My New Year Post…
DISCLAIMER!!! This is going to be a LONG LONG LONG post. Its a personal entry and one that I feel passionate about. It’s for my benefit more than my peeps but if you want to read, then of course, make your self at home. If you prefer my pointless slapstick posts, please go ahead and scroll past this one to the next post.
Reflecting back on 2008, it was bittersweet. For every awesome adventure and success, came an equally strong heartache and failure. I have declared 2009 as the year to learn from my mistakes. That said, I think I’ll later find that 2008 was my most VALUABLE year to date.
This morning I was in the locker room at the gym and Good Morning America or USA Today or whatever that was had these two “resolution experts” (self-proclaimed) on the show. I disagreed with so much that they were saying. One of the things they said is that 80 percent of all people who write out their resolutions in January will fail. So they made this arguement that January is not a good time to set resolutions.
I’m going to call a big BS on that. I think January is the PERFECT time. So you have enjoyed the holidays, let your hair down a little and then suddenly it’s the New Year and a fresh start and to me, a perfect opportunity to set some new goals.
I do however agree that 80% of all people will fail. Most people are not “do-ers”, it’s very easy to get distracted and by nature we allow the most mundane little things interfere with our goals.
As for resolutions, I sort of steer away from that word. I prefer “goals” and “rules”. For every goal, I need to make and follow some rules. So instead of listing a bunch of resolutions like, “I will never eat chocolate again” (that was one of my sister’s NY Resolutions when she was like, 11. Katherine is now 29 and she has still not eaten a single bite of chocolate! (YEAH RIGHT!).
I actually feel that I am able to stick to my goals. I think most people who know me can back me up on that. I identified a problem last year though, when I reach a goal, I feel satisfied and I don’t think of new goals. This happened when I set my goal to get my weight down from 215 to 187 in 12 weeks… I actually passed it up and got down to 183. Then I was like, “OK, done! And I continued to work out consistently, but then I started to enjoy eating “naughty” foods again. So about a year later, my weight went back up and now I’m at 196. Not horrible but what I should have done is set a new goal! So now I have to sort of get back on my diet, lose the weight again, and proceed to my next goal, which I have already set.
So anyway, here are my goals and the rules that I will need to follow to achieve them. (like you care, but I’ll write them here anyway):
Health:
Goal 1: Drop to 180 lbs by April 1. This means I have to lose 1.33 lbs per week.
Rules: A) Eat 6 small lean meals per day. One every two hours. 3 of them may be shakes, one may be a Venti latte, which has 220 calories and 18g of protein. B) Drink lots of water. In between the meals I should be sucking down water. C) Get my work outs in first thing AM each day: Mon/Fri: upper body lifting. Tues/Wed/Thurs: skin up A-Basin and ski for at least an hour. Sat: either ski with friends, run Camelback (if I’m in AZ), or jog 2 laps in Wash Park (if in Denver)
Exceptions: I can splurge on my diet if I am cooking for people. When I go out, I resolve to “keep it healthy” without being strange and I can have cocktails. I gotta still have a life. And then my “when in Rome” clause allows me to eat some NY Pizza in NY, A Chicago Dog if I’m in Chicago, BBQ in St. Louis, a Schnitzel if in Switzerland, etc… but I have to be out of CO and AZ doesn’t count, either.
Goal 2: Beat my personal best in this year’s Pike’s Peak Ascent
Rules: 1. Run more Green Mountain in Boulder as soon as the snow/ice melts in April/May. 2. Run Greys/Torres once a week, starting in June. 3. Try to join the Incline Club in Colo Spgs on Sundays when possible. 4. Acheive goal #1.
Business: I have started two new businesses last year, WT and FT. I will keep these abbreviated so that competitors and potential competitors won’t know what I am up to! Some people close to me know what WT and FT are. And I have “rules” for these goals, but I am going to keep those private, too.
Goal 1: WT: 300 new clients in 2009. FT: 3000 new clients in 2009. These are lofty goals but if you aim for the sun and fall short, you might still hit the moon!
Goal 2: (Cafiero Photographers, my wedding photography biz). Stop shooting weddings when I hit 30. I believe I am at 22 now.
Rules: be selective on who I choose to do business with. Look for those certain “red flags” at consultations. 
Personal:
Goal 1: Propose my own story on Bike Messengers to National Geographic (stop laughing, this has been a life long goal of mine and I’m ready to do something about it!)
