Well.... this is it. The last week of the year. To be honest I am not sure how I feel about 2017. It has been a year of learning, a year of upheaval a year of what feels like endless drama and another year of Sapphire by my side. I find this time of the year oddly unsettling in about every way, so many amazing goals springing forth from people, but me?.... I'm not one for setting "New Years goals? Why? Because I don't need another year rolling over to make me think about what I want to be and where I want to be. I do that 365 days a year LOL. This weeks theme is Favourite Things, so, I thought I would combine those favourite things with all of the good the bad and the ugly of 2017.
The Good (In no particular order)
* Moved house to somewhere with some actual sunlight!
* Photographed some wonderful dogs and met some fabulous
furparents.
* Photographed dogs up for adoption with The Tasman Pound.
* Photographed dogs up for adoption with The Ark Nelson.
* Completed a Pet First Aid and CPR course.
* Started (and 90% completed now) a Canine Psychology and
training course.
* Craig from Furtography blessed us with his presence and camera for
the most magical session with Sapphire and I.
* Put in the hard yards with Photoshop learning and started creating
some pretty whimsical images based on Sapphire
* Completed the 52 week pet Photography Blog chain- barring three
or so weeks I missed.
* Purchased that dream lens I wanted! The 70-200!
* Re branded through Studio S and I'm SO happy with it!
* Finally got my website looking OK
The Bad
* Having to say goodbye to some utterly amazing pets I had come to
know.
* Watching the ol girl get older and her tolerance for all of the things
become less and less.
* My 24hrs in a day seemed to be WAY shorter than everyone elses.
The Ugly
* Spent more time sick this year than I have since I can remember.
* August until current has been VERY busy at work, many extra hours
have been spent there and as a result photography and personal
projects were put on the back burner.
* Watching Sapphire's tumor grow and her little body show the effects
of age/arthritis
* Forgetting to remember how to relax (no joke- day 4 of two weeks
off and I seriously have no idea what to do with myself)
* Somewhere along the line I forgot to stop and take in the beauty
around me. Something I am remedying over the holiday period.
2018 will see a few things change on my page- all going well. There will be more of what I enjoy doing. Such as photographs of nature and birds as well as pets. Why? Because its part of who I am. These are things that I enjoy and for me to progress with my own photography, I need to take the time to occasionally "just smell the roses" With all of that said, next year will see a lot more stylized and "Digital Artwork" appearing. I am in the process of adding this to my website at the moment. (You will see an example of this below)
So..... my favourite things? well... of course the thing that provides the most tribulation is also going to be my absolute favourite! Miss Sapphire!
My little grumpy faced girl
Putting some hard earned/Learned Photoshop skill to good use with this image "Iron Saffy". Dobermanns, they do think they are bulletproof-even at 12.5 years old.
Of course everyone who knows me,also knows that Dobermanns in general- are my most favourite thing. And how could you not love them. Just check out Olive here!...
Another favourite thing of mine is the humble, yet albeit mouthy Red Billed Gull. 2017 has been and gone and I have not spent nearly enough time with birds in general. I have missed it.
So folks, there it is, another year in the rear. Hard to believe another one bites the dust, but there you have it. Thank you to each and every one of you that continues to follow along on our journey!
