Happy Holidays to all the Visual Science Lab readers!

A special thanks to a few people here at the end of a wonderful year. Thanks to Frank for being a constant source of feedback and positive encouragement. A wise friend is an amazing gift. Thanks to Fred who made my kid's first semester in a college far, far away bearable for me and Belinda. Many thanks to Michael for volunteering to read and proofread the Lisbon Portfolio  book manuscript. If you think it has some typos now you should (not) have seen it before he got his hands on it....

A thank you to all the really great professional photographers here in Austin who provide both competition and friendship. They show me how good the business can be and are generous with their advice, guidance and support. Paul, Park, Wyatt, Matt, Tomas, Michael, Dan, Will, and too many others. Austin is distinct in that we have the most open and sharing community of pros in the country. It makes working here a bit like toiling in paradise.

I want to thank Rosemary and Jerry at Precision Camera for 32 years of kindness, generosity and support. They've been there for me during the bleakest moments of my career and during the times when we could all celebrate exhuberantly. They are the foundation and bedrock of photography in Austin, and there camera store is a great place to spend my extra cash. In the same spirit I want to thank my Precision Camera confidant and camera consigliere, Ian, who sometimes prevents me from destructive buying or selling and is quick to pluck the gems that come along for me and let me know they exist. It's good to know someone else in the camera business who has an eye for the long term relationship instead of the quick sale.

I am thankful to a list of 70 new and returning clients who made this year financially successful for me. I hope I helped and returned the favor to them with good work.

I always appreciate the Boy who hit the ground running (literally) 2,000 miles from home for his first semester in college. I'd brag about his 4.0 GPA but it might embarrass him so I guess I won't. No arrests, no calls for more money! He even arrived back home with gifts in hand. Studio Dog nearly fainted when she saw him----she'd given him up for dead. For her the boy's reappearance was a Christmas miracle.

I can never thank my partner and spouse, Belinda, enough. Without her subtle (but firm) guidance this business would have been dead in the water at least a decade ago. And I would probably long since have been in jail or else homeless.  Smart, beautiful and kind; a nice balance to my questionable "attributes."

Finally, a thank you to Studio Dog who is: Trustworthy. loyal, courteous, kind,obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave clean and reverent. She is on constant patrol against badgers, coyotes, snakes, vermin and especially cats and mailmen who sometimes attempt to cross our yard. She's a fearsome gatekeeper and a charming companion.

Thanks to all the loyal readers who share time here and comment (letting me know there is someone out there...). I hope to write better stuff for you in the year(s) to come.

A note to the camera makers: keep making cool stuff. There's a more than reasonable possibility that, over time, I will buy all of it.