Rules: A) make it out to Philly, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, more Denver, possibly Austin. Pitch a preliminary story to NG and see if they will sponsor me to finish the project in Berlin, Tokyo, etc.
Goal 2: Summit Challenger and Kit Carson. I failed twice already, the first time because I was out of shape, the second time (last year) because of lightening. No rules for this one, I just need to do it.
Goal 3: Complete the A-Basin Grind in April. Rule: Sign up, register, commit.
Goal 4: Couch surf, Vietnam. Rule: save for a cheap ticket, get a Gary Sitter, find an englsh-speaking couch-surfing host.
Goal 5; Stay passionate about photography. Come see my presentation at this year’s WPPI. I will tell you all about how to do that…
I also have some “resolutions”, too. These are things I am just going to try to be more conscious about doing:
1. Smile more often. I remember once I woke up on the wrong side of the bed and I drove out to Boulder to run Mt. Sanitas. I ldecided to try a little experiment. I decided to smile and say “hi” to everyone that I would meet or pass on the trail. The results were amazing. I won’t tell you what happened. Just try it yourself next time you are around people and tell me what happens. I can say that I drove home with a smile on my face and it changed my whole day!
2. Give Gary a good bit of happy fun time every day. I don’t think I play with him enough. We go run a lot and I make sure he gets lots of exersize but sometimes we just need to chase each other around a park or something for a while and wrestle, etc. He loves that. So do I! It’s a win-win! He’s mi amigo negro, my BFF, and the poor guy depends on me for happy fun time.
3. Acknowlege the things that make me happy more often and give more thanks, and for all things that don’t make me happy, try to make a conscious effort to learn the lesson from them. Because for every challenge or failure, there is a lesson to be found! Like the prize at the bottom of that stale, cardboard-flavored cracker jack popcorn! Nasty!
4. Learn to play the drums. Yeah I want to rock some drum sticks and bang on some symbols! That’s right. I am not totally gung-ho about this (it’s not so much a “goal”) but if I find myself at a music store in front of a practice pad and some sticks, I resolve to buy them.
5. Stay super humble and give thanks often.
6. Value and nourish my friendships and mentorships. I have a tight group of friends. I have eliminated most bad people from my life. I want to give a shout to a few peeps who have really influenced me this year: (in no particular order)
Kent Meireis is a local photographer who has showed me that it’s important to SLOW DOWN on occasion and enjoy a backyard BBQ with just 2 or 3 REALLY good people. I feel honored that he invites me over to hang with he and his wife Geri. Kent talks a LOT and everything that comes out of his mouth are all good. They both appreciate every day to its fullest and I have learned a lot about priorities from them. They also have a very impressive garden and Kent is the most passionate photographer I have ever met.
Jim Kennedy is my brother from another mother. Thanks Jim for being my unending source of inspiration, first as a business man, second as a family man, and third as a guy who wants to do it ALL (he just got back from 5 weeks in Thailand!) I feel lucky too know and work with Jim who is a DOer and not just a talker.
Giuseppe Viola is from Italy, I couch surfed at his home last May. I don’t know if he follows my blog, but if you are reading this, I have to tell you that I have learned some of my most important lessons in life from you in just two nights of surfing your couch. Say ciao to Anna, I am determined to visit you guys again!
And finally, I will refer to an old old blog photo, this is from 2006! I have been writing my goals out every morning fairl consistently for the past 7 years. I found one of my first “goal books” from 2002 recently when I was moving. It was just a typical notebook, that I had used to write my goals in a pretty unorganized fashion every day. Now I have these books that I have printed off at Kinkos once a month. They haven’t changed much:
Every morning I write my task list (all the monkeys on my back), identify with a star, the 12 monkeys I want to toss by the end of the day, my month goals, my year goals, 5 year and 10 year goals. I won’t share them all with you, but my 10 year goal is “long retired, whatever I feel like doing!”. The goal book is like my dream magnet. If I write things in there enough, they usually come true. If I don’t write out my goals I sit at my desk, useless. I really am worthless withoug my books.
Anyway, if you read my whole post, then I have to apologize for wasting so much of your day, but I never forced you to read it!
I hope everyone has the kind of 2009 that you dream about!
January 5, 2009 | 
(0) |
Happy New Year! Meet my bro, Matt Norfleet
Well I am working tonight and tomorrow, shooting a wedding and a NYE gala so I don’t have time to write the kind of NEW YEAR post that I want to. I feel incredibly passionate about 2009 and I plan on making a big blog post about it. So come back for that, or not… it will be kind of a personal post and I doubt too many of you will care too much but sometimes I use this blog for my own personal reasons. That said, most of my life is an open book to all my peeps.
