Dan

So I guess that wraps it up. Looks like I posted 298 portraits of people this year. Not of 298 different people though. There were repeats (Grace appeared the most often (4 times) although that could have been more). I posted at least 20 every month (December being the lowest and November the highest (30)). There were certain periods where it was hard to muster the energy to ask someone if I could picture them. I didn't feel like explaining it all over again. There were times when the opportunities presented themselves left and right and were easy as pie. I learned a lot about lighting as the year progressed, and though I mostly used natural light, I did occasionally use a speedlight and learned a lot about using it effectively. There were people I wanted to capture but didn't because of time and distance or opportunity.

One of the great benefits about the project was that it forced me to carry my camera everywhere and so I was able to take pictures of many other things that were going on around me when I had it. I have some great images of my mom and dad from this year that I might not have had otherwise. I plan to continue carrying around the camera as much as possible.

I don't know if I can say exactly why I started this project. I originally thought of it as a memory-aid. Really. I thought of it as a way to document the faces and events of the year. And it will certainly work for that. There's my son's bass instructor, my daughter's soccer teammate, the AAA guy who changed a tire in the pouring rain, the guy who sold me the killer running shoes that I can't use because my knee hurts too much right now. All of that and more. It was a visual diary of faces. I'm interested in how it will look years down the road. Will it still help me to remember? We'll see.

Where do I go from here? What's the new project? I haven't zeroed in on it yet. I know that it won't be a "daily" or even "weekly" project so I don't need to have it decided by midnight tonight. This is going to be a busy year I'm pretty certain, and I'm not going to have the opportunity (or want the pressure) to picture that often. And I don't want this project to be constrained like the portraits were to a similar look or framing. Thanks to Santa, I have a new camera (D90) and will look to make the best use of it. There might be a diptych or triptych component, perhaps something that combines portraiture and landscapes. I don't know if I'll post it here or elsewhere or not at all.

I'll be launching a new site for my photography at danconnolly.com. This will include galleries depicting my various completed projects, and links to work-in-progress as well. That should happen within a couple weeks. For now, I will be posting family snapshots and general daily shooting (as I have been for a while now) at my tumblr page.

Thanks to everyone who participated in this project and thanks to my family for their forbearance and patience. See you next year!

Bob

Bob was at the house today on an electrical "consult." We have some heating issues and some blown lights and stuff that we needed to have looked at. So Bob came right over (Brenda had recommended him to us) and looked around. We have some solutions working and Bob was great. Turns out he had done work on this house for the previous owner as well.

Brenda

Finally. Technical issues with my laptop card reader stymied me for a couple of days from getting photos uploaded. So things seem to be okay now. Brenda has been serving Theresa and I our blueberry muffin and coffee for the last year on all our trips to the J-Town Deli. Thanks, Brenda.

Annie

Annie is a girl of remarkably generous spirit, agreeing to spend time with Natty, Erik, Brendan, and John out of some sense of pity and kindness. She was in a blue theme when she stopped by our Christmas party yesterday. The reflected light from the snow really lit her well in our back doorway.

Andrew

Andrew is the neighbor and former classmate of nephew Travis. They've gone their separate ways now. Travis to Clemson, Andrew to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Old home week at the new track and field facility in Providence.

Steve

Coach of the girl's track team. He was trying to enjoy a late lunch break at the concession stand when I interrupted him. It seemed to be a very good day at the RITCA Invitational for the team.

Bob

Bob was at his brother's house, running a quick errand for him. The bright sunlight of the day and the tinted glasses presented a challenge. I've been locked into a particular format/style on these portraits and have been dying to break out of it (my own ocd/autism keeps me locked in though). I had to do something different here, so I put the sun behind him and used my speedlight to illuminate his face. He gave good face too.

Rayna

Another birthday girl. There were three parties that Grace attended in the last week. This was bowling-themed. Rayna was a great model, giving me a very nice look, not distracted by all the hoopla going on around her.

Kirby

Kirby and his wife run a nice little garden shop here in town called Hidden Gardens. We always get our Christmas tree (and wreaths) there. And our spring annuals. And a few other odds and ends throughout the year. A nice selection and a great convenience to have them here in town.

Matthew

I nabbed his photo yesterday after he got off the school bus, as he was walking home. Got his mother shortly after they'd moved into the neighborhood in September and have now gotten pretty much everyone at the bus stop.

Gail

We used to do laps around a fenced-in field. The dogs would walk with us, or walk away from us. Now we don't; the dogs don't generally like it all that much anymore. She and her husband are creatives, developing ideas and art into entertainment.

Lily

I am now 4/6ths of the way finished in documenting this family. Isn't her expression great? I asked her to open her eyes wide. I sense she doubts my ability to capture her essential self. She's not wrong. But I tried.

Janice

Janice met with me to schedule me for a display of my photography at the Barrington Starbucks in April. Now I just need to decide what to show. I'm leaning towards Kenyon Farms, Homer and Finn, or Grace stuff. Hmmm.

Patti

Another portrait from the weekend dog show. Patty owns (and breeds) Chinooks. She was at the show with Talis, who was so nice. You can see a picture of her on my tumblr log (soon).

Emma

Emma's a birthday-girl today, hence the honor (such as it is) of being shown here. Today was her party - a rock gym party at that.

Chris

Chris is a young man with a German Shepherd, showing him at the Bay Colony Dog Show here in Rhode Island this weekend. Lots of fun and some beautiful dogs.

Keith

I ran into Keith a few houses down the street when I was walking one of the dogs. He was working on putting in a new front door for one of my neighbors. Not long after we moved in here, he came to help us remodel a few things (built-in bookcases, ceiling moldings and trim, dining room benches). Work has dried up a lot since he was here last but he's keeping busy. He spoke with pride about his daughter's academic and athletic achievements.

Sue

She's recently recovered (still recovering) from the flu, with its wracking, never-ending cough, unproductive and annoying. She's the babysitter of my daughter's friend, Grace, and she's so nice. I hope she feels better soon.

Celeste

It was a bittersweet conversation, melancholic, yet retaining a sense of hope and optimism. The year has been a challenge, but there's the sense of looking forward, of new opportunities and better experiences. We agreed to mark the occasion with this image, and perhaps revisit it next year to see how things have been.

Lenny

I had some time to kill, so I stopped into the Hope Gallery. I bumped into Lenny there. Lenny's a photographer who seems to do mainly landscape, scenic, or abstract compositions. I've known Lenny's work for some time as the Rhode Island art scene isn't that large. He's recently done some nice work with the new highway construction in Providence. Surprisingly, he knew my work as well (I'd been in a few group shows and had an exhibition at the Barrington Library a couple years back). We had a nice talk and then I took his portrait.