Memories, Dreams and Reflections 2011

Continuing on my wrap up of 2011 I am partaking in 'Memories, Dreams and Reflections'. Theres nothing quite like sliding in at the last minute. I've checked out some of the other entries and they are AMAZING! I hope to get to all of them, they are just inspiring. Thank you for checking out my post and please make sure you click the button below to check out more beautiful photos by other amazing photographers.

1. Me!

In 2011 I ventured into self potraits. I've never been confident in front of the camera, so it was a big leap for me, but one that I am very pleased I made. This was one of the first shots I took and I love it. There are definetly more self potraits in 2012.

2. I Love You

In July I become the very proud Aunty of this gorgeous wee boy. I took this photo when he was just one week old. I absolutely adore him and love to spend any time I can with him.

3. Still Laughing...

These two are a wonderful couple and two of my best friends. Here they are trying jump off the ledge at the same time for a tandem jump shot. No matter how hard they tried, they just couldn't get their timing right. They giggled all afternoon, we never did get the perfect jump shot.

4. Winter Wonderland

In August we experienced a freak snow storm that blanketed the city for three days. In all my 30 years it has never snowed here like that. I was one of the most magical days of my life.

5. Birthday

In May I was the official photographer for Lu's 10th birthday party. The girls went to a rock climbing place and spent ages enjoying the bouncy castle floor. I love the movement in this photo, it really captures the energy and spirit of the day.

6. Friends

I used the timer to capture my very good group of friends when we gathered to watch the final of the Rugby World Cup. It was a fantastic game (we won!) and it's a fantastic photo of us all together.

7. I Was Inspired...

I was inspired by the shapes and movement I found in a simple champagne flute. It helped me to look at everyday objects in different ways.

8. Spring Fever 

At the end of Spring Jet was running through the long grasses at a friends BBQ. I love this peek-a-boo shot of him, it reminds me of the fun he was having and that screams spring to me.  

9. Travel or Vacation

In 2011 I travelled to Australia three times to visit my Mum who moved there in April. On my first visit I met her partners grandchildren (LtoR: Jacklyn, Jessica, Jacob) and instantly fell in love with the three of them. I took this shot on a walk to the beach. You can see there little personalities in their strides, it's a great snapshot of this time of their lives.

10. Summer Days

During my summer holidays I spent many hours at the beach or at the river. On this day I asked the kids to jump into the water so I could get jumping shots. Since this meant making huge splashes in the water they were only too happy to oblige. Days of laughter, sun and swimming are what this summer was all about.

11. A Day In My Life

No matter what I'm doing, whether it's watching tv, making breakfast or taking photos, my cat likes to insert himself in any way possible. He follows me around, cuddles up next to me and plops himself down in the middle of a photoshoot. He's very sweet, if not slightly annoying sometimes. But I've learnt to let him do it because I end up with sweet photos like this one.

12. All Smiles

I smile every time I look at this photo. Jessica was playing in the moving boxes and had curled up in the bottom of one for a wee nap. I love her small smile and the brilliant pose she does so effortlessly.

13. Autumn Harvest

In Autumn I did a lot of work on the garden. Before pulling out this dead plant I photographed it and it quickly became my obsession. It's so detailed and beautiful for black & white shots. Eventually though I had to pull it out and throw it away.

14. Family or Home

I loved photographing my sister throughout her pregnancy. She was beautiful and a total natural. She also gave me the most precious wee nephew.

15. Celebrate!

To celebrate New Years Eve we had sparklers, glow sticks and party poppers. Jacob was happy to oblige my desire to get a great light trail.

16. Let's Do It Again...

While out for a walk along the waterfront we came across giant jellyfish floating along. The walk was fun, the photographing of jellyfish was fun and playing with the photos aftewards was fun. I wanna do all of those things again!

 17. I Miss You

In August my gorgeous cat Bunker passed away. He was a lovely cat that I miss dearly as does his buddy that he left behind. I hope that he has found many mice to chase wherever he is. 

18. Beautiful

Over 40 bright and beautiful Lorakeets come for an afternoon snack on the driveway of my Mum's house. I spent days lying on the concrete taking photos of these beautiful birds.

19. Dress Up

The whole country went into major Rugby World Cup fever in October. During the build up to the France vs New Zealand game I wandered through the crowds taking photos. I loved this guys get up to support the (losing) French team.

20. Macro

I captured this little guy while gardening one afternoon. He sat still for ages and I was stoked I followed my number one gardening rule - always have your camera handy.

21. Holidays

The Christmas holidays were a whirlwind in 2011, I had many little gatherings in order to see all family and friends which unfortunetly meant I didn't take a lot of holiday photos. But I take love these candy canes at a BBQ. They looked good, and they tasted good too.

22. My Favorite 

I adore these wee girls and I adore this photo of them. This door was the locked front door of an old lighthouse and they were trying to open it. I love black & white photography and was super stoked when this photo was picked to be featured on the Mortal Muses Black & White page on 3 Jan.

23. Don't Ever Change

My gorgeous wee neice was fascinated with my cameras when I visited in March. She quickly learnt how to use them and loved doing so. There is something so sweet about a four year old that loves taking photos of her feet. I hope she never looses that sense of wonderment.

24. Just Because...So There!

I met this guy at the Nowra Wildlife Park in Australia. I adore his far off gaze.

25. Hopes and Dreams

2012 is shaping up to be a really good year. There are lots of great things happening and no matter what, I've decided that this year I need to put my happiness first. It's about time I went after the things that are going to make me happy.