2019 a year in review

lensbaby » 2019 a year in review

01/07/2020

By Stephanie DeFranco

To read the previous years review, click below.

2013 • 2014 • 2015 • 2016 • 2017 • 2018

2010. I was still in college. One more year until the "real world".

And now a decade later, I'm in a place that I had only dreamed of being. Granted, a little bit different in some aspects than I thought, but for the most part, 2019 ended where I wanted to be. I have a job that I love and worked my ass off for. My relationship is strong though it's long distance. I work with a company that has given me opportunities that I only dreamed of. I've been published in multiple magazines and online blogs. I've produced art that has made a difference in people's lives, major companies have shared my work on their platforms, and I've even traveled to places to share my love for photography.

I've lost people that i've been close too. Watched love ones overcome sickness and walk back into the world ready to take on a new life. I felt heartbreak more then once and watched what I thought were friends move on with their life. I've been blocked on social media and been stabbed in the back with harsh words and actions. I've watch pets cross the rainbow bridge and adopted more fur babies into the family.

All of this to say that life isn't planned and you never know what can happen in 10 years, 5 years, or even 1 year and with that, let's take a look at what 2019 had to hold.

January began with creating one of my all time favorite self portraits!

It took more hours then I think I've ever spent on a photo and I'm super proud of how it turned out.

January 31st. My brother got down on one knee at Disneyland and pulled off one of the greatest surprises.

You can read about that here.

February continued with Disneyland in the rain but led to checking off a Bucketlist photoshoot.

I also moved out of my little apartment and into my grandparents old house.
It was definitely different being in such a giant house alone, but Jasmine and I snuggled and made it work.

March opened with working the Lensbaby booth at WPPI. I met so many talented people, and lasting connections across the country.
I got to talk all about the lenses I work with daily and share my love for this company with upcoming and seasoned professionals.

One of my Bucketlist items was to visit the Yayoi Kusama Infinity Room at Broad Museum at Downtown Los Angeles but when Dallas and I tried going it was booked 6 months out. So when i started researching Las Vegas and saw the Bellagio Las Vegas had one of their own in the Fine Art gallery, i knew i had to go. We got lucky and got tickets the day we went... Normally sold out or hours long wait. It was so amazing to see and experience.

March also included the launch the Lensbaby Edge 35.
This little optic has been on my want list for YEARS and when I found out they were releasing it, I was sooooo excited!
You can read about that HERE.

March into April I spent in Tallahassee with Dallas for his show, Mr. Burn's Post Electric Play.
I love watching him direct and see how much passion he emotes in what he does. And this show was nothing short of amazing.

April also led to adopting a baby sister for Jasmine. She wasn't too thrilled about it, but she has now taught her the ways of the birds and how to shit outside of the catbox.

I knew when I wanted a another cat that she needed to be calmer then Jasmine. Ella is completely different then Jasmine in that she loves to snuggle, wants to get under blankets with me, and loves to hide in the shadows. She's the most chill cat and doesn't care when people pick her up and love on her. She loves her sister and constantly follows her around. Ella is just a wonderful addition to our family.

May began with another themed session based around MY FAVORITE DISNEY MOVIE, Aladdin. BIG thank you to Aleena and Jacob for playing dress up and driving to Mescalero Sands to create these.

May was also super busy in the Lensbaby aspect for me. I was working with them to get photos ready for the big Omni Filter launch. I was lucky enough to be one of the featured artists alongside videographer, Patrick Lawler for this launch. I had received the Omni Filter in March at WPPI to test out while I was in Las Vegas and from there I planned multiple sessions and some behind the scenes videos around this new piece of gear. More on that later.

At the end of May, Dallas and I took a little break and headed to Mexico.
We signed up for several excursions that ended up being cancelled due to the weather.
But being on the water and with each other was the break we both needed.

You can read about that HERE.

June was the big release of the the Lensbaby Omni Filter!

You can read all about that HERE!

For the 4th of July, Dallas and I headed up to Taos with some of his friends for a getaway weekend.

The end of July...

My best friend and I headed to DISNEY WORLD for our 30th birthday!!

You can read about that HERE!

August was my birthday month!

HAPPY 30th BIRTHDAY to MEEEEEE!!!

See the full session HERE!

September was a month full of travel. We first started in Dallas, TX for Pinners Conference, and a ClickinMom photowalk.

Then flew to San Francisco for a day, drove up the coast through the Redwoods, and ended in Bandon, OR to see my grandparents.

A week home and the first of October, my mom and I headed to Denver to catch the Jonas Brothers concert.

BUCKETLIST CONCERT!

One day back and we were off to the Abq Balloon Fiesta.
This is such an amazing event that I hope everyone gets to attend at some point in their lifetime.

With so much traveling in Sept/Oct, it was back to the grind as soon as it was over.

At the end of October, I found out that I was getting published again with Click Magazine for the Voice Collection in the Love category.

You can see that HERE.

October concluded with the release of the Lensbaby Omni Filter Color Pack.

You can see that collection HERE.

October and November flew by with session after session and art show after art show.

December flew by quicker then any month of the year. But it started with another photo published.
This time in the Summerana Magazine that you can see here.

For Christmas, we all loaded up and flew to Portland to drive down to Bandon in a mini-van to spend the holiday's with my grandparents.

And to end 2019, I met up with some of my favorite people from Lensbaby and got the full tour of the Lensbaby Headquarters!