Looking Back at 2021
How is it December already??
I know we say this every year but: how is it December already? We only just rolled into 2021, still chatting excitedly about the virtual annual Christmas dinner, or the ‘staff party’ for freelancers that brought us solo-preneurs together for a brief moment amidst the chaos.
Maybe because we’ve been back in the grind, focusing on a hustle to make up for lockdown’s 1,2 and 3, constantly going, never stopping and all of a sudden, another 12 months have passed.
Long forgotten are the slow days of the first lockdown, when we paused our Netflix to clap for key workers and took up a new hobby in solitude. So, when I stop to take stock on the year that has passed – it’s quite overwhelming when I see how much we have achieved is these 12 months!
So much has happened this year so, let’s start at the beginning.
2021 welcomed in a new year, where we finalised my first ever feature (Boxing Day - Go check it out! It’s been released!!!!). Long form and feature land is somewhere I have always wanted to work in, so seeing this realised was such a huge achievement. Landing my second straight afterwards, was the cherry on the top!
As with most production and photography jobs I complete, it can take months and months until your work is finally being shown and you can shout about it from the rooftops (or your Instagram). But these two, I knew would be a long time in the making before we got to see the fruits of our labour. So for everyone else, I am ‘busy’ but there are a few of us that really know what’s going on.
After this I took some down time... well I kept telling myself that… this led into race season, where I got to race at Henley for Vesta, a goal that has been a few years in the making. Being a part of this team has been such a journey and one I wouldn’t trade for the world.
In the meantime, picking up several commercials, working with different teams and making and creating some of the most fantastic relationships that I will carry with me always. Working in Bristol with Becks and the GoshDamnDuo! And then fulfilling a very long overdue dream of working as a unit stills photographer under the careful wing of Chris Harris – who has been both a very good friend and a guiding light throughout.
We then both moved onto my fourth feature – yep – that’s zero features to four, in less that nine months!
All the time, working in commercials with some of the most inspiring producers and building a network of like-minded people who have the same core values. This is something I thought was far out of reach – I feel blessed that I love my job(s) but to be able to enjoy the work and the people I do it with, seemed too much for one little Mel to have.
But this isn’t just about my professional achievements, it’s also about celebrating the most real and authentic professional connections I have made this year. Some of which have become dear friends of mine. You know, that type of connection where you meet a work friend, and you just click on all levels. Making those kind of connections means so much to me as it reminds me that I’m on the right path. What could feel better than that?
Then there was Paris, both a goal and a reward, with a trip a way and three workshops with some of my favourite mentors. I got to travel to the French capital to meet and work with one of my most inspirational photographers and in doing so, meeting an entire network of fantastic, creative women who are creative, driven, beautifully brave and bodacious-ly bold.
Totally my tribe!
Meeting other creatives who cross production and their own creative outlets in directing or film making brought new ideas to the table, huddling over a hot coffee, with like-minded creatives, planning yet another business idea that could take ‘Mel Brown Studios’ to another level, is one of my favourite things to do.
But more of that in 2022, you’ll have to stay tuned to find out more.
So, keep a close eye out for some festive cheer and new releases that will pop up on Instagram, with full spreads right here on the website for you to really sink your teeth into.
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