Over the past few weeks you have been receiving presents and cards from friends and family as well as people you do business with on a regular basis.  For the most part this is kept to the holidays as a way of saying thanks.  However like the New Year’s resolution you set just a few of days ago why do we limit it to just this time of year.  The end of the year and the start of the year marks a set time in our mind where we perform tasks like saying thanks.  Let’s look at the resolution you created earlier this week.  If the resolution was so important why didn’t you start it on any other day instead of waiting until the first of the year?

As I looked at the holiday greetings I received this holiday season, I have noticed the difference between a card received via “snail mail’ and one which was sent in an e-mail or even yet a link to a web page with a generic holiday greeting.  This is one of the first years I have really have noticed the difference between getting a note in the mail and one electronically.

At the gallery which I own in Denver, this season I received one holiday card in the mail and countless others by e-mail.  The one card which I received in the mail hung alone for a few weeks waiting for others to join it, but the only greetings were via e-mail and after a quick scan they were quickly deleted from my inbox.  I can clearly tell you the name of this individual who sent the holiday card and if they inquire about having a show at the gallery in the future it may help them get added to the schedule.  Should preference be given to someone who sends a physical card versus an electronic card?  The process of communicating with a potential business partner is to make yourself memorable when doing so, and in this instance the physical card was memorable.  Will this be the same in 2012?  Most likely it will be, but I will find out in less than a year from now.

I know there is much discussion these days about being green and stewards for the environment when it comes to printed items.  This is the reason why a lot of people have moved to the electronic or ‘e’  method of saying thanks at the holidays or at any time during the course of the year.  Or is it for other reasons, including the savings in purchasing cards or even more so the speed in which the electronic cards can be sent quickly removing one additional task from our busy lives.  Hopefully this is not the same way you are treated when doing business with this person.

The bottom line is customer service is king in today’s business place.  Taking the time to write a thank you note is something which is appreciated by the person who received the card.  Who knows, one of those business cards you include in a handwritten thank you note can make it to some they know resulting in a new customer for you this year.  I am sure that alone will be worth the couple of minutes which is took to say thanks.

If you do want to have a resolution for 2012, why not make it setting aside fifteen minutes each week and writing a handwritten thank you note.

Recent Work

Just before Christmas almost twelve inches of snow fell in the Denver area.  As the snow was ending I headed out and photographed around town.  The last stop I made was at Willis Case Golf Course in northwest Denver.  The area was filled with people sledding on the fresh snow, and as I made my way out on the golf course I looked for fresh snow and trees to photograph.  From a distance I spotted a tree which looked interesting in it’s location and when I got there found the fresh snow surrounding the area which I photographed and created the image for today.

The 2011 holidays may be behind us, however there are only 357 days until Christmas 2012.

To help you prepare for the upcoming holidays, holiday cards from Neil Corman Photography will be on sale for the next ten days at over 40% off the normal price.  From now until January 12, 2012 a box of 12 cards is on sale for $10.  As always there is free shipping on order of $50 or more.

It may be quite far out to think about holiday cards, however in no time Christmas will once again be here.

Happy New Year! The above image was taken this morning in Denver.

It’s a new year and 2012 is shaping up to be a great one for Neil Corman Photography.  The past few weeks have been spent planning on how to best share content with you and constantly keep the website and blog up to date with current information and images.

With the start of the new year you will find a few images posted on the blog during the week from the Denver area split into new work as well as images from the archive.  In addition there will also be a weekly series of images from other locations to help you get through the week and thinking about other places at the start of the work week.

A new Tumblr blog has been created which features images on the go as well as behind the scenes images taken with my iPhone.  These go through a different type of processing and you will notice a different look then some of the images here on the blog and website.

Lastly, in 2012 look to make it easier to share images from the web galleries with people you may think may be interested in viewing.  With so many social media options these days the list of options have been narrowed to include Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Tumblr and Pinterest.  This is just been finished and tested. Look for an announcement once the redesign is complete.

We look forward to 2012 and hope you have a great year planned as well.

The end of the year is quickly approaching which always brings lists of the top moments, events, occurrences and such from the current year. I spent some time reflecting on the year which was 2011 and while doing so picked seven images from Denver, Colorado as “7 Images in ’11″.  The seven images below are in chronological order during the course of the year.

Republic Plaza Reflection
Near one of the longest days of the year in terms of sunlight, I headed out for some early morning photography in the Denver area with a group of photographers.  As we stood on the corner of 17th and Broadway, I noticed the reflection of Republic Plaza and after moving back and forth along the curb came up with the above composition.  For the next few hours we explored just outside the downtown area and some of the great architecture new and old which can be found in Denver.

Tennyson Streetscape Project
Business owners along Tennyson Street in The Berkeley District may remember 2011 as the year of the streetscape project.  Due to some issues with utility lines in the area there was a delay in the project which led to part of the street being an active construction zone for longer than expected.  Once the utility line issues were resolved, Concrete Works of Colorado did a great job to get the project moving at full speed.  The above image was the morning of the first large concrete pour along the street as everyone was preparing for the convey of cement trucks which would end up on Tennyson Street.