FOR NOW… You gotta meet my friend Matt Norfleet. OK, I don’t have a photo of him. But he has been probably one of my best buddies from Summit County. We were ski patrollers and he still patrols at the Basin. But we have another thing in common, and I believe it’s a creative side to us and sort of an entrepreneurial spirit. He’s an amazing artist and graphic designer. I want to show off some of his work.
Matt recently showed me his design for the new Keystone Ski Patrol hoodies. Matt, I better get one of these. I can still roll the patrol hoodie, I put in my two years at KSP!
Here’s his new design, I think it’s P.I.M.P.!
Matt just started a blog and it will be very interesting. He’s a ski patroller in the winter and a raft guide in the summer. One of the rare guides who gets to guide the Grand Canyon. When are you bringing me on one of your trips?
HAVE A SAFE AND HAPPY NEW YEAR! I LOVE MY PEEPS!
December 31, 2008 | (3) |
“Try My Product” (Private Lessons!)
Ever seen this guy on TV?
(I am convinced that guy is more of a business man than an expert on computers, but good on him!)
Yesterday I had a three hour private lesson here in Denver and let me tell you it was nice, even for me to just walk around the streets of good old Downtown Denver and just photograph this place I call “home”.
Even better, Josh was my client for the day. I photographed he and Kelsey’s wedding years ago and Kelsey bought him some private lessons for Christmas. We spent the first hour talking about camera 101, basically just learning the functions of his sweet camera, then an hour long walking tour of Downtown, where we practiced a few techniques, and finally photoshop 101, getting Josh up to speed on the basics of PS.
I of course brought my camera, too. Maybe Josh will send me some of his photos. Until then, here are some of mine.
Meet my “student”. He’s got his camera, trapper keeper, some puddin’ packs and is ready for some of my edumacations.
We can’t walk the streets of Denver without making a stop at the famous Union Station!
Inside the Union Station, I showed Josh how to photograph a ceiling light! Actually, I just love the lights inside, they are cool, don’t you think? I want one in my office.
We talked about capturing textures
And Colors… (If you can’t tell by now, I’m on a grainy sepia kick, but here are some color shots!)
Doesn’t everybody just LOVE bubble gum?!?! But this bubble gum is a little expensive! That dang economy!
More abstract stuff…
This is the famous Ski Train that goes from Denver to Winter Park. It's a very cool train.
A quick lesson on capturing motion (panning)
This is nothing fancy, I took it for my dad whose name is Mario and he just gets excited when he sees his name on italian restaurants! This one’s for you, bari!
I love this building in Denver
Dog.
Anyway, it was a good time and Josh seemed pretty pumped about his lesson. We covered a lot and I think Josh has a lot of cool new tricks in his bag. I’m excited to see some more of his work!
December 30, 2008 | (3) |
Gary, photographers best assistant
So my Denver studio is a huge loft sort of situation. There are two very large 1600 sq feet shooting areas and the east area, I also have my own little consultation room. It’s been such a great setup and I am on my 4th year here.
Funny thing is that the other photographers are always photographing good professional sports cheerleaders, models and who knows what else, but there are always women around.
Now that Gary comes to work with me, he has proven himself a “chick-magnet”. Yes, any time the women are here, one glimpse of G sends them flocking his direction. Gary has even become great friends with professional athletes. One day Gary snuck out of my office and I found him leaning up against Denver Nuggets Forward-Guard Linas Kleiza. He was scratching his head and talking to him in a foreign language.
Then a couple weeks ago Gary snuck into a photoshoot, a room full of veloptuous women who photographer Don Cudney was working with. He put Gary to work for some free labor.
Here is gary, making sure the hair fan isn’t on too strong. He is hard at work. That’s Gary on the LEFT… not the guy on the right!
It’s so fun too have the G-Man at the studio. I wish the women would give ME that kind of attention! And I have such better manners than Gary, I must be doing something wrong. Although G can also CLEAR a roomfull of women very quickly too, usually about a half hour after eating his crunchies.
December 29, 2008 | (4) |
My favorite photo of 2008
Someone asked me if I had a favorite photo from 2008.
