A new tradition is born. I did my 2011 Review and it’s nice to see how it has changed and strengthened. I found that my style has grown more free and that I love the connection I can get with working with small groups. I’ve become more secure in who I am as a photographer and what I can consistently deliver, which has been amazing. I feel that I have defined my style and that people will know what they are getting when they hire me. I think that I am constantly learning and that my challenges don’t always work, but that I always walk away having learned something that can be applied to my art and to my business.
I really enjoyed working with youth, as I find this age bracket of 7-12 is such a transitional period of when toddlers and kids turn into awkward youth and gangly pre-teens.
Teens were another big part of my year as friends celebrated and Grads starting to get ready for Grad 2012. I worked in Patuanak for a week with their Grad Class, as well as capturing a few of the local Beauval Grads. 
And of course there was the couples in love, the engagements, the family images, the celebrations.
I did it all this year and I had so much learning.
I did a few weddings as well, which was an honour.
To be trusted to be visual storyteller of such love is a great experience and I had a great time working with my couples, all of whom were kind and full of joy on their days.
And the bellies – the maternity pics.
This was fun.
Bellies are amazing.
Women are amazing.
And the families!
Everything from baby boys to baby girls, toddlers to multiples.
Daddies who fussed and mommies who laughed.
My families were the best.
And then the undefinable.
A group of girls who grew up together.
A band.
A rock show.
Another photographer’s head shots.
The fun and the new, all challenges met and accepted.
And of course, my creative sessions. I had planned to do 12 for 12, but ended up completing 8 sessions. I plan on completing another 12 this year, to see if I can meet it. I am absolutely in love with these sessions, as I got to work with other aboriginal and non-aboriginal make-up artists, hair stylists, clothing designers, jewellery designers, and best of all – real, everyday Aboriginal women. This time, I plan to involve scenery a lot more, go for more “themed” sessions like you would see in the magazines, and to, as always, incorporate my Aboriginal heritage.
So I walk away from 2012 with hope. I feel that I have done my best and taught myself new ways of shooting, of editing, of learning. I have gone from a Canon Rebel T1i to a 7D to a 5D Mark III. I have gone from basic zooms to loving prime L series. I love shooting “wide open”. I have moved from Adobe Photoshop Elements 10 to Adobe Photoshop 6 and learning and loving Lightroom 4. I have challenged myself and my cameras. I have sometimes lost at those challenges – ha. But I have learned and that’s what the exciting thing is. I have got my business registered, which is a massive deal. I have a brand, a logo, a website. All these things that can be taken for granted but that I have earned and worked for, session by session, business plan to business account.
I am grateful.