Lakeside Amusement Park Closing Weekend
The end of summer marks the final ride of the season for the Cyclone.  I had meant to photograph outside Lakeside during the summer, but found myself spending a few days outside of the park on the final weekend it was open this past year.  On one of the evenings, the sunset exploded in color which led to the above image symbolizing the final ride for the year.  In just over four months, the Lakeside will open once again for a summer of fun.

Denver Skyline Sunrise
The first day of the Thirty Days 2011 project was greeted with an amazing sunrise over Denver.  With daylight savings not yet ending for 2011, sunrise was around 7:30 A.M. in early November.  As I waited for the sun to rise over the city, a front also moved in bringing the clouds in the image.  Thirty minutes prior to this image the skies were clear, and it was just a fortunate chance of the system moving in at that time.  The next day there was measurable snow in the Denver area, which would be the only snowfall in the month of November.

Berkeley Lake Denver
Berkeley Lake in northwest Denver took on a different look during 2011 as it was drained for a construction project in the park.  As the water slowly drained old posts from a pier started to appear.  While this was taking place many people headed to the lake in search of treasures with their metal detectors as well.  During November, I headed to the lake to check it out and walking around in some of the muck which was the lake bottom captured the above image as part of the Thirty Days 2011 project.  The project is schedule to be completed in 2012, when the lake will be filled and refilled with more treasures for future generations to discover.

Veterans Days 2011
Once on Veterans Day, I visited Fort Logan National Cemetery. For each of the past five years, I have headed to this location and I always for a different image to take each year.  This year I noticed a tree in the distance while walking around which was still full of fall foliage.  Playing with a few angles, I decided to get my camera quite low to the ground (without kneeling, due to the numerous geese which own the grounds) and play with a little different perspective this year.  The lenticular clouds also provided for an interesting sky on this day.

Morning Reflection
Walking around Denver on a fall morning I was looking for something which I had not noticed in the past while exploring with my camera.  On this November morning I noticed the light was mostly straight down the the numbered streets in the downtown area (if you are not familiar with downtown Denver they run on a SE/NW direction).  I took advantage of this direct light on Union Station and other buildings, but as I was walking back towards my car I spotted the strong sun on the above image.  With street construction in the area, I was able to stand in a recently completed area which was still closed to traffic and capture the image as part of the Thirty Days 2011 project.

I hope you enjoyed the seven images which were selected from 2011, and I wish you the best during the holidays this year.

The snow is coming down this morning in Denver, and while the Thirty Days of November are over I will most likely be out later today in the snow and cold taking some images.

As you have followed the blog for the past thirty days, you have seen the thirty images taken during Thirty Days 2011.  From Denver to Northern California, my camera has been with me.   Now it is your turn to vote for your three favorite images taken the past month.

Voting is easy and is done online at the Thirty Days Vote Page.  Take a look at the thirty images, select your top three and submit your vote.  Once you have voted, you are entered into a drawing to win an 8×10 matted print of an image of your choice.

The voting process is open now through January 12, 2012.

On the final day of Thirty Days 2011, I was walking around Civic Center Park for some photographs of the area and after capturing some of the capitol and city I noticed this squirrel in the grass.  I took a few pictures and then the squirrel started rolling around and almost acting like a dog to some extent.  Once it was done, it gave me a look which was captured above for the image today.

Be sure to stop back tomorrow for the start of voting of the top Thirty Days 2011 images.

A nice blue sky morning had me walking around the Pepsi Center and Elitch Gardens this morning.  As the amusement park is closed for the season there is not much activity in the area.  Looking up at one of the water rides in the park I noticed the curves in the tubing and captured the image for Day 29 of Thirty Days 2011.

Sometimes the light does not cooperate with you and this was one of those evenings.  Upon landing back in Denver it appeared the clouds were lining up for a dramatic sunset in the mile high city.  As I was driving home I was thinking about a couple of locations to take advantage of this light and came up with City Park due to time concerns.  About a half hour prior to sunset everything was still looking great in the sky and as I quickly stopped home they mentioned it on the early news that it could be a colorful sunset once again.  However in the next thirty minuted conditions started to change and the dramatic which was expected did not occur.  Out at the park I came across another photographer who thought that the colors could be good this evening as well.  The one thing which you have to do is get out and photograph.  I waited past sunset to get some of the dusk light making the skyline of Denver from City Park the photo for Day 28 of Thirty Days 2011.

This morning I was heading up towards Alameda Point to explore on Day 27 of Thirty Days 2011.  As I headed up Shoreline Drive I noticed a beach volleyball net along the way.  In the early morning fog I stopped and photographed the net prior to continuing on my way.  The morning moisture was just enough on the net to make it the image for Day 27.