Favorite Images of 2014

Here are just a few of my favorite images from 2014:


                                                                            


  

Happy List, Week 52

Happy List, Week 52

1. Holiday party. We had our work holiday party last week. It was enjoyable. We actually (mostly) all stopped working and socialized. This is an accomplishment for this group.

2. Garden Glow. I visited this again with my roommate. I'm really glad MoBot brought this back - very enjoyable.

3. 33December. What a great opening - my photography was well received and I had two very important conversations that evening.

4. Exercising latent light design skills. On our new board. 'Twas fun.

5. Good hike. You know a hike is good when you hurt when you come home. Pushed myself a little too far and took some tumbles for my trouble. Still was fun.

Just one more - this year we get a bonus week!

Looking Back at 2014

2014...

...was the year I really tried to kick my photography up a notch by putting myself out there.

...was the year that I was in five exhibits at various galleries and organizations (Soulard Art Market, Sheldon Art Galleries, Circus Flora/Regional Arts Commission, MySLart.org/Old Orchard Gallery, and Third Degree Glass.)

...was the year that I applied on a whim to a city-wide contest and made it in the Top 100, the exhibit itself and the companion book! (City at 250: St Louis in Photographs)

...was the year I made my solo exhibition debut at Third Degree Glass Factory. What an amazing opportunity and experience that was. Incredibly grateful.

...was the year that I sold 7 pieces from one exhibit alone. THANK YOU!

...was the year that I won the Best Attendance Award from Photo Flood St. Louis - no small feat because it was also the busiest work season for me.

...was the year I was obsessed with sunrises and sunsets. This obsession did pay off for some wonderful images that I will treasure.

...was the year that I furthered my obsession and practice of capturing macro water droplets. So pleased with so many of the images taken.

...was the year that I started "Ann K Photography" page on Facebook. A further step towards doing this for real?

...was the year that one of my colleagues picked my photography as the major source of backdrops for our annual holiday show. So honored.

...was the year I finally took the STL skyline photos I've always wanted.

...was the year that I visited some great places that were on my list photographically speaking.

...was the year that I was allowed to take my tripod into the Garden Glow and have a slightly easier time getting the photos of the beautiful nighttime holiday display.

...was the year where I made some great connections with photographic and art colleagues.

...was the year I might've started considering myself an artist versus a hobbyist.


On more personal notes, 2014 was the year:

...that we lost our beloved Tommy. Still breaks my heart to this day. I miss him SO much.

...that I served my civic duty on a jury.

...that I saw DG for the first time in simply years and enjoyed catching up with him in March!

...that I made time for books (thanks Book Club!)

...that a show nearly killed me but it turned out to be worth it on opening night.

...that I finally braved the line and wait to see the Teahouse at the Missouri Botanical Garden.  Definitely worth it.

...that we added Rosie, a 3 year old mystery terrier mix to the family. She's so cuddly!

...that we added Sgt. Pepper, a 18 month old wheaten cairn terrier mix to the family! He's too cute for words.

...that I made my first very grown-up purchase - a new car! (Well, new-to-me - but STILL!)

...that I exercised my wedding coordinator/stage manager skills and had a wonderful time.

...that Pippin started having day camp at my place. Fun times for both involved.

Surely I am leaving things off (I actually reviewed all of this year's Happy Lists for reminders), but I think that this is a pretty good summary of my year.

What's in store for me in 2015? Only time will tell!

Happy List, Weeks 50 and 51

Happy List, Week 50

1. Book Club. Always a good time with the girls. Especially when H is there to entertain us/distract us.

2. Peter Pan Live. It may not have been great, but it's still fun to watch a live musical shown on TV and wonder if you know exactly how they did some of those "tricks" - especially when you're on the inside.

3. Busy day. Saturday was super busy and as much as it was exhausting, it was fun as well.

4. Trip planning. Doing a 'spontaneous' national park trip at the end of this month. Making lists and plans - this is my fun before the actual fun.