Ha. Wow. I would love to know how many hundreds of thousands of photos I took this year. Narrowing it down to one, you would think would be hard. Surely it would be one of my magestic images of the Matterhorn in Switzerland! Or maybe something from Italy. Or maybe it was a wedding photo, or something from the Broncos.
But when that question was asked, immediately one came to mind. I decided not to overthink it and just go with it. My favorite photo of 2008:
I have a feeling my choice would really confuse some people. Seems like such a silly photo.
To see it in Full Size, CLICK HERE
huhhhhh…. I was just going to try to explain why it’s my favorite. But I’m not going to. It’s too hard. But it made me laugh at the instance I took the photo and I still chuckle when I look at this. But there’s a little more to it than just that. But there you have it! I hope you like-a.
Does anyone remember seeing this photo? I blogged it! Any guesses of when/where I took this?
December 28, 2008 | (4) |
Hellfires of Hell, Live at Broadmoor Residence
The other night I went to an awesome concert. I couldn’t believe I got to see Hellfires of Hell LIVE! I was so close, like, I felt like I could almost touch the lead singer at one point!
The concert was held this Christmas time at the lead vocalist/guitarists dad’s living room in Colorado Springs. It Rocked.
I actually know the lead vocalist from High School. Here is Alex Bjork, a real rockstar.
At first I was like, “whoah, I wonder if Alex’s dad knows that his son is having this jam session in his living room!” because it got pretty crazy. But then I noticed that Dr. Bjork was actually playing the drums, so then I felt much better about breaking things and spilling beer everywhere.
Right is another guy I went to high school with, Matt Barry, drummer, Dr. Bjork, and Alex…
I didn’t recognized any songs, but I am still sort of a new fan. But they played a Christmas song called “One-Armed Santa” that ROCKED
Matt played a sweet solo
I never got the name of the Bassist, but he looks like he belongs in a band
The infamous Steve Havenar later aired some grievences on the mic, and then proceeded to cook a very large piece of meat.
Paige, far right, is a friend of mine from NYC. Her sister Brooke, middle is from Chicago. To the far left is Erika and she’s pregnant.
Matt Barry takes the vocals and dedicates this one to his woman, Erika. It was romantic.
Some guys I know from High School who I have not seen for years, except Steve on the far right, who I see more often than I’d like
This is the meat we dined on during the concert’s intermission
Alex payed basketball in high school. He has transformed into a very eccentric ROCKER
Other intermission foodstuffs included chips, queso, salsa and I wiped cheese from the corners of my mouth, using these very festive Christmas Spider napkins.
Chad Fetterhof also went to my high school. He now works for Shimano bike components and travels with their team and does marketing things at events. He lives in SoCal.
Alex’s dad, Dr. Bjork, gave me a free drum lesson. I heard that the band broke up for a while because Al and his dad had “creative differences”. I am so glad they are back together.
Who else but me. I look like a ghost in the reflection
If I really were a ghost, I decided that I would be a nice ghost, but I would also scare people. I would dress your cat in costumes right before you come home from work, put your TV remote control in the refrigerator, and short-sheet your bed. I would be the most annoying ghost in the world. But maybe ghosts are only allowed to do certain things, like slam doors, turn on faucets and all things creepy. I’m not sure if they have a handbook or set of rules or what…?
Either way, I really hope I don’t become a ghost. I’d rather go to Heaven. I’m just saying…. good to have an alternate plan.
What were we talking about again…?
Oh yes, the band. Thanks Al for inviting me out to your concert! When is your next performance
Later!
December 27, 2008 | (5) |
Bored with Sixpeeps.com?
Hey I’m trying to keep you guys entertained!
Well if you are just sick and tired of being sick and tired about sixpeeps.com…
(whatever I know you aren’t, my daily hits are still up…) but my good friends Jim and Stephanie Kennedy of SoCal are in Thailand and I am totally jealous. I wanted to share this with my peeps
Check out the miserable time they are having in Thailand on Jim’s blog
Look at what a miserable time they are having
They are out there working for Cross-Cultural Solutions, teaching English and other things to poor Thai children… and also getting out to do some diving and all sorts of other stuff. Their kids are even there! Who says you can’t travel the world because you have kids.
I’m inspired. I hope to have a family some day and do stuff like this. Be safe you guys!
December 26, 2008 | (1) |
Angela and Mark (another Mark), Scottsdale, AZ Private Residence Wedding
I have been so bad about blogging weddings this year. It’s been so hard to keep up. But I think my peeps forget that I am actually a wedding photographer because I have just been blogging about random stuff. So yes, I am a wedding photographer, I had 64 as a company this year, I photographed about 50 of those myself. This was one of my last weddings. I had a few others this month, I’ll try to post those as well.
