decided on the word ‘present’ as my word for the year. I chose this as my word because I wanted to spend the year embracing each day fully, being fully PRESENT in the moment, whether I was out exploring and photographing or spending time with my kids.

This year, I have chosen the word MINDFUL. More than ever, I feel like it is so important for me to make mindful choices in how I spend my time and where I put my energy. Just like last year, I want to be fully present in the moments I am in nature and home with my family. Quality over quantity when it comes to my imagery, photographing what makes me happy. And as I move forward with the business and education side of my photography, being mindful of choosing the projects and opportunities that bring me the most joy feels critical, especially with my kids’ childhood seeming like it is flashing before my eyes. Sometimes life can feel so busy and chaotic that my mind is distracted away from being fully present. Being mindful of choosing the right projects and not overcommitting myself feels critical to happiness at home and fostering full enjoyment of photography and the people I get to connect with through this art.

Being out in nature, photography is always a mindful activity for me, bringing me fully into the present moment. The longer I engage in this art, the more mindful and thoughtful it becomes as I slow down and let nature speak to me. I look forward to embracing this practice and approach in the coming year.

If you have chosen a word of the year, what is it and why did you choose it? I’d love to hear about it!

Kristen Ryan is an award winning and published landscape photographer and educator residing in the Midwest suburbs of Chicago. All images are available for purchase in the Fine Art Store or by request. Kristen leads ladies landscape photography retreats in the Tetons, Glacier NP, Hilton Head, Chicago, and the Canadian Rockies, offers private mentoring . New online educational materials are coming soon!

Happy New Year! A new year and a new decade is exciting and can be a time of reflection over the past year and decade as a well as a time of new beginnings and resolutions for the year to come.

I have never been one for a lot of new year’s resolutions as I tend to do things as I decide them. But with my birthday and New Year’s Day within a few days of each other, it does tend to be a time of reflection for me. In addition, the downtime that comes with January in Chicago stimulates my motivation to organize, plan and tackle projects! Afterall, what else is there to do in the cold of Chicago winter?!

While there are many great projects and goals you could jot down on your list for 2020, there is one top recommendation I have to start your year. PRINT your work!

Three great reasons to print your work TODAY!

1) Raise Your Confidence! One of the best things you can do to raise your confidence in your work and increase your motivation and inspiration is to print your images. When the prints are delivered it is like Christmas when you open up an expected present! Seeing your images in print and being able to hold them and put them in frames or on your walls creates a feeling of pride.

2) Celebrate your work & nature! It can be so easy to get caught up in collecting our images on our hard drives and simply sharing on social media in those small tiny squares that don’t do justice to the scenes or creativity we have put into our art. It does not sufficiently celebrate our vision and talent or the beauty of the world we live in.

3) Cherish the Moments & Memories ~ Those images you hang on your wall are a daily reminder of those moments you spend immersed in nature creating your art. Print those images BIG and hang them on a prominent wall. Or create a collection and print them in a beautiful book or album to display in a frequently inhabited room of you house.

If you are like me, you press the shutter because the light, the scenery, and the moment is speaking to you in such a compelling way that you must take that moment with you forever. Your printed images will take you back time and time again. As I walk into my kitchen, I’m transported to the final and magical sunrise during my first hosted Magic in the Tetons retreat. And I remember the afternoon I watched a moose graze along Schwabacher’s Landng for a couple hours. The canvas of the Milky Way reminds me of a great night at String Lake with the ladies from my second retreat. And sunburst illuminating the golden meadow in my family room I feel elated by a magical autumn afternoon hiking out to the Snake River with my mom in the fall of 2012. These are just a few of the images that hang on my walls.

So as this new decade beings, I challenge you to choose at least one or more images to print!

And I’d love to see which image(s) you choose if you care to share :)

Kristen Ryan is an award winning and published landscape and fine art photographer and educator residing in the Midwest suburbs of Chicago. All images are available for purchase in the Fine Art Store or by request. Kristen leads ladies landscape photography retreats in the Tetons, Chicago, and the Canadian Rockies, offers private mentoring and teaches an online landscape photography workshop, The World Around You.

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