2015 My Year in Review
Every year Jim Goldstein runs a project on his blog, JMG Galleries, where he encourages photographers to post their best pictures of the year. It’s a great project and I’ve participated every year. When I started participating about 4 years ago I thought, “what a great way to have pictures seen by a whole new audience.”
That was me when I first started blogging but now there are so many other reasons that I participate. Yes I still like that fact that I may reach a new audience but more than that I find this to be a difficult and yet rewarding exercise. It’s tough to cull through your work and pick what you think may be the best of the year. It really gives me a chance to go though my images (some that I haven’t looked at for almost a year) and decide whether they’re good enough to make the cut of the top 10 or 15. I try to review my images from a technical perspective and from a creative one. Certainly I’m drawn to certain images due to the circumstances of where and when they were taken. The picks may not always be perfect and certainly wouldn’t win any awards but art is subjective and what one person views as a masterpiece another make look at and dismiss entirely.
It’s been a busy and rewarding year both on the photographic front and from a family and work stand point. I’ve taken on a new role at work which was unexpected at the beginning of 2015 but I am loving it. The only downside has been that its been so busy that my photography had to take a bit of a back seat.
From a photography perspective I’ve continued to sell prints and license new work which is always very exciting and rewarding. I won’t make any specific commitments for the new year because I know that my day job will still be taking up a lot of my time but learning new photographic techniques and honing my craft is something that I know will always be important and I will find and make the time to do it.
If you have a chance jump on over to Jim Goldstein’s site here in or about the second week of January and he should have a list of year in review post listed for your viewing pleasure. There’s always a great list of photographers on there, you won’t regret it.
As always you can click on the images to enlarge them or to Purchase a Print.
Cuba
Refracted Water Drops
Cuba
Hilton Falls, Ontario
Boston
Muskoka
Lake Ontario
Old Montreal
Jerusalem, Israel
Jerusalem, Israel
Tel Aviv, Israel
2014 A Year in Review
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 travelling 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 favourite 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 favourite 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 favourite.
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 travelling 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 favourite 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 favourite 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 favourite 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.
2013 – A Year in Review
I can’t believe another year is coming to a close but then again I say that every year. It seems they go by so quickly these days. As I look back on 2013 I’m proud of some of the images that I produced and some of the projects that I’m working on. As I announced a couple of months ago I’m launching a new pet photography business, PhoDOGraphy by Edith Levy. This is something that I’ve wanted to do for sometime and I’ll have the website ready for launch in January.
Below are some of my favourite images from this year. They don’t necessarily reflect the most popular images by hits or comments but ones that resonated with me for various reasons and I’ll let you know why as you go through them. Enjoy!
One last thing…wishing you all a Happy Holiday and a Happy and Healthy New Year.
Jackson Square in B&W
Interestingly enough this image never appeared on the blog. The colour version did (and you can see it here) but for some reason I didn’t post the B&W version which happens to be my favourite of the two. This was shot before sunrise and I love the moodiness that comes out in the B&W.
Jackson Square
Cafe du Monde
To call Cafe du Monde a coffee shop is downgrading it a bit. It’s a landmark and institution in New Orleans which was established in 1862. Cafe du Monde is open 24/7 and it was the perfect place for me to duck in and warm up with a piping cup of coffee and beignet right after my sunrise shoots in the city.
Cafe Du Monde – New Orleans
The Elgin Theatre
I was fortunate to be able to shoot this iconic theatre in Toronto at the beginning of the year. This was one of my favourite images from that shoot. Little did I know that it would be selected to appear on the cover of the theatre’s souvenir brochure. Below is a scan (sorry about the poor quality) of the cover.
The Elgin Theatre, Toronto
Boston Strong
I attended a conference in Boston in April. At the time I wasn’t quite sure if it would be taking place as it was taking place a few days after the Boston Marathon bombing. The conference went on as scheduled and although security was tight at the airports and in the city I was amazed at the resilience of the city and its people.
Golden
This past July I took a trip to California, starting in San Francisco and driving down the coast to L.A. While the weather wasn’t always in my favour (lots of fog) I di manage to come away with some images that I was really pleased with. My second day in San Francisco called for an early morning wake up call to shoot the Golden Gate bridge. Being in a place for the first time without a lot of time to explore and get to know you’re way around means that you waste a lot of time looking for the perfect vantage point to shoot from. I was lucky here because as soon as I shoot this the lights on the bridge were turned off.
