I know I’m a little late to the party for a 2019 recap post but it was a year full of new endeavors and big things to celebrate so I couldn’t let the opportunity to look back and share a little pass me by.
January 10th, 2019 marked 10 years of marriage for me and my beautiful wife Lacy. I can’t imagine what the last ten years would have looked like without Lacy. She is the most amazing person in the world and I wouldn’t want to life without her. Feel free to fact check that last statement because I am extremely confident in the results.
We planned a photoshoot with one of my best friends Micah G Robinson to celebrate. I however also planned a secret vow renewal at our home with some of our family. It was pretty magical and we were all crying. When I started planning I looked at a ton of venues, but ultimately decided I wanted to do it in a space that was already meaningful to us and that we would spend a lot more time in as a reminder of such a wonderful night so I converted our living room into a ceremony site.
It felt like getting married all over again but with an entire well of shared memories, love, and experiences that have made for a beautiful life together.
Two days after our vow renewal we headed to Jamaica. It was the first time we had taken a major vacation with just the two of us. It was perfect…until I got a weird foot infection from a combination of playing too much sand volleyball and walking around barefoot over all kinds of bacteria. The foot story only gets more gross from there but it all turned out to be fine so let’s move on.
2019 also marked a 10 year milestone for my business. I feel so lucky to be able to take photos for a living and even more than that I am incredibly grateful for all the amazing people that I have been able to meet and serve with photography. Thank you to all my couples, clients, friends, and family that have supported me and my business.
February 2009 and February 2019
The day after we got back from Jamaica I started my first J-O-B that required me to wear a badge and had health benefits. I was the Chief State Photographer for Tennessee. I was hoping for a cool sheriff style badge or head-dress instead of a plain white security badge but it never happened.
In short, I followed Governor Bill Lee around and documented all the awesome things he is doing for Tennessee. There was a lot more to the job, but that’s the short and fun version. I have never been a ‘political person’ but I can’t say enough wonderful things about Bill and Maria. I wouldn’t have taken the job if it had been anyone else taking office as Governor. Bill and Maria are some of the most genuine and thoughtful people I have ever met.
I was lucky enough to do the photos for Bill’s marketing campaign, ride around on a stinky R.V. all over the state, and document all of the behind the scenes of his campaign which all lead to a job with the state. You learn a lot about people when you get to be a fly on the wall and watch them tackle such a huge and stressful endeavor. I have so much love and respect for Bill and Maria…just can’t say enough good things about them.
The job was a tremendous experience and I am so thankful for all the experiences I had. Governor Lee is a very busy man, and has an entire state to take care of, which meant I was also a very busy man. The job was taking me away from my Lacy and the boys far more than I ever want to be away from them, so even though it was an incredibly tough decision, I decided to resign and go back to running my photography business full time.
Here are some photos from my time on the campaign and a few as Chief State Photographer. There are a ton photos I would love to share, but every photo is sent through the Governor’s office for approval and I want to be respectful to my friends…and the state of Tennessee. If you want to see more photos of what the Governor is up to there is a Flickr account to see all the photos.
The busyness of the job with the state made me so thankful for the freedom and flexibly shooting weddings provides for me and my family.
Even though I turned down several weddings at the beginning of the year, I was able to fill up my calendar and shoot some of the most fun weddings of my career. Here are just a few fun moments from some 2019 Weddings…
Well, that was my 2019. I’m sure you got things to do and people to see so I don’t want to take up anymore of your time. I just want to say ‘thank you’ again. If you are reading this you are most likely a past client, friend, or family member. I love you all. I’m grateful for this life. I’m excited to see what 2020 has for me and my family.
Justin
