A Year in Review: 2015

2015: A Year in Review – A Truly Eventful and Unforgettable Year

As 2015 comes to a close, I sit at my desk, settling into the idea that this New Year’s Eve will most likely be spent at home, with a bottle of Perrier replacing Champagne, I take the time to look back on 2015. And instead of being bitter, annoyed, angry, I find myself feeling grateful for and humbled by everything that’s happened over the last 12 months.

Many people have been posting statuses about how 2015 has been a rough year. Overall, this is true for everyone. We all had an incredibly difficult and trying year, in our own ways. I personally can safely say that this year, 2015, I can look back at it for the first time with very fond memories and a feeling of overwhelming peace.

This year, I can safely say that I have met at least three amazing people who changed my life, had two moments that made my (physically) jaw drop, and took at least one amazing trip.

Last January, I was awarded the Photo of the Year award at NASH by the Canadian University Press. This was a true beginning for me to push myself forward and push my career to new heights.

When I look at this image, I see three years (at that point) of work coming to fruition finally. It hangs on my wall, as a reminder to go further. From there, I had the crazy amount of coverage that I put into the 2015 students protests. I was at most of the protests, I was pepper sprayed, tear gassed, involved in scuffles. I wrote roughly 6 articles on the events that took place. One image is now even nominated for the 2016 Photo of the Year award.

Then came the summer. I got to see some great shows, and spent a nice warm summer in Montreal. On a personal level, my life took a major toll due to unforeseen circumstances and the end of a relation, but in the end, it boiled down to one awesome weekend in the middle of nowhere in Quebec. Rockfest 2015 (or at least day 2) was absolutely one of my most memorable shows. Seeing Snoop Dogg and Rob Zombie both on the same day was probably the single most entertaining and ridiculously impressive things I could ever think of.

It was about a month after that that I took the very difficult decision to turn the page on show photography. It was a very important (and formative) chapter in my life but it has since been time to move on. That isn’t to say I won’t still occasionally shoot a show, given the opportunity, but the focus isn’t (and never really was) on that. I always knew that I would springboard into photojournalism from it. But I felt it was an important chapter to close and the way to close it, even more so. What a better way to close things where it all began: by shooting Simple Plan & Deep Purple. My last hoorah as a show photographer could not have been any better than that, the band who’s riff I first learned how to play on electric guitar (Smoke on the Water, of course) and the first show I saw when I was 15. I could not ask for a more fitting end.

Once school started, I was invited to be the photo editor at The Concordian, which came with its own fair share of ups and downs. I slowly started finding my voice as a photojournalist, my strengths and weaknesses, what tests my patience and how far I am willing to bend. This all resulted in one very important culminating event: Covering the federal elections at the Liberal Party of Canada’s HQ. Being able to witness, document and be a part of history in my own way was the single-most mind bending experiences. The crowd, the energy, the excitement, the people, all fed into an extremely unique experience. And for my paper and me? It resulted in our being the only student media at the Liberal Party HQ. What more can anyone really ask for? Putting that entire issue together was an incredible joint effort and every piece falling into its respective place.

After that, I was able to springboard into a one-day internship at La Presse. Being able to spend a day and learn from a photojournalist in the field outdid any amount of schooling anyone could have given me. That truly anchored my love for my choice and pushed me to start thinking about what I would do next and how I would go about achieving my goals.

When December rolled around, I was finally able to roll around some vacation time (working, school and doing photography all full-time have made vacation time very difficult to squeeze in), I was able to go out and visit New York and be reminded as to why I got in photography in the first place. I got to take pictures simply for the sake of photographing. This also pushed an idea for another potential project. And with some well-needed vacation time came a lot of walking and roaming through New York. Travelling alone is an experience in and of itself that I recommend to everyone, and one I’ve done twice in the last 2 years or so. And one I would gladly do again.

To close a truly eventful year, I was not only nominated for Photo of the Year but was nominated as Student Photojournalist of the Year as well. Those results will be announced in January 2016, but it is truly humbling to put in the top 3 in Canada of the student press. This put me alongside two other outstanding photographers, one of which I am honored to call a friend.

As this year comes to a close, it is also important to remember the little things: I’ve been living alone for a year and a half, all the while doing this, working full time, and going to school. Yes, my patience has been tried. Yes I have had some very big downs, and some enormous ups, but I have been truly fortunate to have some good friends around me. It is because of them that I was able to keep a leveled head and get through the tougher times. It is also with them that I was able to celebrate my successes. To them, I say: from the depth of my heart, thank you. I would not be half the man I am without all of you (you know who you are, big and small).

It is also important to remember that those who have left our lives have also impacted them in one way or another. For those who have left, I say: Thank you for having been a part of my life, and may our paths cross again when they need to.

Ultimately, as 2015 comes to its final few hours, I can’t bring myself to make any top 10 lists, any crazy listicles about my favorite events. All I can do is look back at the year, at the last four and a half years, and start making plans for 2016 and what plans I have for it. Looking back at this year, the only thing I can feel is grateful, for everything it has given and taken away.

Keep an eye out in 2016, we shall see what it has to bring and what we can all bring to fruition! May it be as successful for you as 2015 was for me!