It’s that time, when I sit back and reflect on the year that’s behind us and the work that I’ve done. I’ve been fortunate this year to have had the opportunity to do quite a bit of traveling and to document those places with my camera.
It’s also been an incredibly busy year both on the home front, at work and photographically speaking. Earlier this year I launched a pet photography business, PhoDOGraphy by Edith but at about the same time I did that things started really heating up at work which left me with less time then I had hoped to start building my business and marketing it. I intend to change that in 2015. On the positive side my print sales were up this year and I was fortunate to have some of my images licensed for book covers and fundraising events.
I’ve become more critical of my work, which I think is a good thing and I’m always looking to change and improve, which in essence helps you grow both as a photographer and as an individual. This year I became a member of Professional Photographers of America and I will be attending their Imaging USA conference in Nashville at the end of January. This will enable me to immerse myself in 3 full days of learning the business side of photography, photographic technique and post-processing techniques.
I always find it difficult to narrow down a years worth of work into my “favourites” but here it goes. Grab a cup of coffee and enjoy :) You can click on any of the headers to view the original blog posts.
Down Under the Manhattan Bridge
Over Christmas and New Years last year we took a family trip to New York. As I always do on family trips I try to find some time to sneak off and take photographs. We were staying with family in Brooklyn and I had to opportunity to explore DUMBO quite a bit. This was one of my favorite shots from Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass.
City on the Edge
This was taken on the same trip but along the Brooklyn Heights Promenade.
Tiny Bubbles
We had a very different winter last year. We were hit by an ice storm in Toronto just before Christmas and the months of January and February we saw most days in the -20C range. One very cold February day I decided to start experimenting with some macro photography and oil and water. I really liked the final result.
Mush, Mush
I did end up braving the cold one weekend and headed out to photograph dog sled races in Cannington, Ontario. I’ve always wanted to do that and wasn’t going to let the -12C forecast get in the way. I bundled up tight and headed out….brrrrrr!
Pets in Studios
Last March I attended a Pet Photography workshop in Houston, Texas given by the Paw Print Divas. It was an incredible experience and I learned a lot. It was also he first time I had attempted pet photography in a studio and fell in love with the process and the control that I had over the setting and lighting. This is Gilley.
Hey….Looking at me?
Here’s another favorite from the workshop. This is Jiff!
Watch Out for the Jellies
Toronto’s newest attraction open last year, Ripley’s Aquarium and I joined my camera club for a photo outing there. It was a tough shoot due to the lighting conditions but the Jelly Fish exhibit was my favorite.
Upstairs Downstairs
In April I once again attended a photo outing with my photography club, this time to the Toronto Centre for the Arts. This was taken from the upper lobby and I loved all the converging lines.
Old Jaffa Arches
The month of May found me traveling to Israel, for a family function, with a side trip to Petra Jordan. This image was taken in the old city of Jaffa.
Tel Aviv Sunset
The best views of Tel Aviv are from a top the hills of old Jaffa.
A First Look at the Treasury
Petra is a place that I’ve been wanted to visit for a very long time. I flew from Tel Aviv to Eilat in the south and then walk across the border (yes walked) and then I boarded a bus a drove 2 hours to the ancient city of Petra. It was incredible! It was another hour-long, hot walk in the desert before getting to the Treasury but it was well worth it.
City of Lights
This year I celebrated a big birthday and when my wonderful husband asked me what I wanted for my birthday I promptly answered that I wanted to go back to Italy…what else. As an extra treat we stopped in Paris first for a few days. The images I took in Paris and Italy are some of my favorite and it was difficult to narrow it down. This one was taken on our first night. We were exhausted from travel and jet lag and sunset that evening was at 9:53pm but I wasn’t going to miss photographing the Louvre at night.
Bay of Poets
You can travel to Italy every year and still not see all its beauty. With the exception of Rome every place we visited this year was new to us. One of the towns we visited was Lerici. We stayed in a wonderful hotel over looking the Bay of Poets and it was one in many spectacular views we enjoyed on this trip.
Bellagio Street
Lake Como is a place that I’d wanted to go to for a very long time and it was our first stop when we arrived in Italy. We stayed in Bellagio with its narrow, multi-stepped streets.
Manarola Blue Hour
Our base in Cinque Terre was Manarola.
The Bistro
This is one of my favorite images that I came back from Paris with.
Tourists at the Louvre
Some images just work better in Black & White and these tourists strolling through one of the many arches at the Louvre fit the bill. I love how having the tourists there really gives you a perspective on the scale of those arches.
Rolling Hills of Tuscany
Nothing says Tuscany more than rolling hills, hay bales and cypress trees…oh and wine of course but you can’t see that in the image ;)
Distillery Bike
This is one of my favorite images that I took at a shoot at Toronto’s Distillery District this fall.
So this is it folks, Happy New Year to you all. I look forward to seeing what 2015 brings.