Christmas Tree is the theme for the December Photo Challenge at Rock the Shot. I took this photo late on Christmas Eve night - well, it was actually 12:30am on Christmas morning!

I set a goal in January to participate in all 12 monthly photo challenges at Rock the Shot. I wanted to challenge myself to try something new. Photo challenges also force you to share your work which is not always an easy thing to do, but necessary in order to become a better photographer and build your business. Overall, it was a great experience. Some months are better than others, I completed 11 out of 12 challenges (ran out of time for the November challenge) and I even won 3rd place for the month of August! I tried new things and I took more photos this year than I EVER have...practice, practice, practice!

Here are the photos I entered for 2013 (in no particular order and less November) -