Happie by Abbie: The Blog: Project 365

I had a difficult time choosing my favorite pictures from the year. And once I did, I wasn't satisfied. I know why I chose my favorites - sometimes to represent an event, an emotion or a period of time. Sometimes it was because I simply loved the photograph. But I needed, shall we say, reinforcement. So I asked Pat to pick his favorite 12 from my Project 365 pictures. Following the funny look he gave me, he agreed. And then, like me, he had a challenging time deciding.

I love the pictures he chose - they represent our year very well. What warms my heart is that through his choices, you can see what is most important to him. Sure, he missed a lot of really well composed, photographically pleasing photographs. But these are the images of our life together in the past year - the loves of our lives, that is.

Pat's Top 12 of 2011

1/10/11 We both love this picture of our Evil Cat. It's on our mantel.

1/15/11 Kohl's Children's Museum in Chicago. Baby's growing up.

2/12/11 Fun with Sam in the snow, post-blizzard.

3/14/11 He's not wrong. This one is pretty priceless.

6/9/11 Captured the joy of the last day of school.

7/3/11 Too precious. That's all. And God Bless America.

9/11/11 This picture absolutely turns me into a puddle.
I think it's pretty darn special to Pat, too.

9/24/11 That look. Oh, that look.

10/8/11 David's gonna knock you out.

11/26/11 The night we put up our tree. Love.

12/22/11 Waiting to light the Hanukah candles.

12/25/11 Evan is really special to Pat. Plus, it's a great picture. In a quiet way, it's SO Evan.

Now isn't that awesome? To see what Pat sees? I love the pictures he chose for the year. They make sense and they are beautiful, each in their own way.

Now onto mine... a totally different angle. As the person who took the pictures, I considered photograph composure, what story the picture tells, what the picture meant to me at the time. I wish I could have eliminated one of those elements to make it easier on me. But that's just it - I can't. And honestly, I wouldn't want to.

Abbie's Top 12 of 2011

1/4/11 David's face is hidden but you can see his favorite hat, with his favorite Star Wars characters on it. This photo takes me back to the mornings we had together when he was in afternoon Junior Kindergarten. Honestly, this particular photo makes me long for those mornings.

1/29/11 This is a soft, quiet photograph of the untouched snow surrounding our vegetable garden.
I'm not a fan of snow, but this, to me, makes me believe it's beautiful.

2/2/11 I struggled with choosing this one. I love the image - the composure, the expression, the simplicity. You ache for her. But I felt bad that one of my favorite pictures of the year was one of my daughter while she was upset.

4/12/11 For a photographer, this is a rare catch. As a photo for the mantel, not so much.
But I adore this picture of my tired, lazy cat.

5/9/11 The light was bouncing every which way, making for some interesting imagery. I'm not in love with this because I'm so gorgeous - it was a hat day, clearly not one of my best! (Besides, you can't even see my face, just my hands.) Instead, I love this picture for the lights and reflections.

7/3/11 Aha! Looky here, out of 365 photos, we agreed on one! (At least...)

8/17/11 This set of rearview mirror pictures in Colorado were some of my favorites from our trip out west.
A unique perspective. And of course, a great memory.

9/2/11 This picture should make me mad. Our vegetable garden this year was a big fat fail.
But this picture is visually captivating. It always catches my eye.

9/11/11 See? I can't resist my boys.

9/27/11 A rainy September morning, sitting at Starbucks doing some writing. Actually, I took this on my iPhone. One lonely chair sitting out in the rain. Yet another picture that draws me in and makes me think.