TIA INTERNATIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY'S INVENTORY

January images for TIA’s "2014 : 365" Project. Each photo was taken on the date displayed. TIA aspires to carry out this project each day for the entire year. The image for January 4th is unavailable on account of my 20-hour return flight from Sydney to Seattle via Los Angeles. I really wish I hadn’t overlooked this, but hopefully I will be able to account for the rest of the month.

February images for TIA’s "2014 : 365" Project. Each photo was taken on the date displayed. TIA aspires to carry out this project each day for the entire year!

Here at the March images for TIA’s "2014 : 365" Project. Each photo was taken on the date displayed. Originally, I was set on dedicating the entire month to humor, which was successful for only the first three days. (Additionally, my humor is so quirky that the images that are meant to be funny may only be understood by myself, and that would defeat the entire purpose). However, I believe it’s true that a photographer’s mood can often be reflected in the images she or he creates. World and national events, daily interaction with family, friends, and colleagues, and personal state of mind each have influences on my mood. Acknowledging this, I allowed myself to photograph subjects based on how I was feeling at that precise moment in time. As a result, March showcased a various number of moods and mindsets for this project, varying between humor, melancholy, hope, elation, and exhaustion.

Please enjoy the April images for TIA’s "2014 : 365" Project. Each photo was taken on the date displayed. For April, I often found inspiration for these images after communicating with two of my closest friends, both of whom I recognize in the April 15th image. Thanks again, guys. I also found myself as the subject matter for more of these photos, which has been helpful for the story or concept I wish to share with the viewer. Some photos are “bolder” than others, which has proven useful for this yearlong experiment in photography. One of the most significant advantages this project has given me is a healthier appreciation of my own image and appearance, which has been liberating and eye-opening after several years of excruciating self-consciousness.

Enjoy the images for the month of May for TIA’s "2014 : 365" Project. Each photo was taken on the date displayed. May was an incredibly monumental month for my personal and professional growth as I decided to eliminate a part of my life that had been toxic and unhealthy over a number of years. The images between the 19th and the 31st -- with the exception of the US Memorial Day holiday on the 26th -- are autobiographical in nature and presentation, depicting what I would like to portray as the “series finale” to a long-running program that should have ended many seasons earlier (but one keeps watching, nevertheless, just to know how it ends). In order to demonstrate a coherency in the story for this finale, I enjoyed producing the majority of these images in monochrome tones, though three of these images did more justice in full color.

Please enjoy the June images for TIA’s "2014 : 365" Project. Each photo was taken on the date displayed. June 2014 was my personal month of “Liberation & Emancipation”. June is also my birth month. I do reveal my age in one of these photographs -- on my birthday -- but I will leave the viewer to decipher these details! This splendid month witnessed the succession of summer for many parts of the world (and winter for several others). Alas, June was a month of celebration, reflection, jubilance, and making each day one to be grateful!

Please enjoy the July images for TIA’s "2014 : 365" Project. Each photo was taken on the date displayed. July was a wonderful month all around with great weather and some unexpected photo opportunities for this project. As the seventh month of the year concludes, I now find that it’s very easy for me to bring my camera wherever I go each day and contemplate what I will photograph. I honestly perceived that Project “2014 : 365” would be a fleeting promise to myself, similar to that of an unsustainable or unrealistic New Year’s resolution, but the opposite has proven true. As photography is my life’s passion, remaining dedicated to this project has become part of my daily routine.

Please enjoy the August images for TIA’s "2014 : 365" Project. Each photo was taken on the date displayed. I had a lot of fun with the August photos, partially as a result of taking several, intensive courses in Photoshop, a long-overdue objective. The photo for August 9th is one of my all-time favorites and an image I had wanted to achieve for years. I attempted a few more of these cloning projects during this month, along with many other experiments in Photoshop. Looking forward to what I can create in September!

Please enjoy the September images for TIA’s "2014 : 365" Project. Each photo was taken on the date displayed. For one reason or another, I believe the images for September are the most random and incoherent I have taken thus far in this project. (This is actually a positive observation given the original objective of this assignment). There were several days during this month when I felt I had run out of ideas, or simply lacked motivation. On other days, I was fully inspired and had no problem creating the images to share in this gallery. I cannot believe there are only three more months of 2014 remaining, and still, as I write this summary, I have only missed one day for this project, way back in January.

Please enjoy the October images for TIA’s "2014 : 365" Project. Each photo was taken on the date displayed. October was another month of to exercise my imagination and creativity, and each opportunity was enjoyable. This month, I delved into varied themes and concepts of photography, including composite images in which several photographs were created and combined to formulate a single image. I am most proud of the images for October 16th and October 31st. The latter was an experiment with incorporating my favorite subject matter with a spooky, uncanny Halloween scene and atmosphere. Only two more months to go! I can’t believe how intrinsic this project has become in my daily routine in 2014.

Please enjoy the November images for TIA’s "2014 : 365" Project. Each photo was taken on the date displayed. November has proven to be the most difficult month for this project thus far, for two reasons: 1) My motivation declined significantly. I wonder if this was attributed to the shorter days, colder weather, and often, an acute lack of clarity of what to photograph specifically; and 2) I made the decision to title each photo after a song, be it a song from the pop charts, or from a musical. I thought this theme would be easy, but it proved to be much more difficult than I expected. Matching an image with a specific song is not as simple as it seems. This theme limited my ideas which, in turn, further underscored my original objectives for this project! I’m glad that I tried it. Still, I cannot believe I have made it this far with this project. Only one more month to go, and I don’t think I will limit myself to any rules or themes for December. No holds barred!

Please enjoy the December images for TIA’s "2014 : 365" Project. Each photo was taken on the date displayed. Unbelievably, this project has been completed with a success rate of 99.7%. This grade is based on the fact that I captured a photo on 364 out of 365 days in 2014. I suppose January 4th will be my day of photographic infamy! I am very proud and pleased with the execution and conclusion of Project "2014 : 365”. Like many generic new year’s resolutions, I thought this would be a project I would neglect by the time February arrived. However, true to my own character since childhood, when I am determined to do something, and state that I’m going to do it, I stand by my conviction and get it done. Doubtlessly, this project was achievable because it involved my favorite aspect of living life -- photography. I am already contemplating the project I will carry out in 2015, which will be 10 times more challenging than this one -- capturing 100 portraits of people who I do not know. This will be a complete departure from my comfort zone, but I’m ready. Thanks for visiting and viewing a year of my life on camera! (Admittedly, it will be strange when I wake up in 2015 with the realization that I no longer have a personal obligation to take a photo each day).