Golden
La Bicyclette
Come on…you had to know I’d include a bicycle image in my year-end recap 🙂 I loved that the name of this restaurant in Carmel-By-The-Sea was called La Bicyclette.
La Bicyclette
The Roman Pool at Hearst Castle
I was just really pleased with the way this came out. The light was very low and I didn’t have a tripod with me. I increased my ISO, braced myself against the railing and took the shot. Sometimes you just have to go for it.
The Roman Gods Stand Tall
Sponge
This is just a personal favourite. I took pictures of this little guy…his name is Sponge as part of my portfolio building sessions. Isn’t he just adorable.
The Lonely Path
This image was taken at the Rockwood Autoyard in Ontario while I was attending a workshop with Denise Ippolito. It was drizzling the whole day with a light mist floating in the air which made for some terrific light.
The Lonely Path
Santa Barbara Marina
Here’s another personal favourite from my California trip. I loved the different colours emanating from the boats and wanted to give this image a bit of an abstract, impressionist feel.
Santa Barbara Harbour Abstraction
Santa Monica Pier
One the last night of my California trip I was determined to get a shot of Santa Monica pier at night. Even though it was cold and I really wasn’t dressed properly I headed to the pier (with my husband in tow…he really does deserve an award) and set up for this long exposure.
Amusing Lights
Malibu Pier
This is probably the image I’m most proud of this year. A long exposure of Malibu Pier with a high key treatment.
Elephant Seal Rookery at Piedras Blancas
I really had fun photographing these elephant seals at Piedras Blancas which is about 3 miles north of San Simeon on the Pacific Coast. I title this image “A Little Disagreement” but someone made a comment that it looks like the seal on the right might be laughing at a joke (wish I had thought of that), but the loud barking of these mammoth seals is still ringing in my ears 🙂
A Little Disagreement
Wishing you all a Happy Holiday and a Very Happy New Year.
iPhone Friday – Looking Back at 2012
I thought it would be fun to look back and pick some of my favourite iPhone images of 2012. So here they are…12 from 2012…
More Tulips
Brady
Heading Downstairs
A Year in Review – 12 From 2012
Welcome back. I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday. Well it’s that time of the year again. Time for me to sit down and have a look at the images that I’ve taken and posted this last year and try to narrow down my favourites from the year. This is a very tough exercise indeed. I tend to be very critical of my own work but the following images that I’ve selected really speak to me either because of the place itself or from a technical stand point, I tried a new technique that I’ve never done before.
So before we get to the images I just wanted to say a big THANK YOU! Whether this is your first visit or you follow this blog I’m extremely grateful of your continued support and visits. I know that there is a lot of content on the internet, many wonderful sites and blogs and you taking the time and interest of visiting my little space on this world-wide web is very much appreciated. I hope to also post a recap of my iPhone images by the end of the week and then I will be taking some time off until the beginning of the new year for a much needed vacation. If I find myself with internet access I will try to provide a few updates here and there.
You can click on the images to see the original post. So without further ado…My 12 of 2012….
2011 – A Year in Review
I started this blog on June 2, 2011, almost 7 months ago. It hasn’t been a full year yet but as we bid farewell to 2011 and get ready to welcome in a New Year I thought it fitting to look back on the short life of this site and how I fit into this thing called the World Wide Web. I launched Edith Levy Photography & Project 52 as a way to share my images with family and friends and ensure that I make a commitment to get out and shoot on a consistent basis. I also hoped that this blog would allow me to connect with the photographic community, get feedback and learn from others.
Well what’s happened in the last 7 months has completely exceeded my expectations. I’ve been posting more than once a week. I’ve been shooting, shooting, shooting. I’m learning new post processing techniques everyday. I have met so many wonderful and supportive individuals….people that I’m proud to call “Friend.” I want to say Thank You to everyone that follows this blog and comes back day after day. It means so much to get your encouragement and feedback. I’m truly proud to be part of this community.
This blog has grown since its inception and I’m amazed to say that as of yesterday I’ve hit over 20,000 views. As I look forward to 2012, ideas keep swirling around in my mind on where I’d like to take not only this site but my photography as well. The only thing that I really need is time which there never seems to be enough of. The ideas are taking shape and I’ll tackle them methodically, one at a time until they become reality.
I’ve had some people ask if I sell my images…I do. Keep an eye out because early in January I will be adding a gallery to the site where images can be purchased.
Below are some of my favorite images from 2011…Enjoy. Wishing you a Happy, Healthy & Prosperous New Year!
You can click on the images to see a larger version.
Edith Levy Photography 