in *light* of the beginning of daylight savings time (gotta love that extra hour of after-work play light), i thought it was time for an update on my 101 photo goals in 1,001 days. four months have passed since the goals were published on this blog and i'm proud to report completion of 24 goals. where possible, i've included a link for "proof" using photos and such. here's the updated list:

101 photo goals in 1,001 days
by r. j. kern on november 11, 2007 [updated on 3.14.08]

1. photograph my wife in her wedding dress [12.30.07, proof]
2. book 101 referrals
3. exhibit in the cherry creek arts festival
4. shoot a celebrity wedding
5. complete our wedding album
6. shoot landscapes with ken rockwell
7. get an image published in a book
8. get placed on three preferred wedding vendor lists (1/3)
9. photograph ten national parks i’ve never been to
10. blog everyday for a month three times (1/3)
11. photograph all 12 original chrysler 300 letter cars and create a calendar
12. lightpaint a car [03.09.08, proof]
13. get to know the work of 25 dead photographers
14. get to know the work of 50 active photographers
15. present at a pictage user group meeting [03.06.08, proof]
16. photograph my brother's wedding with my wife [12.29.07, proof]
17. invest 30% of our buisness income
18. donate 20% of total income in the way of a services-in-kind to a charity
19. launch a fine art project website
20. finish my seed pod personal project
21. read one book per month for six months to benefit our photo business (4/6)
22. give away the books to benefit someone else (1/6)
23. second shoot at a wedding for someone i admire
24. resist the urge to buy some expensive camera equipment and do something important with the money instead
25. shoot with a nikon 200mm f/2g if-ed af-s vr lens
26. shoot with a nikon 200-400mm f/4g if-ed, af-s vr zoom-nikkor lens
27. purchase nikon 85mm f/1.4 if af lens, one of nikon’s finest lenses and a bokeh champ [11.19.07, proof]
28. take at least one new business workshop from score in denver
29. have coffee with someone business-related i don't know very well once a month for six months (3/?)
30. become involved in a toastmasters group in denver
31. launch portrait photography website
32. learn to make pie from my wife then photograph the result and see if you can tell the difference
33. grow our business by 200% each year (1/3)
34. shoot a medium format camera [02.19.08]
35. teach a photography class (x2) [01.24.08, 02.21.08, proof]
36. write and produce at 3 tutorial articles to help other photographers (1/3)
37. create a signature marketing piece [02.19.08, proof]
38. print and mail signature marketing piece [03.01.08, proof]
39. write a piece for a magazine, paper, or journal
40. give another vendor a complete wedding album for free [12.20.07]
41. photograph muscian(s) for album cover art
42. photograph u2 in concert
43. build our portrait photography business by doing two location shoots per month for six months in a row (8/12)
44. go on an african photo safari
45. photograph sashi & alex
46. get a studio
47. shoot a wedding at our church, the cathedral basilica of the immaculate conception
48. do something creativity different on each shoot
49. build a photo resources portion of our website [03.07.08, proof]
50. build a bridal resources portion of our website [03.07.08, proof]
51. send out birthday cards to all clients
52. learn to whistle with two fingers (rounding up those huge groups)
53. become a nikon pro
54. photograph a denver broncos game (with sideline credentials)
55. photograph at least one of every major professional denver sports team (with sideline credentials)
56. shoot 100,001 shutter actuations from my d-200
57. shoot 300,000 photos
58. photograph a u.s. president
59. learn a different style of photography [03.03.08, proof]
60. create a series of custom photoshop actions [03.04.08]
61. learn to use a large format camera
62. make a book of personal travel & art photos
63. make a book of just dash photos
64. win the lindsay designs photo contest 3 years in a row (2/3)
65. host an osp trash the dress session with other photographers
66. take an advanced studio lighting class
67. become involved in a professional photographic organization
68. post three tutorial videos on cutframe aimed at helping other wedding photographers
69. complete a personal abc project (60% completed)
70. speak at partner con
71. shoot production stills for a major motion picture
72. go to the annual wppi conference
73. enter a photo in wppi print competition
74. win a photo wppi award
75. speak at wppi
76. donate a wedding package in which 100% of proceeds would benefit a charity
77. get an image published in patagonia catalog
78. shoot a portrait with a soft box [02.13.08, proof]
79. figure out how jessica claire makes her images look so freakin' good [02.15.08]
80. get in touch with at least two early art mentors (1/2)
81. shoot with a ringflash [02.15.08, proof]
82. volunteer for a week in a foreign country
83. take a vacation and not bring a camera
84. travel to a new place with one prime lens and no flash [01.22.08, proof]
85. shoot a destination wedding
86. encourage or mentor an upcoming photographer [02.20.08]
87. meet wedding photography heroes mike colon, david jay, [b]ecker, joe bussink, jessica claire, john michael cooper, and nate & jaclyn kaiser
88. shoot a wedding in 3 new countries
89. shoot a wedding on another continent
90. form three new partnerships with another company
91. help another vendor book a referral event [02.10.08]
92. inspire someone to pick up photography as a hobby [01.06.08]
93. inspire a fellow photographer to blog
94. become a member of the wedding photojournalist association
95. become a member of the artistic guild of the wedding photojournalist association
96. win a top 10 award in the wpja contest, individual category
97. develop a few exposed rolls of b&w film that have been sitting in my desk drawer for years [03.03.08]
98. be listed as one of the top photographers in the wedding photojournalist association
99. qualify as one of the top 10 artistic photojournalists in the world
100. refer a wedding to a new photographer [02.24.08]
101. finish, post, and share this list [11.11.07, proof]

dreams are simply goals with a deadline. setting goals for me has been and will always be apart of who i am. earn the rank of an eagle scout. check. graduate with honors in environmental geography and art/art history. check. row on the crew team for 4 years in college. check. work for national geographic. check. power squat 415 lbs. do the splits. earn a master’s degree. buy a house. earn a 3rd degree black belt. check times 5. while i never wrote those goals down or made them publicly available, i wonder what woulda coulda shoulda been done had i did. looking forward, i'm gonna grab life by its little horns and ride into the wind! i look forward to reading this in exactly 1,001 days, precisely on sunday, august 8, 2010. so here goes:

