A little late into Feburary, the January 2011 self-portrait is here. (It’s been a crazy few weeks!) I caught a glimpse of my reflection in a window while shooting an event recently, snapped only a few hours before the January 2011 blizzard began.

The December self-portrait brings the project to a close for 2010. Doing this project proved to be more of a challenge than I expected, especially for someone who makes their living on the other side of the camera. But it was also a great exercise in creativity and making something happen even if I wasn’t “feeling it.”

I’ve been going back and forth on whether to continue into 2011, and I think I will. If for no other reason, it’s a unique way to look back at the year. With each year comes new challenges and changes, many of which manifest themselves on our faces 🙂 So maybe by looking back at a year of self-portraits I’ll also be able to see the late nights spent awake with the new baby, or the joys of a family camping trip, or even the freedom of a recent motorcycle trip.

Feel free to join me on this project for 2011. It doesn’t take a fancy camera or any special software. Several of my shots from 2010 were taken with an iPhone and point-and-shoot. It’s about the documentation, not the technology. You don’t even have to post them online if you don’t want to, but if people are interested, maybe I’ll make a Flickr group for the project. Let me know if that’s something you’d participate in.

In the meantime, have a look back at my 2010 self-portraits. Enjoy.

All images are self-portraits by Woodstock, IL portrait photographer Ryan Klos.

January 2010		July 2010
February 2010		August 2010
March 2010		September 2010