The 400 Project

One of the most amazing things about smartphone technology is that we always have a camera at our side ready to capture any event we deem worthy. With a simple click of a button we can save a moment to look back on and remember forever. But how often do you actually look back?

Some social apps give us the ability to share our most proud moments for the world to see, but most of our photo’s – and memories – just wind up taking up space on our phones.

All credit goes to Ben who came up with the great idea to celebrate the end of 2016 by creating an article showcasing a look back at the past year through the camera roll on his phone. Sounded like a great chance to reminisce, so I decided to follow suit.

This exercise gave me a reason to go back and relive those moments I valued enough to hold onto photographic evidence. What I found was that I had plenty of photos still to share, and a lot more memories made than I would have told you off the top of my head.

Here are my top moments/experiences of 2016:

January

Having had a hard time controlling myself on boxing day, I took this photo to showcase all the great games that I had to play in 2016.

February

I hijacked Matt and Ben’s plan to meet their favourite author Pierce Brown. Having not read any of his Red Rising series of books, I was a little out of place, but still had a lot of fun. I ended up buying the trilogy to get them signed. Now I am working my way through and loving them. This was a great introduction to a new series.

March

First time experiencing New York City. For one crazy week of urban exploring, I was able to see a fraction of everything going on in that amazing city. Check out my other post, Welcome to New York, for more shots of my time there.

April

The month of concerts. Getting out to experience Silverstein and Underoath live again after a few years was amazing and rejuvenated my love of music.

Have to post two photos for this month because I cannot leave out my first Blue Jays game. The seats were not the greatest, but it ignited my passion for sports. Without this moment my year would have been significantly different, and I would likely not be the same person writing this here today.

May

An impromptu drunken night where Ben and I brainstormed ideas that led to The 400 Project. Overindulging can lead to great things sometimes as long as you can work through the jumbled notes on your phone the next day. Can’t tell you why I was taking photos of us, but I am glad that I captured something from this night.

June

My fiancée and I won some tickets to experience the Graze the Bench wine event. The tour featured eight wineries and lots of great food/drinks. It was our first time at a wine tour so it was interesting to see the wineries and learn more about the process… while also drinking in the results.

July

Canada Day Jays game was amazing, albeit very hot. Like I said before, without attending that initial game on a whim, this would have been a very different summer.

August

The 400 Project launch was a big accomplishment for 2016 so I had to feature a shot from our launch weekend camping trip. This was a great night of reminiscing, sharing ideas, and looking forward to our future projects.

September

Fan Expo 2016 was a great time as always. It is fun to see the cosplay, experience the games and vendors, all while surrounded by nerd culture. You can find more of my thoughts on the event here, but if you are a fan of sci-fi, fantasy, comic books, movies, or TV, then check it out in 2017.

October

One of the nice parts about having people visit from out of town is that you get to spend time exploring your own city. We had one of these weekends during October, which lead to us experiencing the Ripley’s Aquarium for a second time.

November

Sometimes an opportunity presents itself and you need to take a chance. This is a shot of the cake my coworkers got for me on my last day before moving on to a new opportunity.

December

Something I wasn’t expecting to appear on here. I was given tickets to attend a couple World Juniors games this week. I hadn’t followed this tournament before, but this was a good way to get out and experience it. And for those living in Toronto who like hockey but can’t afford the ridiculous Leafs ticket prices, this tournament is a much more affordable way to see some really great hockey.

That’s my list! 12(ish) memories that I captured on my phone over the past year. Some photos were better than others, but all represent a time that I wanted to keep with me.

Looking forward to starting over again in the new year.

Now its your turn! Take a look back through your camera roll and share your best memory of the past year in the comment section below.