New Year, lots of new ideas and plans - Time will tell if they pan out

This year is the one I plan to make work out the best of all the years thus far. HTFotography is going to grow into something amazing with the help of some of the plans Henrik and and I have been putting together over the last month or so.
The first aim is twofold, approach big industry, and micro daycare businesses. Both will be given options that will make working with me worthwhile for them in the long run.
We have also added more equipment to our collection to enable us to do the best work possible and provide the most fantastic images to our clients straight out of camera with as little post pocessing needed as possible which in turn will make my workfolow more streamlined and efficient.
We recently made a move away from storing out images on disks and began investing in extra external and internal hard drives. Working out the cost of DVDs for back-ups, it became apparent that it worked out way more expensive and was much more prone to fail than if we kept buying extra hard drives.
I also stopped providing people with disks of images from their shoots, and instead providing password protected online galleries which they can share with others via a link in an email. I find this helps keep control over print quality. Often people used to take their disks to photo print kiosks which didn't read different folders and simply loaded up the lower res images more quickly than the high res versions which meant they often ended up making their enlargements from the wrong images with horrifying results which they would then blame me for.
No I work in partnership with two professinal labs in Durban, and also do prints up to A3 size at home with my own professional photo printer. The result, much better looking prints and much happier clients.

I might look into taking a part time job sometime this year with a photographer where I can learn more and earn a regular salary enabling me to build up some savings to help me realise the dream to build our own warehouse studio/home. That might take some time, but with a bit of hard work and luck, we will get there eventually.

HTFotography has also recieved a new look with a brand new logo designed for us by the fantastically talented Jürgen Henke of Creative Studios(info@creativestudios.co.za).

Motherhood Triumph and Fortitude

My best friend Sandra is celebrating her son's first birthday today.
She has done all the usual things to prepare for the celebration, baked a cake resembling his favourite TV character, Brum; wrapped gifts he will no doubt thoroughly enjoy unwrapping and then discard to play with the paper; made sure that every thing is in place for him to have a perfect first birthday.
What she can't do though is make sure his Daddy is there to celebrate it with him.
Tyler Jame's Daddy, Gerrit died in a motorcycle accident a few days after Christmas so she is a single mother to her beautiful son who is growing into the likeness of his Daddy to the point that even those of us who didn't know Gerrit well can see how much Tyler James looks like him.
This is certain to be a bittersweet time for her as she enjoys the birthday and the time with her little boy. She must feel the loss at these times even harder than she does usually, and I'm sure she feels the loss of her beloved Gerrit all the time like a shadow over every part of her life, or a veil pulled across the window she watches the world through.
I can't know how that feels. My daughter has her father with her every day and I have him here to assist me and support me in the sometimes achingly difficult times of motherhood and share in the joys which grow larger with the sharing.
I wish I could do something for my friend. All I can do is stand by her and offer a shoulder and a smile, a distraction and my friendship, and hope that is enough to help to brighten some days and lessen some of the load on her shoulders.
She is one of the strongest people I have ever had the privileged to know. I admire her ability to put one foot in front of the other each and every day. She shows great fortitude, and her will to provide a happy environment for her son triumphs in everything she does.
Tyler might be too young at this age to understand the ramifications of his birthday and for that reason I feel the first birthday is one we need to congratulate the parents on rather than the little ones.
Mums and Dads are the ones who have hit an anniversary, they have survived parenthood for a year, some surviving a little better than others, but most doing the best they can which is really all we can ask of any parent.
Then there are some who are managing to do more than just their best, they shine in the task of parenthood and magically (with the help of the fairies I imagine) are doing a better job than most despite some very hard knocks life has chosen to hand them.
Sandra is one of these parents. She is the best Mum I know and my hero.
Congratulations on being Mum for a year Sans.

Remember I am here for you.