Author: Jen Annau

In 2019, I started a community map project. I had sought the help of a friend who does beautiful photography to take pictures for the map. That year was a busy time for him and we kept rebooking. Before long I was running out of time.

I had planned sessions with the Community Leagues and the Castle Downs Recreation Society to add key places to the map and set up a few sessions in the YMCA lobby to catch community members and get a wider perspective of which routes they would like to see for walking. I was given large maps I could draw on, sticker and worksheets to sort out the information I was receiving. After looking through all the suggestions, I was able to take the most popular ideas.

These are the large maps provided that I was able to use for consultations

I had a lot of the other work for the project already together, the write ups on the communities were done with the help of other community members, paths and significant points of interest were discussed through community engagements and now all that was really left were the photos. I needed to get all the pieces to the city who were putting it together quickly as they were looking at closing the project soon.

This is when I “forever” borrowed my sweetheart’s DSLR camera. My friend had made sure to inform me of what to set the camera on to get photos that had a large enough file to use for printing and my sweetheart quickly ran me through the basics of how to use his DSLR. Off I went with my fingers crossed.

It took me a few different days to go around the community and take the pictures I was looking for. At the time I was experiencing foot issues that limited the amount of time I felt comfortable on my feet. So I would head out after work, walk for a bit, drive to another area and sit for a bit before walking again. I took hundreds of photos in each spot, playing with the settings on the camera until something showed up in the little preview window that seemed clear.

I would arrive home as the sun went down, download the photos and start playing around with them. Out of all the photos, only a few of them were of decent quality. I picked the best and began playing with the exposure, vibrancy, and saturation. When I submitted the photos along with the rest of the project, the person who I had spoken to complimented the photos and was happy to see they were saved in a high enough resolution that they would be suitable for printing in this project. I was ecstatic. This fueled me to pick up the camera on a regular basis and improve my skill.

Looking back, seeing where I have come with my photo taking skills over the last few years, I am excited to see how much clearer my photos have become and how much better I have gotten with the manual setting. It’s amazing how much you can learn from doing.

Follow my Instagram @jen_annau to see my favourite shots and find out some of the stories behind the pics.