A view under the Michigan Ave. bridge over the Chicago River in Chicago, Ill., Thursday, January 6, 2011.

On the eve of my 30th birthday, I’ll freely admit that I’ve been guilty of reminiscing far beyond my favorite photos of 2011. With each bridge crossed on a mental journey back through time, old memories of each decade passed resurface with increasingly clarity: A family member excited that I’d be turning ten that week, back in 1991. Or, my 18th birthday in 1999 spent at Theatre at the Center subbing for a crew member – the stage manager bought me a cake! There was my 20th birthday in 2001, where I was down-trodden about a relationship that had just ended. And, believe it or not, I remember my third birthday in 1984, where a cousin at my party insisted that she squeeze into the chair with me behind my cake as my family sang Happy Birthday. As with present-day Guy, three-year-old Guy wasn’t too happy with that!

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(From left) Entrepreneurs Brian Miller of St. John, Ind., Adam Paulson of Crown Point, Ind., and Kevin Wool, also of Crown Point, pose in a pile of sweaters destined for sale on the partners’ web site, uglychristmassweaterparty.com.

Through all of my visual disciplines, it’s not often that I’m encouraged to make things look ugly. So, when my email inbox dinged with a photo assignment all about ugly Christmas sweaters, I knew I was in for a nice change of pace.