Another year, another photo project.

As some of you know, I successfully completed a self-portrait project in August 2008, called “365 Days”. My goal for that project was to get to know my camera a little better, and document my year in the process. I think I accomplished both! What better way to learn about your camera than by having a reason to use it every single day? Some photos were quick cameraphone photos, like this one, and some were more thought-out, like this one. Looking back though, I can remember something about each photo, and how I felt or what was happening in my life when I made it.

You can see my entire “365 Days” set on Flickr, here.

So after a 1.5-year break from taking a photo every day, I started another project on December 1st. This is another photo-a-day project, but not necessarily self-portraits. These are just photos of anything and everything that makes up a day in my life: Special stuff, mundane stuff, boring stuff, exciting stuff, family, friends, and strangers, new places and ones I’ve been to a thousand times.

I put off posting about this new project because, unlike my “365 Days” project, I didn’t succeed the first time I tried this one. In fact, this is attempt #4 at “Photo-A-Day”, so I wanted to make sure I was firmly entrenched before I started shouting from the rooftops about it. (Yes, posting on my blog is the equivalent to shouting from the rooftops to me.)

So, since December 1st was Day 001, that makes yesterday Day 064. Woohoo! I think I got to Day 075 on my first attempt, but only Day 010 or 015 on the next two tries. So here’s hoping this one sticks!

Like my last personal project, my goal isn’t to shoot a work of art every day. I’m not aiming for a photo worthy of framing every day. Most of them are just little glimpses into a day in my life with my husband and our pets, our families and our friends. It’s basically a photo diary. Some of my photos are extremely personal, but I figure my clients share their personal lives with me every day, so the least I can do is return the favour now and then.

I’ll spare you the random cameraphone photos, but I thought I might share a few of my favourites here from time to time. If you’d like to check out the entire set, you can see it on Flickr, or on SmugMug. Don’t forget to leave a comment, letting me know you’ve visited! Any support I can get during this project, knowing someone’s out there watching, encourages me to keep going.

So, without further ado, here are a few of my favourites so far.

002/365 (December 2): After seven months of hard work, I reached my goal weight today! Brian gave me this Starbucks mug as a reward.

005/365 (Dec 5): This is one of those random cameraphone photos I mentioned earlier. Yeah, it’s just a grainy ol’ cell pic, but I thought it was a cute one. We’re all gussied up for our fancy night out in Niagara-on-the-Lake.

011/365: My little buddy, Harley:

014/365: The image I used for my day job’s Christmas card this year:

031/365: New Year’s Eve, spent with great food and great friends:

034/365: Brian’s first hockey game of the season:

Day 037: It pays to have four animals. There’s always one around when I’m short on inspiration. (Let the height jokes commence!) This is my handsome boy, Willie.

042/365: And my pretty girl, Sammy:

045/365: My brother and niece, being adorable.

046/365: I wasn’t sure how the dogs would be with Madison, but they absolutely loved her, and vice versa. Here, Harley and Maddie are engrossed in Snow White.

047/365: A horse-drawn carriage ride through Niagara-on-the-Lake! Judging by the look of pure glee on her face, I think Maddie liked it.

048/365: The Butterfly Conservatory!

054/365: Just a pretty fence near our house. We took the dogs for a walk today, and I snapped about three photos before my battery died! Doh!:

058/365: Laundry day! Here’s the clothesline we’ve never used:

059/365: Harley snuggling with his dad.

061/365: It was so difficult to choose today’s photo. This one won out though. I puppysat this little guy today, which meant a full 10 hours of puppy cuteness. Who doesn’t love a sleeping puppy? Those teeth are razor sharp, and I have the scars to prove it!

And, I guess that’s it for now! Stay tuned for more over the next few days, and don’t forget to leave a comment, so I know you’re out there rooting for me!

Now, the post you’ve all been waiting for! Or, well, the post I’ve been excited about posting. :) It’s my top 10 favourite client photos for 2009!

nicole and penelope – This was my first client shoot! This was the last photo of the session, and it was my favourite.

beth and roger – My first “engagement” session, for my friend, Beth. It was near the creepy but cool Hermitage ruins in Dundas, and I loved playing with trying to get that little glint of sun flare.

rachelle – My first “just because” session. I just thought Rachelle looked so rock-and-roll in this one.

lori and pugsley – I just loved this moment at Pugsley’s Sweet 16 birthday party. I love unposed candids like this. For any dog to make it to 16 is a major feat. For a pug, even moreso. This is a special boy, with a special mom.

yona and dave – I just loved that red door, and how sweet little Yona totally opened up when I told her to let out her inner rockstar!

rihanna – This baby was at Gabe’s first birthday party. She was just the sweetest little thing and, when I approached her when she was in her mom’s arms, she leaned over for me to take her! Just a little sweetie-pie.

ben (dog) – One of the high points of”Day in Whitby” sessions was spending time with this handsome guy. Such a sweet, gentle man, who now has a handsome fur brother named King, who I hope to meet soon!

andrew – Another high point of “Day in Whitby” was seeing Andrew in his zone.

sebastian bench – This little guy is my friend and former roommate’s son. He’s such a little character.

dante – This one was from the Pugalug calendar shoot. Dante is another little character who seemed to love posing for the camera!

