I am making one final post and push for December 2015. December has been a high note for me both personally and photographically. I’ve also prioritized riding and I’ve been getting out more. The result? More photos and an overall positive end to the year. My web metrics don’t lie either, with my newfound vision December has been my second biggest month of the year. With this final post of the year, it could go over the top. That sure makes me feel good.

With this post I am starting a new series called fragments. I am calling it this because a reader left a comment on My 2015 Favorite Images post about sharing fragments of my life. That is exactly what these are. Fragments. They are things I hold onto and things I want to burn into my aging memory. They are the things I look too when I am having a tough day or week. These fragments are what is important to me.

This month I share 16 images. All but 1 are shot with either a Fuji or Leica camera.  Some images are stand alone and are shared individually. Some are shared in mini tile galleries and collections. For the tile galleries, click on any image to pop up the larger view and arrow bars for slide show. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this new series.

In the spirit of the new Star Wars series, which my boy pictured above has seen 3 times already, I call this one “Young Darth Vader”. My friend was traveling to Taiwan and China for a couple of weeks and loaned me his Salsa Beargrease carbon. My son and I went out on one of the few cold and snowy days of this season and had a blast. I love the all black and I love that I get to share the sport I love with my son. I also think if Darth Vader rode a fatbike it would be a blacked out Salsa Beargrease carbon.

In bike news I am completely enamored with my new to me, but used, Surly Moonlander Ops. I shared in my bikes I rode and loved in 2015 post that it was a recent addition. I love this thing for rambling around the river bottoms. It’s been good to me so far and given me lots of photographic inspiration. One of my friends commented on my Instagram account asking me what I have been shooting lately because it’s working. I agree. I’m really pleased with this set above shot super early in the day with an old Voigtlander lens and a modern Leica digital camera.

These two kids of mine continue to be the greatest source of inspiration to me. There willingness to learn and be interested in most things pushes me in a good way. I love these two pictures of my kids. My daughter is growing into a beautiful young woman with an incredible brain, smile and passion for living things. She brings me such joy and I think the above picture captures that. My son, with his serious contemplation and photogenic eyes can do anything he sets his mind too. He inspires me because he wants to do everything. With it being the holidays and all, I am so thankful for these two.

I wrote about A restart here and it was coined the miniramble on Instagram.  I had a group of friends come to town and we spent 4 days together riding, eating, laughing, eating, taking pictures and drinking coffee, whisky & beer. It was my social highlight of the year and the thing that brought me clarity for my year and how I want to move forward. I am forever thankful for these fine folks. Here are a few of my favorite pics from that trip. More at the link above.

On Christmas we attended the candlelight church service with our extended family. We were hosting. I grabbed my camera thinking that someone could actually take a picture Jen, Natalie, Nathan and I together since we have no pictures of us together. While that did not happen, I did have my camera and when we sang Silent Night by candle light I was both moved and inspired by the beauty of the tiny flames filling the room. Truly an incredible night.

For my parting shot, I leave you with this shot from the Mall of America. How do you make Christmas shopping fun? Again, take your camera. I have been enamored with these light fixtures throughout the mall and have shot them more than once. This time I tried a little different geometric framing. I love the geometry of this shot and the central focal point and pattern of the light tubes.

So with that, I say good night to 2015. My next post will be in 2016. Thank you all for an incredible year.