The North Shore winter was fantastic as usual, with it’s sub-zero temperatures and every changing scenery. I didn’t spend as much time out as I have in years past, but I feel like when I did get out nature was always good to me. There was plenty of ice, snow, and dramatic skies.

In February I was fortunate enough to have my own display at the Duluth Photography Institute, for what I consider to be my first serious showing. I’ve done plenty of group events, which are fun, but it was extremely satisfying to have an entire half of a gallery all to myself. Thanks to everyone that was able to attend while my work was up, from the first people in to the  kids from work that waited until the very last minute before tear-down, I appreciate your support.

June brought the beginning of a record number of art/craft shows for me in one year. If my counting is correct, I had 10 shows and it all started with the Park Point Art Fair. This year I decided to get a little more serious with my display and ended up building my own carpeted walls. What a pain to haul around, but they sure look and work great. A well deserved thank you to my wife for always helping with show set up and tear down, as well as religiously proclaiming “Free cheese curds all around” after my first sale of each show. I suppose I should give a shout out to our Border Collie Ace as well, his dog head lured in many attendees at the outdoor shows and I probably owe a few sales to him.

September brought an end to one of the biggest challenges I’ve ever faced. After 26 months, my wife’s brother Shane was finally released from prison in Tehran after being detained for an alleged illegal border crossing. Nicole and I are finally able to live our lives without the added stress, and as we see fit; not having to plan and schedule around never-ending meetings, interviews, conference calls and the like.  Thanks to the courageous Masoud Shafii, my friends, family, and strangers that stepped up and helped end this chapter in our lives. Onward…..

The Year of the Rabbit ended with a bang. I was able to do four shows in four weeks, the highlight being the end-of-the-year event at the Duluth Photography Institute with fellow bro-tographers Shawn Thompson and Travis Melin. As great as the December shows were, and as awesome as Christmas always is, my favorite moment was being able to see my wife not only graduate from college as a certified massage therapist, but to also see her receive the “Most Inspirational Student” award as voted by her peers and instructors. It was much deserved, and I can’t think of a time when I prouder. Congrats, Nicole.

I already have several goals in mind for the new year both photographically and in my personal life; the only one I’m going to divulge right is to be more regular with my blog posts. With that said I’ll leave you with some of my favorite shots from 2011.

Nate