5. Pippin time.  I didn't have much of a chance to play with her (too much to do), but I enjoyed spending time with her while she napped.

Happy List, Week 51

1. Finally opening a production after a tech week. Need I say more?

2. Card rescue. I accidentally deleted important images off an SD card, but found software that rescued the images from the otherwise erased card. Whew. That was a scary moment.

3. Time off. I haven't had a solid tech week of work in awhile... I needed a break.

4. First responders. We had a mini crisis yesterday in which we smelled gasoline in our house (thankfully NOT natural gas). Our local fire department were quick to respond and kept us in the loop as they sussed out the issue and resolved it. Bravo to them and shame on the idiots who caused the problem. (Oops, isn't this list supposed to be all positive?)

5. New Technology. I *had* to get a new iPad because mine (the 1st generation original) finally hit the proverbial wall in not updating anymore. It hadn't been update-able in awhile, but in order to get it to do what I wanted, I need about 3 iOS upgrades beyond its capability.  I hadn't planned on this purchase but I made it work. And no matter the cost to the wallet (ouch!), it's still nice to have a fun new toy to play with and use.

6. Hanukah. My parents and I actually celebrated Hanukah on the actual first day of Hanukah. (Last year, it was so early that we scoffed at it and celebrated it on our own schedule) It was lovely all around - presents big and small for all.

Can you believe how fast this year has gone? There's actually TWO more weeks of this project - I will get to week 53 (Dec 24-31st). I wonder if I should continue it next year?

49/52 - Photo Project 2014

I had the opportunity to bring my tripod with me to the Garden Glow on Monday, and I definitely had fun. Wish I had had more time but I had tons of fun. Can't wait to return (even without my tripod)!

There could be lots of choices from this one - I have a lot of favorites from this night, but let the sentimental shot win:



Close runner's up:

Happy List, Weeks 48 & 49

Behind again... ACK!

Happy List, Week 48

1. Potluck. It was our staff potluck this past week and it was lovely. TOO much food and time to sit down with my co-worker/friends.

2. Photo Flood. Flooded a new-to-me neighborhood despite the slight chill. Totally worth getting up early.

3. PF friends. Because hanging out with them is good for my soul.

4. Camera time. I'm finding it hard to remember to pick up my camera these days. Not from lack of inspiration but from a lot on my mind.

5. Unexpected snow. The snow wasn't supposed to stick, but it did. Always love the chance to go take pictures.

Happy List, Week 49

1. Thanksgiving. Thanskgiving with our family friends is always a good time.

2. 2nd Thanksgiving. It was a full house, but a fun time was had. The puppies LOVED all the attention.

3. Puppy time. I've had some puppy time recently. It's been delightful.

4. Garden Glow. They've outdone themselves - they included installations from last year and added several more.

5. Photographer's Night. I went to a photographer's only night and it was a wonderful opportunity. Use of tripods and a low census. I can't wait to go back again!

48/52 - Photo Project 2014

The week is barely done, but I already know what will be this week's winner.

This is one of the murals painted on boarded up windows on South Grand, as a result of the protest turned riot after the Grand Jury decision in regards Darren Wilson and Mike Brown.

I saw it on the news and it resonated with me just about as much as next week's New Yorker cover.

May this be a turning point for progress.

47/52 - Photo Project 2014

Sunday brought the first good snowstorm of the season. And by good, I mean that the snow stuck around for a little while. I braved a headache to take these pictures. Well worth it.

Since this snow came so early, things were still in bloom.

Tough call:



Close runners up:





I'm looking forward to more snow! But perhaps not Buffalo-level snow, okay?

Happy List, Weeks 45-47

Because of the behind-the-scenes glimpse at the exhibit, I missed posting Week 45. Here's both last week and this week's.

