Happy New Year: A Look Back at 2019

As we watch another year pass by the in the rearview mirror, we say hello to 2020 and welcome in a new decade. There is a lot to come in 2020 but lets take a look back at the year that was.

2019 was pretty much a transition year for the website. I have continued working on the migration of photos over to SmugMug, a very intensive project. As of this morning I have moved over 52,000 photos to the site. I really like the SmugMug concept as it allows visitors to the site to have prints made of their favorite pictures, anything from a 4x6 print all the way to poster size. While I am not in the hobby to sell photos, I do like the idea of making it available for those who prefer printed photos. Travel was light this year.

It was also a transition year in my personal life and starting a new job at the fire department for the airport.  I have spent 18 years of my life working for the fire department and this opportunity allowed me to combine my career with my love of aviation.  Plus working around an airport has given me a chance to get some great aviation photography during my breaks.  The result has been a major increase in the aviation content on the site and a creation of an aviation Instagram @suncoastspotter.  Aviation has always been a big part of my photography and one of the most popular subjects, but working at the airport allows me the flexibility to get some of the more unique aircraft.  But working at the airport still doesn't stop me from visiting other airports on my days off for some spotting activity and this year I crossed a new airport off the list with a trip to Fort Lauderdale. 

Starting a new job also meant being back in probation and the inability to take vacation time.  But we more then made up for that with home state explorations.  When the Disney annual passes expired, I decided to not renew and got Busch Gardens/Sea World annual passes instead.  It's been a long time since having passes for them and it was nice to get back into the parks again. 

In addition to the theme parks, spent a lot of time in the wild exploring some of Mother Nature's greats and crossed a few new Florida cities and attractions of the list.  Even though we did not take a true vacation, we still managed to see a lot of the Sunshine State.

I also continued my sports photography.  My son continued to play travel baseball throughout the year as well as started high school ball in the fall, giving me plenty of time to shoot youth baseball during his tournaments.  I also squeezed in a bunch of Minor League Baseball and even got a new ballpark with a trip to Lakeland over the summer.  I also got a chance to photograph some motorsports this year, something I always wanted to do but never got a chance.  It started with the Indycar series visit to St Petersburg in March and a NASCAR visit to Daytona in July.  They were both amazing experiences and I can not wait to do it again.

I really can not tell you for sure what is to come in 2020.  I have a few ideas on the drawing board since I am eligible to take vacation starting in March.  One of the ideas is a trip to Charleston.  Combine that with our usual go-to places and you are guaranteed to have plenty of good pics coming in the new year.

The interest in Donten Photography continues to grow.  This year the site surpassed 9 million visitors.  A milestone that still shocks me to this day.  The site has come a long way from just a way of sharing photos with friends and family to a site dedicated to tell the story of our travels.  While this still remains a hobby of mine, I enjoy bringing you new photos to enjoy and I hope you continue to visit and share with your friends and family.

The site is always changing and evolving.  If you  have any questions or suggestions, please let me know. I hope you keep coming back and enjoying what you see.  Have a great 2020!

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