I was absolutely floored going over the images these last couple weeks. I mean, I never thought that in year three I would be posting this much work, to say I have been blessed this year would be an understatement. New clients, new places, and new spaces- all make for a lot of opportunity.

And I would be ashamed if I did not mention this…. I could have not, however, made it through all of this without the best support system of my life- my family. More specifically, my wife. She has been solid through the last four years, through all the changes and re-direction, and uncertainty. She has weathered all the storms with me- by my side.

That said I was crazy busy this year, managed to on-board some new clients, and continued to service my existing clients. All while going to some really beautiful places, seeing some amazing sunrises and sunsets, and putting on a lot of miles to each of those locations. Some of my clients include Tuskes Homes, WKL Architects, Hasenstab Architects, PW Campbell, Speedwell Construction, Knights of Columbus, and Muzo Furniture.

PW Campbell

PW Campbell was one of my first new client additions. And they came on in the early part of the year, but for me early was around April and the first shoot coming by the end of May in Painted Post, NY. From that initial phone call with Eric, I was amazed to see how fast things would progress. With them I have traveled to five states, visited nine different locations, and had the pleasure of meeting and working with their clients to make all of these shoots go off without a hitch.

ServU Credit Union/PWCapmbell- Brian Riedel Photography 2022

Williams Kinsman & Lewis (WKL) Architects

While I had worked on one project for them in 2021, the bulk of the projects came in 2022. Six projects made up my workload for them this year. The last of these projects came at the doorstep of the redesigned corporate offices and manufacturing facility of Pride Mobility and their two corporate entities Quantum Mobility and Pride Mobility in Duryea, PA. The project was a massive campus that was redeveloped in the likeness of a collage campus to allow for community and comradery amongst the employees (at all levels). The CEO wanted his team to feel as one and allow for growth by communing and working and playing side by side. With an on-site fitness center, a massive cafeteria with access by all levels, and open corridors that intersect and join all departments.

Pride Mobility/WKL Architects- Brian Riedel Photography 2022

Speedwell Construction

Speedwell Construction came on after some early communication in the middle of the year which led to positive conversation and allowed for a project to be captured in the fall for their client Chipotle. This was a small project as the store was only a couple hundred square feet. This new design was beautiful and true to Chipotle’s current design theme. Speedwell did a wonderful job designing and building this new restaurant. New projects to follow for 2023.

Hasenstab Architects

Hasenstab Architects reached out to me to capture their new designed and completed office space in the community of Lawrenceville just outside of the city of Pittsburgh, PA.

Muzo-Works Furniture

This was an interesting conversation between me and the owner of the company during the initial phone call. He thought I was looking to find employment in their company, and I was trying to get work through them. So, we both had a good laugh and found some time to make some work for each other. It was a great afternoon and I got meet a lot of new people in the industry and mix and mingle and took some pictures for them to promote the brand-new facility here in north-east PA. Fingers crossed I get the chance to do some solid work for them in the new year.

Tuskes Homes

So here we come to Tuskes Homes. They are a construction/design company for residential community housing. Christa reached out to me in the beginning of the year to talk about having me do some work for them on a recurring basis to capture their community construction progressions for each house or style of house that they build. They asked me for a quote, I obliged, they accepted, and it’s been around twenty properties to date (give or take) with multiple stops at each location during the course of any given build. to say this has fun would be an understatement. I have had a blast mucking around job sites after hours, on weekends, doing what it is I do. In the cold, in the heat. Sunny days, cloudy days, and rainy days. it’s allowed me to learn a thing or two about the build process in the residential construction industry. It’s also afforded me the opportunity to play with angles and fuss around with my process. It has helped me sort out somethings that have made me a better photographer for it.

Before I wrote this post out tonight- I spent the last few days working out what I wanted to say, how I wanted to say it, and what pictures I wanted to use. Then this afternoon happened. My wife and daughter were hand-making some lovely pasta for Christmas Eve dinner tomorrow, the TV was on with Apple music playing. I sat down and watched the lyrics come across the screen, sounds started coming from my mouth (I love to sing, lol). And as I was singing and jamming out to GnR, and Bananarama, and Tears for Fears, some of the lyrics resonated with me. I kept thinking about my year and the lyrics and the year and the lyrics and the….well you get it. I felt really proud of all that has happened, how I grew as a photographer, and how I want to attack the new year.

As I was writing this post, I was still feeling a bit gitty (like I was still a little kid at Christmas) over the work that I’ve had the chance to photograph, the people I got to meet, and the growth that has come to my business. While it is small in the number of jobs compared to other photographers, it is solid growth. Growth I’m very proud of, growth that makes me smile because I made this happen. Being a human, being kind, sharing an interest in the client’s work, and wanting to help.

Now that I have my marketing plan in place with my friends at Wonderful Machine and their knowledge in getting the right clients in front of the right creatives and vice versa. And the fact that I now have this post written out, and the website is chock full of new images for the new year. I can now take a little break before I get back at it again… as early as next week, lol. But I will stop this week, smell all the good smells around me, enjoy all of my family and revel in their joy and happiness over the holidays- it’s the fuel that stokes my fire and keeps me moving forward, to follow dreams, stay the course- you know all that jibber jabber we here over the years that are supposed to keep us motivated. But I do get motivated, because at the end of the day while I want to produce stellar work that brings clients back and draws new clients even closer. And because I provide a service to them that allows me to help them fulfill their needs by capturing beautiful design. I want my family- my wife, my children, to be proud of me. How they view me, how they look at my life when I’m old and worn out and can’t do this anymore. I hope I’ll have shown them that by following those dreams, and staying their course, they can truly bring their own happiness.

So, here’s to a REALLY great 2022, thanks for everything! And here’s a hopeful, even optimistic, look into the future, in 2023. May we find each other in good spirits, share in good company, and get the best out of every opportunity in the world. I’m already gratefully looking forward to it.

Have a wonderful holiday season and we’ll see you in 2023!!!!