This Year's Trophy

I'm into trophies. A lasting, meatspace artifact that proves that you did something, hopefully at a high level. A photo, a certificate, a ticket stub, a rock from the summit, whatever. I think the mindset comes from being in bands in the 80s and 90s where putting out a record or CD was a major milestone in your development and a goal for virtually every band with any ambition. It was the achievement that made you feel like you were more than a garage band, even if you weren't.  So one thing I've been wrestling with in digital photography is the potential lack of trophies. In the film days you always had your photo albums or your stack of slides. Nowadays, the way I work, I print a few but the vast majority of my work is embodied in a hard disk full of files, which is wholly unsatisfying for a trophy hunter. Then my older boy brought home a photobook that he'd made at school for Mother's Day. It was fully of pictures and stories and artwork. It was the sweetest thing in the world. And it reminded me that the 21st century has its advantages. So here's the electronic version of my photobook of my favorite pictures from 2012. I've order a hardbound copy and when it arrives, I'll let you know how it came out. If it's at least a partial success, I hope to do one every year. I put it together on Mixbook.com which by the way, is excellent so far.  I like their design tool -- browser-based, very easy to use, and it had all the features that I would consider important. Hopefully the final trophy turns out as well.