2010 – a year in review

In a world of  your own harshest critics, I am El Presidente. Both when I shoot and when I edit there’s a whiny little man in my head telling me I’m not at the top of my game. I’m never ever good enough for him. I wonder if I ever will be.

Today I’ve decided not to listen to him.

Because when I look back at 2010 I feel nothing but joy. I still have weddings to blog, but they’ll have to wait. All that agonising in front of the computer is forgotten. Instead I look back at a year of travels, both around Australia, but also three laps around the world. I shot 18 overseas weddings in different parts of the world. I’ve met people I’ll never forget and taken an ok photo or two.

Today and maybe only today I can look at what I have done and be at least a little proud. Tomorrow I’ll be back to beating myself up again, but today I’ll go easy on myself and give myself a light, almost feather-like, pat on the back.

Today I’ll tell myself I did alright.

Share this story

COMMENTS Expand -
  1. I’ve said that least 3553537 times. The problem this like that is they are just too compilcated for the average bird, if you know what I mean

  2. I truly didn’t want this stream of photos to end. it got me so excited. they just got better and better. there’s nothing like a large group of random photos. how beautiful. you inspire m e to better my photography like nothing else. thank you.

  3. i truly didn’t want this stream of photos to end. it got me so excited. they just got better and better. there’s nothing like a large group of random photos. how beautiful. you inspire me to better my photography like nothing else! thank you.

  4. en F R Ö J D att kolla igenom…!!
    nu har jag kikat på alla bilderna för 3’e gången och jag njuter varenda gång. grym grym GRYM är du!!
    själv har jag närapå dukat under för Den Stora Kritikern i mitt huvud… nu jobbar jag på att visa fingret för henne….

  5. You certainly shouldn’t doubt yourself, your talent is clear for all to see. The black and white portrait of the bride near the top is my favourite shot, just has an atmosphere about it, awesome

  6. i’m a big fan of yours. i check your blog whenever i’m online. i love every single picture of yours. you’re the best jonas!!

  7. I’m almost embarrassed I put up “best of” posts this year. I love how much more there is to photographing weddings and couples and everything in between that I have to learn.

  8. you can tell your El Presidente to pipe down dude
    by far, your work is the BEST wedding photography I have ever seen,
    and I do spend a disproportionate amount of my time looking at other photographers blogs and work :)
    kudos to you.
    Louise

  9. A year to be all mighty proud of Jonas.
    It was wonderful to meet the man behind the camera, not super human, just a human striving for the very best in what you do. (it’s working!)

  10. its impossible not to hear the voice jonas but dont listen. your work is emotional and touching in a way that is hard to describe. as will ferrell would say…scrumtrulescent.

  11. You are so ridiculously talented it’s unreal. What a gift! Keep doing what you do and stop listening to that whiny little man because your talent is amazing.

  12. Well I think you are fabulous and a real inspiration!! Thank you for sharing your images, they are magical!!

  13. What a great year! I wish you the best in 2011 – much success and continued creative vision. Love the cartwheel in the field, coronation hall, the dog with his tongue sticking out…so many great, inspiring images.

  14. There is a reason why so many people love your work. It’s just breathtakingly beautiful. I don’t get a chance to check it out often, but when I do wander over to your blog I am never let down. Amazing year you’ve had, can’t wait to see more! :)

  15. Following your work has been such a great pleasure throughout 2010. Watching your style evolve and change with each wedding has been amazing to say the least. I am really looking forward to seeing your 2011 work and wish you the best of luck as you leave us all awe stricken.

  16. Wonderful, amazing, beautyful… there are not enough words to describe all your fantastic pictures! Looking forward to more, would love some pictures from Scandinavia with the different light and backgrounds. Best wishes for the new year!

  17. Verkligen en inspiration och ouppnåligt mål med mitt eget foto. Tack för i år och jag ser fram emot att följa din blogg i många år till.

  18. what a year you’ve had! if you’re not at the top of your game now, i cannot wait to see what it looks like when you are. thanks for taking us all along on the ride. happy new year!

  19. Please Jonas, just don’t give yourself a “light, almost feather-like, pat on the back”. Please hug yourself and tell that “whiny little man” to get the h-ll out of your head. You are awesome and actually an amazing photographer.

