My sister Shannon had just left for the Congo before I arrived in Cape Breton last October. Her boyfriend Michael, had come from Italy to harvest the garden they had worked on all summer on the North Shore. When he wasn’t drying onions and picking potatoes, we spent time drinking coffee, having evening snorts of rum, and laughing at Mantracker. We took these photos in the ‘backyard’ to send to my sister during her first month away to let her know we were thinking of her. She’s days away from finishing her placement in Shamwana as a midwife with Doctors Without Borders and we’re extremely proud of her. A few weeks after this session, Michael went off on his own placement with Doctors Without Borders, in a different area of the Congo. They’re a tough pair!

Amanda was one of my 2010 brides. She’s working on getting a jumpstart on her MA application with a program through UVic called the TD Indigenous Student Career Transitions Project. She’s asked (as part of one the program components) to job shadow me, and since she’s a great gal, I naturally said yes! For the next 10 weeks we’ll be in job shadow mode, with lots of fun things planned. We met up on Saturday afternoon in Fernwood for a few hours of shooting each other and chatting about ideas. Another image from Saturday is my photo of the week over on the Photographer Network blog.

I’m part of the Photographer Network and each Monday we post an image we shot during that week. During the winter months, when it’s either too rainy or cold for regular portrait sessions, I grab the opportunity to have a bit of fun and experiment. Every Sunday we have a bbq/evening with the Troys and before the grill fired up, Jamie was my patient model. One more image is over on the Photographer Network as my Photo of the Week.

In December, I took photos of Annabelle for her appointment as Honour Queen for Job’s Daughters in Victoria. The Fisgard Street Masonic Lodge Hall provided a beautiful space for her portraits. Congratulations Annabelle!

When you look back and reflect, each year seems like a whirlwind. Many thanks to my clients who have been wonderful and trusting folks…humouring my whims during sessions. To my family and friends, thanks for your patience when I was behind my computer editing for weeks at a time. Most of all, to my Jamie…even with his busy schedule, he’d still make a point to invite me on afternoon coffee dates during the busiest part of the year so that my eyeballs wouldn’t fall out from the editing. I am the luckiest.

I’ve put together a slideshow of some of my favourite images from the year as a recap of the places and faces I’ve seen (the soundtrack is provided by my dear and talented fiddling friend, Ivonne Hernandez). Enjoy, thanks again for your ongoing support and encouragement, and all the best for 2011!