It's Christmas Day and I'm home alone. Don't feel sorry for me though; I'm just resting up for my third (!) Christmas celebration tomorrow. Christmas around here is kinda disjointed with travel to various family celebrations, but also because as an oncology nurse, my wife occasionally works Christmas Day. Unfortunately, cancer patients don't always get to spend the holidays with their loved ones, so today is a special day on her unit. She and all of the nurses there are pretty special people, too.

Take some time today and over the rest of the holiday season to hug your friends and family and spend some quality time together. Slow down. Take a minute or two to focus on the moment at hand. It's not only good for you as photographer, it's good for you as a human.

Merry Christmas and happy holidays from me and my family to you and yours.

Take care, Stuart

Well, 2010 is on its last legs, and once again it seems like the year has flown by—but what a year this has been, at least for me. I'm planning a nice big year-end wrap up to talk about all of it, but want to take a moment here to say "thank you" to everyone who has contributed to my photographic journey over the last 12 months. Things have certainly changed and I hold you all personally responsible. :-)

Speaking of flying, this month's wallpaper is a photograph I made in 1987 while on vacation in Acadia National Park in Maine. Made with a Pentax 645 and Fujichrome Velvia 100 (I think), it reminds me of the past and of the future. I know that's a little sappy, but we really do need to do what we can to fly in a world that seems like it only wants to ground us, sometimes permanently. We all have responsibilities, true—but we occasionally need to take the time to push ourselves out into the air and soar. It feels good and it opens us up to so many possibilities out there.

I hope all of you have a great December and a great Christmas holiday. Perhaps this New Year, you'll add "soar" to your list of resolutions. Enjoy.

December wallpaper — Large Desktop (2560 x 1600) December wallpaper — Small Desktop (1280 x 800) December wallpaper — iPad (1024 x 1024) December wallpaper — iPhone HD (640 x 960)