As I gear up for the 2015-2016 season, a ton of things are going through my mind: the Denver Snow Show, sponsors, sled wraps and parts, design of this year’s theme, redesign of my website, and the beginning of ‘booking-season’. But, it wasn’t always that way, things, just a few short years ago, were a lot simpler, but a lot less satisfying. Prior to Marlenee Photography, the pre-season regimen was basically: 1) pick parts 2) install said parts 3) attend the Denver Snow Show 4) pray for snow 5) RIDE! I think, talking with many of my friends, that this is pretty tried and true, across most of the riders in the West. Things have changed, a lot, for me, as I pull into the third season of Marlenee Photography.

To be honest, I’m actually still scrambling to wrap up last year’s mayhem. My biggest responsibility, right now, is to finish my submission to the SledHeads Photo Annual. I originally thought that I’d just puke out a few photos and zip them over to Harris Publishing and be done with it. As with any rewarding process, that’s just not the case. I’ve got to catalog and export each photo in a format that makes the editor’s job, just a little easier, in hopes that my content will be picked. For me, this has turned into a submission of over 125 photos, totaling around 9GB. Accompanying those photos, are approximately 50 pages of text. It’s been daunting, to say the least.

Next, I have all of the photo requests to process. Athletes, I’m proud to say, LIKE my photos. And in turn, during this time of year, I get a ton of requests to provide full-res images for posters, advertisements, and web-pages. While it takes a while to fulfill these requests, it’s one of the most satisfying parts of the year, because it’s vindication for my efforts. I also get a lot of requests for clarifications, like which riders are in specific pictures, location on pictures, and more.

Finally, one of my biggest responsibilities is the Denver Snow Show, or Rocky Mountain Snowmobile Expo. While SnowGoer Magazine owns the show and books the event space and vendors, I play (I hope) a key role in generating buzz as well as booking the workshops. I also chair the committee for the Colorado Snowmobile Association, CSA, that includes those two points, plus the swap meet, of which I have little to do with, other than oversight. It’s a lot of work, but I long for it, by this time of the year. On top of that, I’m pretty sure my gear and most of my sled-related possessions are still hanging in the drying room from last year.

So, where does that leave me? Well, I’m still figuring out what Marlenee Photography is. Things keep changing for me, and I want to keep things responsive to culture and current events. I also want to be flexible enough to provide unique value to the industry. So, here is a list of my pre-season goals:

  1. Define My Goals
  2. Develop Mission Statement
  3. Quantify the Previous Season
  4. Prepare a Portfolio
  5. Contact Sponsors
  6. Start Outlining my Schedule
  7. Revise Website
  8. Develop a Budget
  9. Pray for Snow

So, let’s hear it in the comment section, what are you doing to prep for the season?

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