Happy List, Week 45

1. Meeting new people. Met a new person through the sale of one of my pieces.

2. Halloween. Haven't dressed up in ages but when one of your BFF's kiddo wants to go trick or treating... when in Rome.

3. VLAA. This wonderful service (volunteer lawyers and accountants for the arts) provides low cost workshops for artists. Check them out: http://www.vlaa.org.

4. Daylight Savings. I know it's darker earlier, but at least sunset is right after work. Makes it more convenient.

5. Election Day. Because it is your and my civic duty to participate.

Happy List, Week 46

1. Theatre colleagues. We had a one-woman show at work recently and it was lovely to spend time with her and her stage manager.

2. Friends. It's wonderful that a friend drove in from far away to see my show before de-install.

3. A full day. Saturday had a photo shoot, an exhibit pickup (from this summer), an art fair and a show. Sometimes being busy is fun.

4. Family photo Shoot.  I had a photo shoot with one of my BFFs and her son. It was a lot of fun! We had a beautiful day for it. And my models were gorgeous.

5. Monday Funday. Pippin and I spent Monday together and it was a lot of fun. We got to enjoy the most beautiful day of the week outside and I still managed to do several loads of laundry. Didn't get everything on my to-do list done but almost all.

Happy List, Week 47

1. The Imitation Game. What a movie - thank you SLIFF for bringing it to STL just a hint early.

2. Benedict Cumberbatch. After seeing the Imitation Game, I'm now thoroughly a fan of Mr. Cumberbatch. I've now seen him exercise his acting talents in three different major roles and he's been brilliant in all of them.

3. First snowfall. The first snowfall that sticks is always kind of amazing.

4. Time with BFF. Though she's been apart from her husband for awhile (because of being state-side temporarily), I've personally enjoyed having LA in town a lot. I am, however, looking forward for her to have the opportunity to spend some time in her other home in Germany!

5. Poker night. Monday night no/low stakes poker night with friends. Good times.

43-46/52 - Photo Project 2014

Well, between being behind on uploading on Flickr and posting the "Behind the Shot" series of my solo show... I'm a might behind on posting the Photo Project.

Some weeks had many more opportunities than others, so I'll post the winner and at least a runner up for each.

Week 43:

Winner:

Runner up:

Week 44: 

Winner:

Runner up:

Week 45:

Winner: 

Week 46:

I really only had two choices for this week... so it's time to remember to pick up the camera again! 

Behind the Shot: Alternate Views #11

 

This is "Lyrics" - the only photo out of geographic order because I needed another vertical piece to balance out "Arch/Crunden Martin". This is also the one that people still don't get after looking at it and looking at it.

This is part of the Chuck Berry statue in the Loop. Part of the statue is in the concrete plaza and there are 5 lines of lyrics that make up guitar strings. That particular lyric is from "Johnny B Goode", FYI.

I took this photo on a night photo walk with a now disbanded Meetup.com group.

Thanks for sticking through this behind-the-scenes tour of my first solo show. As of today, you have ONE more week to check it out in person before it is deinstalled to make room for the next one (not mine)!

Behind the Shot: Alternate Views #10

For those of who have been following my photography lately, you've noticed that I'm obsessed with sunrises and sunsets. The cloudier the sky, the more dramatic and colorful. The key is the right type of clouds and the clouds that stick. And I'm quickly learning that clouds and sunsets can be completely different in different places.

But I digress... my obsession with Creve Couer Lake stemmed with a challenge of sorts. It was told to me that if you follow Midland from University City to Maryland Heights, you never have to change streets and you dead-end at the lake. Well... one promising looking day, I tried that experiment and what did you know... it was true! 

In addition to it being a beautiful place (that I know I haven't even BEGUN to explore), it's also home to a rowing club or two. Often, they are out practicing at sunset, making themselves wonderful photo subjects.

I love the extremely dramatic sky combined with the silhouette of the rowers. (And it took MANY passes to get this because ironically, not all the rowers row every time!)

Up next: Last but not least, the most hidden and closest to 'home'