Oh and funny thing, I have peeps who don’t even know I have my own wedding web site! Check it out, it’s www.cafierophoto.com But this month I am rennovating it. I can’t tell you what I am doing to it but it’s going to be X-Treme! That’s right.
OK, Angela and Mark.
This was one of those rare weddings where I did not actually meet the couple before the wedding. I try not to do that much anymore. For some reason, from my first correspondance with Angela, I knew it would be a great couple and I was right!
Let’s rewind to the beginning. I met them at the Mondrian Hotel which is just a few blocks from my Scottsdale Studio. How convenient. I have stayed at this hotel a few times, it’s super cool.
Of course a dress detail shot:
There’s the man. His name is Mark. That’s all I needed to know about him. He is coming to see Angela before the ceremony! He looks happy and confident!
Angela is so glad he could make it.
Nice hug…
…a whisper of a few terms of endearment
Mark, are you sure you trust her with that needle?
How about a little Cafiero Signature Series
Keep kissing!
Later at Mark’s parents backyard, they brought out the dog, a luvable black lab!
Adda Boy!
This is a funny candid series, Angela spying on her wedding guests
Is there someone here who shouldn’t be?
I’m dying to know what she is witnessing
Here are my two “nice” shots from that series
Just minutes before walking down the Aisle, Mark was in his ZONE, deep into thought about the new life that lies ahead of him with his new beautiful wife!!
…and also playing with his new Petzl Headlamp (can you blame the man? That thing is SWEET!)
Another funny candid series of a chubby-cheeked little girl
Awwww look at her, holding the wedding invitation
Here she goes for the lick
She makes it look so good. I was starting to get hungry for a mouthful of yarn myself
The look of complete satisfaction
Charming little Ring Bearer
Flower girls, matching watches
Angela walks the walk with her father
This is the most unusual “first kiss” I have ever photographed…
Here it comes, right?
Wait a sec, the groom is getting a little fancy! I love Angela’s expression, like “Uhm excuse me, aren’t you supposed to kiss me? What are you doing?”
Mark is being very romantic. I get it! He is throwing her back for a romantic “dip”! How chivalrous!
There it is!
Que Romantico!
It’s a good thing Angela has such a good sense of humor. I actually love that these two can just goof off like this.
Food looked amazing.
Mark’s parents had the entire back yard landscaped just for the wedding, check this out
More food details…
Let there be cake
…and…CARAMEL APPLES?!?!? WOW!
Time for some toasts
I love candid reactions like these
I’m feeling pretty good about this candid moment, too
First dance
The very last photo I took of the night, a delishus (did I spell that right?) apple pie mmmmm
Hey thanks again Angela and Mark, that was such a fun wedding. I love it when I go home from work and my cheeks hurt from smiling so much! CONGRATS!
December 26, 2008 | (1) |
This post is brought to you by the letter A
Last week was a lot of fun, but I have to be honest the whole time I had this yearning to be back home in Colorado.
Man, I have been all over the place. Arizona practically every weekend. Italy. Switzerland. Cozumel. And all over the US like Portland, Seattle, Idaho, SoCal, Vegas, Alabama, the list goes on. And now it’s nearing 2009 and I have only a handful of ski days to show for it. Hey, I’m not complaining, it’s been one adventure after another and it’s been a blast!
But today I couldn’t get away from my desk at my Denver Studio fast enough. I shipped off some Christmas gifts and Gary and I did the hustle over I-70. Back at last, back at last. I feel like I am finally home.
I love this little A-Frame so much. I wanted to give my peeps a tour. So here’s a walking tour that I filmed just about an hour ago! Welcome! Tomorrow I am waking up at 6 AM for a frigid skin up the Basin. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh…… THANK YOU GOD!
A frame O rama from Mark Cafiero on Vimeo.
December 22, 2008 | (5) |
Meowy Christmas
Here is a photo I took of Tootse, my sister Katherine and Eric’s stupid cat. Refresh my memory guys… WHY did you get a cat in the first place? Was there a reason for this? I have never understood why people buy these things.
This cat will turn on you and attack your face, shortly after rubbing against you and acting friendly. Which is why I do not like cats.
But I do like to dress them up and take photos of them while they look super rediculous.
December 21, 2008 | (3) |