I’ve been so fortunate to work with some incredible people this year, and I know 2010 will even better. Thanks to everyone for your love and support!

Stay tuned for some info about a personal project I’m working on these days, and some changes for 2010!

What a year it’s been, huh? So many huge things have happened this year, the hugest of course being the fact that I married the man of my dreams. He treats me with such love and respect, every single day, I know how blessed I am.

And then there’s you! This has been a huge year for getting this blog going, building my portfolio a bit, and meeting new clients who have become great friends. I know every photographer says this, but I really do feel honoured to work with such fantastic people every day!

As a little personal project a few weeks back, I tried to put together a Top 10 Favourite Photos of 2009 post, but I just couldn’t narrow it down that far. So I decided to do two Top 10s: My top 10 favourite personal photos of 2009, and my top 10 client photos! So I thought I would share them here. No fancy slideshow, because I can’t resist adding a caption to a few!

So, before I get to the photos, thanks to all my friends and family for their support this year, to my treasured clients, and most of all, to you reading this! Thanks for sticking with me. 2010 is going to be a great year. :)

First up, the personal ones!

mom cooking – My mom showed up at our door in January, totally unexpectedly. Well, unexpectedly to me. She and Brian had a plan in the works for weeks. Anyway, we just spent a few days together, doing wedding stuff and making the most awesome chicken soup.

morningstar mill – This was from that week with my mom. We went on a photo excursion to Morningstar Mill.

rusty swirl – I don’t know why I love this so much, I just do.

bee – I just think this is pretty.

salmon – Another “Don’t know why I love it” photo.

chewy – I think the thing I like about this photo is that it could have been taken anywhere, any time.

starbucks mug – Just because of what this cup represents to me. It was a gift from Brian, when I reached my weight loss goal!

our rings – It was a good year.

harley with flash – This was the day I got my external flash, I think. I haven’t used it much since, but it was a big day for me and I just loved how enormously huge Harley’s eyes look here. Even huger than usual, if possible.

ellands were here – My family doesn’t get to visit very often, so my uncle, aunt and cousins stopping in for a day was a huge deal to me. And my getting this close to the train tracks was a huge deal too!

And, of course, honorable mention goes to the one of great-grandmother and me. I obviously didn’t take the photo, but no list of my favourite photos for the year would be complete without mentioning this one. It was Nannie’s 100th birthday party, and the last time I saw her before her stroke. She couldn’t see very well anymore, so most people at the party had to tell her their names before she realized who they were. Her memory was fine, she just couldn’t see! But when my turn came, I knelt down beside her chair, took her hand and said, “Hi, Nannie…” and before I could say, “It’s Tanya!”, she grabbed me with all her might and said, “I know who YOU are.”

Brian snapped this with his iPhone, and I love that we’re just smiling and talking to each other. I love it so much more than if we had just been sitting side-by-side smiling for the camera. I will cherish this photo forever.

So yes, the year held many good things, and some not-so-good things. But 2010 is a new year, and I can’t wait to share it with you!

Stay tuned for my Top 10 Favourite Client Photos from 2009, later in the week! :)

Holy cuteness. Every little boy’s favourite game: Being tossed up in the air, fearlessly falling back to the safest place in the world – Dad’s hands.

Look at the curls!!! You can totally hear the giggle, can’t you?

This is Roxy, and she is such a little character. She was the cutie in the dalmation costume in my last post!

Thanks for being so patient, guys!

The cuteness was almost unbearable. Almost.

I’ve finally had a chance to get through these, and thought I would share a few of my favourites!

My Princess (She’s still not speaking to me, for subjecting her to such humiliation.):

Dodger:

Ruby:

Lola:

Costume contest winner, Grace, whose costume is actually from Build-A-Bear! Ha!:

Roxy:

What’s that? You want to see some candids too? Don’t mind if I do!

Hubs and Harley!:

Roxy, curling up with Rocky and his dad:

It obviously wasn’t just a day for pugs:

Soooo much cuteness.

What a perfect day for a family session! I had the pleasure of shooting this little guy’s first birthday party, back in May, and finally managed to schedule a family photo day! It was gorgeous at Balls Falls, and I even got a few smiles from the adorable Gabriel.

Hope you like your sneak peek! :)

I had the pleasure of shooting this year’s Mississauga Pugowe’en last weekend! The only thing cuter than 50 pugs in one room, is 50 pugs in one room, in Hallowe’en costumes! The Pugowe’ens, like the Pug Claus events, are huge fundraisers for Pugalug Pug Rescue, which is where both our pugs came from. The people in this group work tirelessly to rescue these dogs, and prepare them for not just any home, but their forever home.

So, speaking of which, someone needs to give this little girl a home, pronto.

Click here for more information on adopting this sweet little thing.

You know what’s awesome? Love.

You know what else is awesome? Friendship.

You know what *else* is awesome? This adorable couple, a.k.a. my first bride-and-groom-to-be.

I couldn’t resist giving you another peek. :)

Having some blogging issues this week! Hopefully it works this time!

I had a fantastic weekend with old friends, and making new ones, including Yona and Dave!

Thanks for driving all the way to Niagara for your session, and for bring such yummy treats! Can’t wait to see you again this weekend! :)

Hope you like your sneak peek!