Hello all!
So this post is a somewhat refreshing post about refreshing myself and reflecting back a little over the past 12 months, seeing where I went wrong and where I will improve in the future.
Needless to say, I have come a long way in the last 12 months. I’ve managed to settle myself quite comfortably in Cluj-Napoca, meet some interesting new people, re-establish my photography brand here and start working on various other projects.
At the same time, I have also had some unfortunate reminders that there are still things about myself that I need to improve and work on if I am going to be the happiest person I possibly can be.
Some of you may remember this from a previous post and lately I have been letting this sort of thing consume me. It’s got to the point where I actually am pretty much obsessing over ‘manners’ and politeness and then somehow I still manage to get myself into a situation where I have been let down, sometimes even multiple times in one day by multiple people.
Fact is, sure, people should be more polite and respectful.. but this is just simply not the world that we live in anymore. People have busy lives, they have 101 things happening at once and annoyingly for people like me, they cancel or they forget things that they said they were going to do.
So here’s my first point of 2016 (New-thousand and Sixteen).
DO NOT LET IGNORANCE GET TO ME. FIND SOMETHING ELSE TO FOCUS ON.
From the new year and hopefully even from now, it’s my simple goal to let people be ignorant.. at the end of the day, they are the ones missing out and why should I suffer for their loss? There’s going to be many ignorant people in this world.. more than those with manners who actually do the things they say they are going to do, so as the phrase goes.. if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em.
So what’s number 2 for 2016?
Well that’s simple.. and it’s already started.
BE A MORE PERSONAL PHOTOGRAPHER
It’s time to distance myself a little bit from the brand “ALR Photography” and start focusing on the ALR in the name and putting a face to the brand.
Photography is a tricky industry when it comes to naming. There’s always the battle of, company name vs personal name. Some people prefer to hide their personal life behind the mask of a company, something I did for many years with ALR Photography and others like to get their hands dirty and be “the photographer” and not “the company”.
So the new site is launched, in fact, maybe you didn’t notice but the last time you entered this blog (blog.alr-photography.com) you were re-directed to the new blog site.
The new site is: https://aaronlroberts.com and it’s perfect because for years I’ve been using aaronlroberts as a hashtag, username and alias before even purchasing this domain and with this comes a new image.
Say hello to the new “Aaron Roberts” logo. Already have new business cards and this is the image of myself that I want to project going into 2016. ALR Photography will still exist and I will still be operating the company under that name, but now there’s a real face to the name and another way for people to work and link with me!
So, what else? Well, personal fitness is definitely one of them.
IMPROVE MY PERSONAL FITNESS AND DAILY EATING HABITS
This is one that EVERYONE says every year.. “oh I want to lose some weight or buff up”.. yeah, yeah! I’ve said it.. you’ve said it but honestly, how many people have done it.. well, I did.. once. 10kg in 6 weeks… how? Water, running and slightly improved.. and I mean slightly improved diet.
So what happened? I’m not that perfect weight, well defined young man that I was 2 years ago.. sadly, a number of things got in my way.. or wait, that’s the wrong way to look at it.. instead I will say, I chose not to overcome the obstacles that were presented to me and settled for second best.
With the help of a good friend, I’m going to be going to the gym more regularly, making educated choices about my food and improving my appearance, confidence and lifestyle to the point where I can truly say that I’m really happy and confident in myself because fact is, right now I’m not. There are a number of things about me that I am very confident about.. but none of those will matter if I can’t get my foot through the door and make the right impression will it?.. Nope, so gotta work on that haven’t we… yep!
So another big thing happening in 2016 is:
RETURNING BACK TO THE UK!
Yep, that’s right.. I’ll be heading back to the UK in 2016.. but not permanently, in fact.. only for a very short period to photograph my good friend’s wedding! In this time I plan to make it my goal to also spend some time with my family who I do miss very much, my friends who need to get off their lazy butts and see how awesome and amazing Romania actually is.. and also of course.. take some lovely photos.
Since living in Romania, I have lost two grandparents and I painfully regret not having been able to visit them in the 2.5 years that I’ve lived here in Romania.
Due to circumstances with cash and the fact that time seems to fly by so quickly, I just haven’t been able to get there. It’s amazing how expensive England is to live in when you’re coming from Romania. I don’t know how some of you manage it!
Another great perk of this is in fact, during my time in the UK, I mentioned I will be taking some photos.. and of course I will but one of the people that I would obviously like to take photos of MOST is Fen Clarke (El-Fen).. my main model in Bristol.
I can pretty much thank Fen for my success as a portrait photographer. She and I worked together on a number of blockbuster photo sessions, including the popular “Barrow Gurney” photo session.. She and I always had a great relationship together and it’s been absolutely gutting to be apart from this girl who helped me become who I am today.
Thing is, Fen won’t be in Bristol when I am visiting the UK.. in fact, she moved to Cyprus with her family last year and since her move we have been planning for our reunion.. and this should hopefully be happening in the springtime of 2016 also!
Needless to say, it’s going to be a fantastic time with many beautiful photos but words can’t describe how much I’ve missed having this person in my life and of course… I get to show her this beautiful country.
So, what can I say? Lots to look forwards to.. definitely! Do I think I can achieve all of the above? DEFINITELY!
What’s your new year’s resolutions?
Thanks for reading!
Aaron