    I am so jealous of your way to put all these happy occasions together to a beautiful story that all of us, the viewers, can participate in. I can actually feel the joy and the love in all pictures that you take. That is a very special feeling. Very few people can create such feeling. Your are great!

    I wish you and your family a Happy New Year!

    Best regards Maria

  20. Please Jonas, just don’t give yourself a “light, almost feather-like, pat on the back”. Please hug yourself and tell that “whiny little man” to get the h-ll out of your head. You are awesome and actually an amazing photographer.

    I am so jealous of your way to put all these happy occasions together to a beautiful story that all of us, the viewers, can participate in. I can actually feel the joy and the love in all pictures that you take. That is a very special feeling. Very few people can create such feeling. Your are great!

    I wish you and your family a Happy New Year!

    Best regards Maria

  21. You SO deserve it! Thank you for being such an inspiration as a great photographer (and thanks for saying that even the Best has a doubt every now and then :-))

  22. Jonas, I love what you said above it gave me tears, it’s how I feel every single day about my own work. At the end of the day you could have a million followers praising you but it doesn’t change the way we see ourselves…. but you know what, if you didn’t think that way about yourself i’d be worried, that’s what makes you good at what you do, you never stop learning, searching, creating, you’ll never be perfect to yourself… but to us you have always been perfect. Keep inspiring!!! thank you.

  23. I know exactly what you mean. We are never truly happy with what we do. I still struggle with that voice that is ‘self doubt’ and am always looking at other peoples work and think ‘why didn’t i think of that’ or ‘why can’t i be as good as them’. But we jsut have to trust that others see in us what we don’t see and a little bit of self doubt thrusts us to create something better and strive to create something amazing. I hope we get to that happy place though without the ugly side of self-doubt.

    Lejla

  24. I’m sorry but it has to be said. Considering the huge success you have had since you started – not only in Australia but worldwide. And also considering the amazing feedback you are receiving on this blog. It is pretty f-ing insulting to all the couples you are shooting and who are paying to have their favourite photographer capture their day, to say that you are pretty shit, when CLEARLY you are not. There.

  25. Du har en fantastisk egen stil…och det är väl det många av dina kunder attraheras av. Självkritik är bra om det sporrar och inte hämmar din utveckling. Du verkar inte vilja slå dig till ro…verkar vara på väg hela tiden…ska bli kul att följa dig framöver och se var du hamnar… :-)

  26. Thank you for sharing your amazing photos with us. I’ve enjoyed each one, and look forward to 2011 photos. You are awesome!

  27. i am looking forward to your 2011 photos quite a bit. Its good you’re not totally satisfied. One should always strive to be better no matter how good you already are. Otherwise you might not get the most out of yourself. Keep up the great work, its truly inspirational and as good eye-candy for wedding photography as there is.

  28. I remember this shots from the first time I saw them because they are etched in my memory. Utter perfection. Little man should shut up a little.

  29. Känner igen mig Jonas. Precis som du har jag en jävel i mitt huvud som ständigt pissar på mig. När inte den ögonblickliga kicken är där och man känner att det blev kanon så är man en nolla.

    Det kvittar hur många gånger alla andra säger att du är bäst, det är inom dig du måste känna dig nöjd. Det är också ett sätt att utvecklas. Att inte stå still.

    För döva öron säger jag det ändå. Du är grym. Kick-ass fotograf som får iaf mig att vilja bli bättre.

    Visa den lille jäveln i skallen vem som bestämmer. Om och om igen.

    God Jul och God fortsättning!

  30. ….You deserve every success and then some Jonas. Congratulations on an amazing year. If has been an inspiring journey for me. Looking forward to being back on this site many more times in the coming year. BIG respect from Cape Town, South Africa.

  31. If you thought you were at the “top”, then you really wouldn’t have much to look forward to in 2011. I never feel like I’ve “made it” to the “top” and know I could always improve or that I could always do better. Maybe that’s what we need in order to push us to do better next year and top off the year before. Keep it up. You are truly good at what you do.

  32. An amazing year all right. Brilliant to see so many of my faves from you all in one post. Imagine how awesome 2011 is going to be!!! I hope you are having some time off for a little while at least – Happy Holidays!

