This year as been FULL of so many things – mostly work, some travel, and good friends. I have been sharing my personal and professional life through Instagram and here on my blog through “Traveling With Instagram.” Today’s post is the last of this year’s four part series. To see the previous parts, click here: Part I, Part II, and Part III. The images shown today are not shown chronologically and several of them have been shared in other recent posts.

Looking back on this year, there are so many memorable moments… Some are by far unhappy memories like shoveling snow with a roaring sinus infection and my great uncle’s funeral. But others were joyful such as traveling to Honduras to work with Pastor Flavio and many firsts in my photography business. I wish I had gotten more time out-of-doors and perhaps worked a bit less, but I am thankful for the people who were a part of my 2013, both inside and outside the walls of my workplaces.

In preparation for a new year in business, I am hoping to have the first full week in January “off” from my day job to focus on preparing my photography business for the new year – polishing up documents, my brand’s image, and how I interact with my clients. I am aiming for my second year in business to be the one that gets my business officially on its feet in the market and in Charlottesville. Furthermore, during this week “off,” I hope to complete my Shapes and Spaces of Charlottesville project and compile the images into a book. Wish me luck!

Now on to the fourth part of this year’s “Traveling with Instagram.” The next four images are of Charlottesville’s West Main Street that I took as part of my Shapes and Spaces of Charlottesville project.

The next seven images are from my Nov 30th – Dec 1st trip to Washington, DC. You may notice more identifiable buildings in the DC Dash post, but I chose to share the more abstract images here. One thing I really like to explore is the relationship of lines and people against the framing of the image.

 

 

These next six images of nature are revisited images from my camping trip in October. These images are more focused on textures – moss, decaying wood, and dried leaves. I have always had an up-close approach to nature – which may be largely due to growing up as an outdoorsy tomboy. My parents never bothered paying for cable or game consoles, so when my sister and I were bored, it was either read a book or go outside. I have also always had access to woodlands and hiking. Many of my first images with acquired cameras have been of the great outdoors.

The next four images are from the Charlottesville area. The first two are from downtown and the next two are of friends who wanted portraits. You may recognized the highlighted building in the second image from the top of this post.

 

Two of my clients from last spring sent me a Christmas card! It was a pleasant surprise to see that they used a photo I took of them during their spring engagement. Pretty neat, eh?

There are more images on my Instagram profile, click here to see more.

Thank you for viewing today’s post. If you use Instagram on your phone, I challenge you to explore the relationship between the square format, the angle you view your subject at, and the lines within the image. There are so many possibilities for composition and each person will see the same thing differently. Happy New Year!