2014 in Review

I decided I will just post two photos or videos per month for this review. It's tricky, but a good way to be concise. Here's a bit about 2014:

Lake from J M on Vimeo.

For Christmas 2013 I received an intervalometer, so in January I tried my first timelapse videos. This was taken from my back deck.

Daffodil and Lily time-lapse from J M on Vimeo.

Flower timelapses have always been really fascinating to me, so I was excited to try them. I hope to do more in 2015 as well. I also did an ice melting timelapse.

In February we had a snow storm that kept me at home alone for about five days. I was definitely getting cabin fever by the end of it, but I was also thrilled to have the opportunity to take snow and ice photos.

I spent a lot of time on my deck (with freezing toes) studying and photographing snowflakes. It was really fun and I so hope we have some snow before spring!

In March, I did some photo experiments with oil and water. I also did a lot of droplet photography with both water and glycerin.

I also redecorated my livingroom and dining room a bit because I was feeling motivated, plus I had guests coming. My friend Shannon from New Zealand visited, and Dan from Washington also came down and we all went and saw the Veronica Mars movie in Portland! :D (I was really into that show, so it was fun and worth mentioning.) I also took Shannon to the capitol building and Silver Falls while he was in town.

In April I decided to have a spring party for some girlfriends. It was a fun chance to try some crafts and decorate things cutely. We drank Shirley Temples and made magnets.

Later in the month, I went to California to visit my parents over Easter. It was a great trip that included lots of photography, a wildflower drive with Dania and my mom, and a nice Easter day. It was also the last time I saw my mom's dog Sheridan alive--she passed away shortly after I left.

In May, I had the opportunity to do a spring portrait session with Liane. It was really fun, and just looking at these pictures makes me happy! Yay spring!

Over Memorial Weekend I went up to the Seattle area and my friend Dan and I ferried over to Vashon Island. It was kind of dreary weather, but a fun and relaxing little day trip.

K goes to Oregon from J M on Vimeo.

In June, my niece K came out to visit me for her 13th birthday gift! We had a great time, and this video shows many of the things we did while she was here.

Then my department at work had its first retreat. We went up to Suttle Lake for the day. I really enjoyed seeing this part of Oregon--I hadn't been this far east (in OR) before.

July was hot! Over the 4th, I had friends over and we had fun playing games. Then I went to the coast to escape the heat, and also to the movies for the same reason. We had a lot of hot days this year, and this is when they all started.

I also took a solo trip to Portland to take pictures at various locations I had looked up ahead of time. This was from a garden (I forget the name now), and I also visited Cathedral Park and a neighborhood with lots of cute houses. It was a good use of a Saturday morning. Most of my trips to Portland are for the airport, so there's a lot I haven't seen.

In August I was extra into photography. Partially it was the heat that had me escaping to my air conditioned car to drive through new neighborhoods while listening to my audiobook. But I was also planning for my gallery showing in October. I remember it being kind of an intense but happy time. I talk about it more in this post.

I kept remembering more things I wanted to try, like these droplet photos. I learned a lot that month! Not pictured: I also went to Seattle and attended my first Mariners game!

September...it's a bit of a blur. I apparently took some dragonfly photos.

And I went to my second Mariners game because a ticket was freed up after a cancellation. :D (Technically this photo was taken in August, but it can represent the game in September too.)

October! Birthday month! I began the month by hanging up my photos in the gallery at work.

And I got up in the middle of the night to take pictures of the lunar eclipse on October 8th.

I did a lot more in October, but my camera broke and I didn't take many pictures. My birthday weekend was kind of like 4th of July--the same friends and fun games! But this was when I first got to play Lords of Waterdeep, a new game Dan had been introduced to by his friends. I'm mentioning it because it's supes fun and I've played MANY games of it since then. It's totally not the kind of game I'd ever expect to be into (it uses terms and characters from Dungeons and Dragons, which I've never played), but it's just a very fun strategy-ish game that I recommend. My friends Jon and Mariel bought their own copy after playing it with Dan and me. I should also mention that the weather was awesome over my birthday--I wore shorts! How come October feels like so long ago now? Weird.

In November I got my new camera, so I went back into photography mode and took a ton of pictures around town. It helped that we had some fog and an ice storm to give me plenty of subjects. I also did another photo shoot with Liane over at Deepwood Estate.

For Thanksgiving, I went back up to Seattle (this must be a record year for Seattle trips) and spent it with my friend Dan and his family. (That photo was just taken with my phone--it's the view from Dan's sister's house in Bellevue.) I also attended his sister's baby shower. It was a good but icy-cold weekend. It even snowed a little.

December! I kicked off the Christmas season by attending a Favorite Things party at my friend Alli's house. As you can see, she prepared lots of delicious sweets for us! If you're wondering, a Favorite Things party is where you bring 5 of one of your favorite little items (costing less than $5 each), and then we all draw names and take home five new presents. I brought five of my starry night light that I love so much, and I came home with a variety of gifts from crochet supplies to ice cream!

I still have lots of December photos to show you, but you know I spent Christmas down in California with my parents and sister's family. It was really fun. How could that have been just a few days ago? I'm feeling so removed from everything, suddenly!

This post makes me seem a lot more active than this year actually felt. When I think back on the year, it seems kind of uneventful, but in a good way. It was more restful and I tried to ease up on myself a lot. There were some changes I wanted to happen, but they didn't. But it was probably more peaceful that way. Year of recuperation. Maybe 2015 will bring the changes I'm looking for? I am already getting excited about some plans I'm making for the first part of the year, and I can't believe that in a few months it'll already be spring again. January and February are pretty much the worst in terms of weather, but they will go by quickly, I'm sure.

Happy new year!