Life will be changing for me.

At the start of this year, I didn’t think I’d be writing this entry.

There is so much emotion and thought and frustration and hope and sadness and excitement; it makes it hard to organize my thoughts.

I’ve decided to leave Atlanta. There, I’ve said it.

I could probably write volumes on the all the inner dialogue, analysis, soul searching, and conflict I’ve had coming to this decision. But let me some it up for you. In spite of the rocky financial reality of trying to build a career in creative media (photos, video, etc.), I want this life. I’m nowhere close to my potential yet, and I want to keep slugging away at this.

In order to get my career to the next level, I feel like I need some experience working in a major market like NYC, LA, London, Tokyo, etc. I need to be able to work on the sorts of projects that I feel like I excel at, on a more regular basis. I need the opportunity to assist other more established photographers and filmmakers, and learn from their experience. I feel like I need both the experience and cred of hustling in a larger city.

So I’ve decided I’ll give LA a try. I had to pick between NYC and LA, and there are pro’s and con’s to both for sure, but I opted for LA because it’s driving distance to a lot of my family, whom I rarely see anymore. I’ve been wanting more time with family in my life, so moving to LA seems to get me closer to that.

While I feel like I’m making a decision that will ultimately pay dividends for me, professionally and personally, it’s not without consequence.

When I think about all the close friends and relationships that I’m having to effectively leave behind, it makes my heart fall 30 stories into my socks. I hope any of you reading this(you know who you are) know that words can’t express how much you mean to me. I am the sum total of all the love, counsel, friendship, confrontation, and happiness we’ve shared together. My heart will always be in the South.

So there it is. It’s out there in the universe. I’m gonna give a try to life in someplace other than Atlanta.

Stay tuned.