From shooting unit stills on movie sets to my first-ever solo photography exhibit (in Spain, no less), 2014 shaped up to be a busy and wildly interesting year. Thank you all for sharing the ride. Following are my favorite highlights:

9. WIND IN MY SALES

Because I’m crazy-Irish naturally I had to start selling my artwork on not one but two online stores. And, yes, my artwork is selling -- not quite flying out the door just yet but wings are indeed flapping. Society6 (http://bit.ly/13G18yq) allows me to offer my New Orleans-, Caribbean- and Gaudi-themed color images not only on prints and canvas but also emblazoned on everything from wall clocks, coffee mugs and throw pillows to notecards, smartphone cases, tote bags and shower curtains. At first I struggled with this type of unbridled commercialism, thinking, "Umm, shower curtains – really?" But when I received my first notification that a customer had ordered a shower curtain featuring an image from my Gaudi architecture series, I knew to turn off my brain and shut my piehole. Elsewhere at Fine Art America (http://bit.ly/1r0Qeub), I'm offering a hand-curated collection of 24 fine-art black-and-white photographs from my travels throughout the world. The company does an outstanding job of printing images on the finest European etching rag-paper stock and also enables customers to custom matte and frame the photos online (and see in real time how the finished product looks, as well as the final cost). Both companies offer 30-day money-back guarantees. Check out the sites when you get a chance.

8. GENDER SPLENDORS

This story has its origins with a series of photo shoots I did in May for transgender filmmaker James Husband’s documentary about the New Orleans Carnival Kings, a group of mostly cisgender women from the Big Easy’s LGBTQ and straight communities who perform at local nightclubs in male drag. When I submitted these and related images for the second annual True Colors’ (http://on.fb.me/1rwjSvx) call for entries and later had six of them accepted for the nonprofit group's art exhibition in New Orleans, I was over the moon. Not only was I honored to have my photographs exhibited alongside work from some of the biggest names in the LGBTQ art world from around the country, but the heavily attended event was also the first time images from James’ documentary saw the light of day. I’ll never forget the opening reception when he and I stood together looking over my photographs (several of which included images of James), and shared the realization that you never know when yesterday’s photo shoot might turn up in tomorrow’s art exhibit.

7. FORKS 'N SMILES

In the mercurial world of commercial photography, especially in a city like New Orleans, you have to be a jack of all trades because you never know who’s going to call next – or what they’re going to want from you. For me 2014 turned out to be a year partially dominated by actor’s headshots and food photography. This trend proved exciting and challenging if only because these two types of photography are as different as night and day when it comes to skill sets, technique and equipment required to deliver the goods. Since my business swims or sinks based on meeting (and surpassing) clients’ expectations, I am happy to report that I’m actually floating on my back with a big-a** grin on my face.

6. KNEEL DOWN IN THE STORM, BEYATCH

Shooting unit stills on a movie set is difficult enough without having to don a raincoat and secure your expensive cameras and lenses inside protective waterproof gear while shooting in hurricane-like conditions, including 120 mph rain and winds, all designed to reenact one of the deadliest storms in recent Louisiana history for a French documentary. Although I had never in my life been more miserable for so long (10 hours), it proved one of those do-or-die gigs when you can wimp out or embrace the suck and tell yourself, "Kneel down in the storm, beyatch!" For obvious reasons I chose the latter for the documentary on Hurricane Isaac. Good news is my camera and gear survived. [Above, the lower-right photo shows yours truly in a blue parka paying his dues.] 

5. TIME OF THE SEASON

It's been two years since my wage-slave ties were cut with the 9-to-5 world and I joined the ranks of nail-biting freelancers. In addition to working like a dog not only as a commercial shooter (and mostly photography marketer), I also promised to push myself out of my comfort zone and genuinely explore (at least to me) new avenues and genres of photography. This year that included the marshes and swamps of Louisiana. Funny, I've traveled to dozens of countries over the years and shot the hell out of all of them, but I have never really turned my lens on my adopted state. Until now. [Above, the fellow in the upper-left photo is my dear friend and roadtrip co-warrior Tommy Arcement, posing with a hand-held off-camera strobe to help me make a point.]

4. SHIFT WORK

Unfortunately this year my love of automotive photography had to take a backseat (no pun intended), as bottom-line realities pushed more profitable business activities front and center. When it comes to Porsches, though, yeah I've got this ...

3. QUE PASA, ISLENOS?

I was honored in November when the Spanish government hosted in Tenerife my first-ever solo photography exhibit, featuring the Islenos culture and celebrations of lower St. Bernard Parish, located 20 miles from New Orleans. The exhibit took several months of planning, plus curating more than 120 images I had taken over the years of a community of modern-day descendants of the first Spanish settlers who immigrated to Spanish-colonial Louisiana beginning in the mid-1700s. The exhibit, made possible by Bill Hyland, manager of Los Isleños Museum (http://bit.ly/1JYQ5lj), was a professional milestone but equally important a welcomed opportunity to exhibit a collection of images of a people close to my heart. [The top-right photo (not taken by me) is of government officials and dignitaries of the Canary Islands in Tenerife during the opening reception. The photo behind them is mine.]

2. WHERE 'ART' THOU?

You could have knocked me over with a feather when I unwrapped the Christmas present my godchild/nephew Tyler James (yes, his middle name was taken from mine) gave me during the holidays. It was a canvas painting the bright, energetic 10-year-old Cajun boy from Opelsousas did himself of an old and classic Superb Compur camera (which were first introduced in 1933). He said he painted the black camera specifically against a red background because he wanted it to -- ready for this? -- match the black-and-red rug in my office. O-M-G. I scouped him into my arms and gave him the biggest uncle-hug ever. "Where are you going to hang it?" he asked. "On the wall right above my desk," I said, "so I can see it every minute of the day." <blink>

1. 'KICK' IN DA PANTS

Getting the chance in December to shoot unit stills for the 2015 reboot of the acclaimed 1989 mixed martial-arts movie "Kickboxer," starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, was a dream come true. Without question this multimillion-dollar production (IMDb: http://imdb.to/1vnVlEr) challenged me to step up my game to capture the same kind of split-second, live-action martial-arts scenes that made the original flick such a hit. More than this I’m not at liberty to share due to various non-disclosure agreements. Nor am I able to show any of the stills I shot on the set (until the movie comes out next year). Stay tuned.

And Happy New Year.

Cheers,

James