  33. You make me sick………… LOL not. But the little person on my shoulder just started shouting at me that I’m not as good as Jonas, that’s ok because I already knew that and like looking up to you anyway.
    All the best for 2011 and I’m sure you will be just as amazing.

  34. En sak som jag tycker är intressant när jag tittar på dina bilder (FÖRUTOM att de är HELT FANTASTISKA!!!) är hur annorlunda brudklänningarna är jämfört med Sverige. De känns mer personliga!

  35. Yeah, I guess you’re alright. ;) I wonder what that makes the rest of us though. LOL Great work Jonas. Can’t wait to see the heat you bring in 2011.

  36. i’ve never commented before, but i have to say that your work is amazing! you are definitely too hard on yourself. every image you take is breathtaking. you capture people in a way that is unique and simply beautiful.

    thank you for sharing.

  37. You really have done alright. Your reflection images are my absolute favorates. You are so creative and original with your composition on those. Thanks for inspiring me to be more creative. 2011 is going to be a great year!

  38. Jonas, your portraits are something else. Something deeper, something real and yet – something intangible. The 4th image down (the black and white portrait of the bride) is by far my favourite wedding photo I’ve seen this year, maybe even of all time, and I can’t even begin to articulate why.
    You’ve created a such a beautiful body of work, one which most photographers would be happy to create in a life time and you’ve done it in a year. Close your eyes, take a breath and enjoy it. It’s well deserved.

  39. Jonas! Du är riktigt riktigt duktig… låt ingen mini-jonas eller någon annan säga dig något annat… eller lyssna åtminstone inte på honom för han har inte rätt! Ambitioner är såklart alltid bra, men du ÄR bra. Glöm för fan aldrig det!

  40. The baby and the bride on the bench and the dog with the bow tie..just does it for me..perfecto!..great year look fwd to drooling over many years more!

  41. If you could see your pictures through my eyes, you would see that you are amazingly brilliant!! All your pictures are mind blowing! A true inspiration! Wish you a very merry christmas from a snowy Sweden!

  42. Jonas, I just want to say thank you for your images this year. You have inspired me to push myself harder and become the photographer I want to be. So glad I found this blog, congratulations on a fabulous year!

  43. 2010 is the year I found out about Jonas Peterson… My vision for what photography is supposed to be is forever changed. Goosebumps!

    Tack Jonas för inspirationen!

  44. Även fast jag inte ALLS är på din nivå så förstår jag hur du tänker. Och jag antar att det inte spelar någon roll hur många gånger du får höra från andra att du är suverän, när den lille mannen inte är nöjd. Men skit i honom! du är så jäkla bra! Dina bilder är fantastiska!

    God Jul!

  45. After reading your 1st line I thought that this would be interesting to see how “bad” this photographer is … boy oh boy was I in for a surprize cause I kind of have to agree with you to NOT listen to that voice telling you you suck. You totally ROCK! Some serious stunner images you have here. Have a blessed and Merry Christmas and a teriffic 2011.

  46. Seeing all of these just makes me so excited for January! You are bloody incredible!!! Can’t wait to see our day on here!

  47. Screw modesty man – You’ve earned every right to be as proud as you want to be for a day (or longer!). Congrats on an epic year!

  48. I LOVE the shot where the bouquet is thrown and it’s landed in the girls face!! LOL
    Jonas you are amazing, my most favourite photographer ever! If I could be half the photographer you are I’d be one happy chick! I love the way you write and of course your photos..always amazing and very inspiring. Thank you for sharing your talent with us. Merry Christmas to you and your family =)

  49. Stunning images Jonas, each and every one. What a year you had! I look forward to your 2011 review blog post.

    Happy Christmas to you and your family.

  50. God Jul och Gott Nytt år!!
    Du är grym men jag förstår hur du tänker. Jag har samma “jävel” i mitt egna huvud.
    Ser fram emot att följa in blogg nästa år med!!

  51. Jonas, how can you even think you suck and then blog this many truly awesome photos? It is in danger of coming across as false modesty, but ‘knowing’ you for the last few years, I know that you truly believe you have a way to go. Jonas, man, you’re already there! But keep going, it’s fun to watch just how stratospheric your rise is and will continue to be!

    Happy Christmas to you and yours – here’s to a fantastic 2011!

ADD A COMMENT

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *