I'm not in the holiday spirit, that's not what I'm going for here, although I must admit when I typed that the song popped into my head. Now I can't get rid of it. The things I subject myself to for the edification of our faithful thermographers...

I wasn't referring to the holiday carol, I'd like to encourage you to ask for guidance when you think you need it. If you just went to Level I in the last few months, you are undoubtedly taking many images and may subsequently be questioning your judgment. It's natural – it happens to all of us. Think back to your practical exam in Level One, struggling to perfect the images on which you'd be graded. Invariably I have students show me a perfectly tuned and adjusted image, an image where I can clearly see the necessary details, only to have them ask "can you see it? I think I see it, but I'm not sure if you do. Do you?!" It's new to you, it's hard to imagine that you've really mastered it, and that crisis of confidence doesn't leave immediately. It takes some successes in the field to build that trust in your own judgment.

Those of you who have had me as your instructor have heard me say "call, email, text". I mean it. We all mean it. Ask for guidance when you think you need it. You're not bothering us, it's our job. And we like it. Mostly. I mean those standard hotel issued fake scrambled eggs and TSA pat-downs get old, but helping new thermographers getting acclimated with their new skill doesn't. We mention "free customer service" after a course. That's what this is. Your journey doesn't end after we shake hands and you take home those cool little flashlights and mossy oak hats.

Most of you are smartphone users, so download the free app for whichever imager you use. You can link your imager to the app in many cases, and then send images from your smart device to us for us to check out with you. I can get an email from you with an image in it, open it in my version of the app (no matter which one you use, because I've got them all) and look at it.

So, ask away. Do I see what you see? Do I see something else? Don't be shy, we're here to help. You don't know, you might even end up teaching one of us something. Let us hear from you.