101 photo goals in 1,001 days
by r. j. kern on november 11, 2007

1. photograph my wife in her wedding dress
2. book 101 referrals
3. exhibit in the cherry creek arts festival
4. shoot a celebrity wedding
5. complete our wedding album
6. shoot landscapes with ken rockwell
7. get an image published in a book
8. get placed on three preferred wedding vendor lists
9. photograph ten national parks i’ve never been to
10. blog everyday for a month three times (0/3)
11. photograph all 12 original chrysler 300 letter cars and create a calendar
12. lightpaint a car
13. get to know the work of 25 dead photographers
14. get to know the work of 50 active photographers
15. present at a pictage user group meeting
16. photograph my brother's wedding with my wife
17. invest 30% of our buisness income
18. donate 20% of total income in the way of a services-in-kind to a charity
19. launch a fine art project website
20. finish my seed pod personal project
21. read one book per month for six months to benefit our photo business
22. give away the books to benefit someone else
23. second shoot at a wedding for someone i admire
24. resist the urge to buy some expensive camera equipment and do something important with the money instead
25. shoot with a nikon 200mm f/2g if-ed af-s vr lens
26. shoot with a nikon 200-400mm f/4g if-ed, af-s vr zoom-nikkor lens
27. purchase nikon 85mm f/1.4 if af lens, one of nikon’s finest lenses and a bokeh champ
28. take at least one new business workshop from score in denver
29. have coffee with someone business-related i don't know very well once a month for six months
30. become involved in a toastmasters group in denver
31. launch portrait photography website
32. learn to make pie from my wife then photograph the result and see if you can tell the difference
33. grow our business by 200% each year
34. shoot a medium format camera
35. teach a photography class
36. write and produce at 3 tutorial articles to help other photographers
37. create a signature marketing piece
38. print and mail signature marketing piece
39. write a piece for a magazine, paper, or journal
40. give another vendor a complete wedding album for free
41. photograph muscian(s) for album cover art
42. photograph u2 in concert
43. build our portrait photography business by doing two location shoots per month for six months in a row
44. go on an african photo safari
45. photograph sashi & alex
46. get a studio
47. shoot a wedding at our church, the cathedral basilica of the immaculate conception
48. do something creativity different on each shoot
49. build a photographer resources portion of our website
50. build a wedding planning resources portion of our website
51. send out birthday cards to all clients
52. learn to whistle with two fingers (rounding up those huge groups)
53. become a nikon pro
54. photograph a denver broncos game (with sideline credentials)
55. photograph at least one of every major professional denver sports team (with sideline credentials)
56. shoot 100,001 shutter actuations from my d-200
57. shoot 300,000 photos
58. photograph a u.s. president
59. learn a different style of photography
60. create a series of custom photoshop actions
61. learn to use a large format camera
62. make a book of personal travel & art photos
63. make a book of just dash photos
64. win the lindsay designs photo contest 3 years in a row (2/3)
65. host an osp trash the dress session with other photographers
66. take an advanced studio lighting class
67. become involved in a professional photographic organization
68. post three tutorial videos on cutframe aimed at helping other wedding photographers
69. complete a personal abc project
70. speak at partner con
71. shoot production stills for a major motion picture
72. go to the annual wppi conference
73. enter a photo in wppi print competition
74. win a photo wppi award
75. speak at wppi
76. donate a wedding package in which 100% of proceeds would benefit a charity
77. get an image published in patagonia catalog
78. shoot a portrait with a soft box
79. figure out just how jessica claire makes her images look so freakin' good.
80. get in touch with at least two early art mentors
81. shoot with a ringflash
82. volunteer for a week in a foreign country
83. take a vacation and not bring a camera
84. travel to a new place with one prime lens and no flash
85. shoot a destination wedding
86. encourage or mentor an upcoming photographer
87. meet wedding photography heroes mike colon, david jay, [b]ecker, joe bussink, jessica claire, and nate & jaclyn kaiser
88. shoot a wedding in 3 new countries
89. shoot a wedding on another continent
90. form three new partnerships with another company
91. help another vendor book a referral event
92. inspire someone to pick up photography as a hobby
93. inspire a fellow photographer to blog
94. become a member of the wedding photojournalist association
95. become a member of the artistic guild of the wedding photojournalist association
96. win a top 10 award in the wpja contest, individual category
97. develop a few exposed rolls of b&w film that have been sitting in my desk drawer for years
98. be listed as one of the top photographers in the wedding photojournalist association
99. qualify as one of the top 10 artistic photojournalists in the world
100. refer a wedding to a new photographer
101. finish, post, and share this list [completed 11-11-07]