We just have a few hours of 2008 left and I thought I’d take a moment to review the year from my perspective. 2008 brought some big changes to SnapFactory and 2009 looks like it’s going to be even more exciting. Here are a few of the hits and misses for 2008:

• We moved in to our new, larger, studio. The new studio allowed us to improve our workshops and gave us a permanent home for our video projector. We added new furniture and finally got a real coffee bar.
• Diane had a great year shooting for several magazines including Desert Living, Perfectify, and Runway. The 8-page spread in Runway is on store shelves right now.
• I challenged myself with some architectural photography and was pleased that the photos ran full page in Phoenix Home & Garden Magazine.
• Our entire web presence got an upgrade. We upgraded our blog, gave our website a facelift, and created a new easy-to-use enrollment system for our workshops.
• We were able to make it out to New York City a few times where we were able to connect with some great clients, make some new friends, and check out some awesome galleries. We did not go to Paris this year. Boo.
• Two of our workshops were cancelled due to lack of interest: Photoshop Basics and our screenwriting workshop. Darn recession!
• Our new On-Camera Flash workshop sold out in record time and we had standing room only; two people had no chairs – sorry Jeff and Craig. The next round in February is nearly full already. Take that recession!
• Diane launched Red Lion Photo, a company dedicated to her family and kids photography. Families all over America are loving the memories she captured. Her Christmas cards were a HUGE success. Way to go Diane!
• We created 6 new episodes of Digital Photography One on One. Our series has now passed the 1 million view landmark. With over a million views we’ve had some very interesting comments on YouTube and other sites about our videos. To all the people who sent us great questions and gave us constructive feedback, thank you. To the few who did not like the videos – your refund check is in the mail.
• Diane was able to invest a lot of time volunteering at the Arizona Humane Society. Many of the animals she photographed were adopted. Her tireless work has saved the lives of dozens of animals this year. She’s a real superhero.
• I spent many hours talking to artists about a new way to use art to change the world. The Artists Group at SnapFactory was created and will launch in March 2009.
  

Wow, that’s a lot, and those are just the highlights. Thanks for being a part of our lives in 2008 and we look forward to many more years in the coming years.

A very special thanks goes out to a few people who went above and beyond to help us out this year. In no specific order thanks to: Erin Markis, Jeff Carolli, Craig Bolton, Daniel Anderson, Yasmin Besonia, Phil Bradon, Brandon Bohling, Matt Hill, Ray Vitiello, Ed Hidden, and Bill Crawford.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!