Third Place

"Third Place goes to Abstract Eyes....."

As I heard these words on the live stream from Scotland today, I was stunned. Shocked. The enormity of this competition hit me. The amazing photographers that I share this site with. Their creativity. Their wisdom. The emotion shared on a daily basis by thousands of blippers around the world. People who have dedicated themselves to 'a photo a day'. People who have become friends. Friends who have touched my life in such a positive way. Relationships with people whom I have met. Friendships that have added to my life in just one short year. These were the thoughts going through my head today as I heard the clapping and applause. My thoughts were, "how did I get so lucky to be a part of this?"

One year ago. One year ago I opened a birthday present from my parents. A present that instantly made my eyes well with tears. A Nikon D60. A camera that at the time was on my 'five year plan'. I stayed up reading my manual from front to back that night. Waking in the morning to begin capturing photos of everything and everyone. My love for photography has always been a huge part of me. But that is the day that my passion for photography began. And one month later, my Mom told me about this cool little website called, "Blipfoto.com". She had run into a friend who told her about the site. Saying that her husband and daughter were members. I looked into it and a half an hour later, I had posted my very first blip. Little did I know that I would be posting blips every single day for the next year (with the exception of days that I had the flu).

My life has changed immensely in the past year. Photography has taken me along paths that I never thought I'd get to follow. It has led me to unique opportunities that have been huge moments in my life. And here I am today, one year later.....with a Third Place Award in an International Photography Contest. Unbelievable. It still seems so unreal. I know that I couldn't have gotten to this point without some unbelievable people and friends in the photography world. Whitney, Juli, Ryan, Gary......my blipper friends Kati, Carol, Kylie, Pat, Avena, Tina, Liz, Catherine and of course the other wonderful women that I had the privilege of meeting at our blipmeet. As well as the dozen of blippers that I know only by their blip name but blippers whose work is utterly inspiring to me. Your comments are so appreciated. And to Joe, the creator of blip, thank you. Your friendly worldwide website has given me the purpose and direction I needed to develop into a daily photographer. To the other photographers in the top ten, I am honored to have been able to share the stage with you. And to my good good friends who have followed my blips from day one. Every single day. YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE. You are so important to me. Because your friendships create such a strong and loving foundation in my life. Your daily notes, comments and emails about everything and anything blip makes this whole experience something that has continued to bond us all. 'Blipdorks Unite!'

I also want to thank Pddesigns for bringing the 'live stream' to my attention. Without her thoughtful little note this morning, I would have completely missed out on that experience. And to my good friend Whitney, who called me on the phone not but five minutes after the results had been read. Her cheers and laughter and positive energy just fueled me. She is a mentor to me. And she captures and creates some of the best photography that I have ever seen. I really don't know why I am the one that made 3rd place in this whole competition but I am grateful. Grateful for the confidence and encouragement that this has given me to continue to go after my dreams. I don't know what the future holds for me with my photography but somewhere down the line, I believe that I will be able to look back at this moment in my life and appreciate the stepping stones that I have been blessed with.

And finally, a huge HUGE thank you to my family. My husband for watching the live stream from work and his words, "Did you see them clapping for you? Did you see that??? It was incredible!" My parents who had been anticipating my phone call today and my Dad answering immediately with, "Did you win???". My Aunt for making me feel like a million bucks on the phone today. My mother-in-law for continuing to work on getting the live feed figured out even though the feed had been over for almost an hour. Now that is dedication! And to my cousin for texting me today, "Any blip news?" My sister for calling me this evening to congratulate me. My sister-in-law for sending me an encouraging little message a bit ago. Another note from my Aunt Tia....All of these moments today have helped strengthen me as a person. To be surrounded with such unbelievable support is something that I will never take for granted.

Tonight I have one more phone call to make. The biggest one. I will call my Nana and Pop to let them know that our photo came in 3rd. I am pretty sure that my Pop will cry. And my Nana will tell me over and over how proud she is of me. And I will be smiling from ear to ear the whole time. A memorable day today. Shared with so many people that deserve the same amount of praise and recognition.

Thank you all!