A Year of Miles, Memories, and 70,000 Photos

January

This year kicked off with more travel than I’ve ever done before. January started with a trip to Vancouver, BC to photograph bald eagles with my good friend Viktoria. A pretty epic way to begin the year.

The rest of the month was spent closer to home in the Canadian Rockies, with multiple back-to-back multi-day private workshop bookings that rolled straight into February. No easing into the year... just full send right out of the gate.

I was able to finally get a photograph of a Lynx and get a great shot of one of the wild horses as well.

February

February was a blur of workshops mixed with being fully immersed in Ten Peaks Designs. We landed a massive wholesale order for several stores, which meant my days were spent designing, cutting, and gluing… so much gluing. Equal parts exciting and slightly overwhelming, but a really big moment for the business.

March

In March, I headed up to Jasper to see how the landscape had changed after the fires. This was my first time back since July 2024, and it was emotional to witness both the destruction and the resilience of the area.

Between a few workshops, I was once again... gluing in any free moment I could find.

April

April brought our first market of the year for Ten Peaks Designs: the annual Easter Market in Invermere. This also meant we officially kicked off camping season and took our Boler camper trailer out for its first adventure of the year. Markets + camping = a pretty solid combo.

May

May is where things really ramped up. I looked at my calendar and realized that once May started, I basically wouldn’t have real downtime again until the end of the year.

It also marked my first flight of the year, which took me to France to photograph the white horses of the Camargue. This was my first time visiting mainland Europe. I spent the entire trip trying to hide my very French last name (Lefrançois) because… I do not speak French. With a name like that, I feel like I should, but here we are.

This trip was filled with firsts:

• First time driving a BMW

• First time seeing flamingos

• First time seeing so many different bird species

• First time almost hitting a wild boar on an early-morning drive to the airport

That last one wasn’t as fun, but my night-driving + wildlife reflexes are top notch, so we survived.

After France, I returned home for a few more weeks of multi-day private bookings around the Rockies. Then, at the very end of May, I forced a family vacation to Vancouver Island.

My boyfriend, his mom, and Loka the husky had never been to the West Coast or seen the Pacific Ocean, so I planned a trip that included everyone—including my pup, Tuzo. We towed the Boler and spent just over a week camping and exploring my favourite spots: Tofino, Ucluelet, China Beach, and Botanical Beach areas. I wanted to give them a nice overview this first trip. Running with the dogs run on the beach and seeing the mossy forests made the whole trip.

June

June started with more multi-day private adventures in the Rockies (a very popular booking type this year), before I packed up again and headed to Iceland. I spent two weeks photographing the midnight sun, which was amazing even though it was rainy. I got a new drone for this trip, the DJI Mini 4 Pro. It was great to finally visit Iceland with a drone!

From Iceland, I hopped over to France again with a brief stop in London (I didn’t leave the airport, so… does that count as visiting England?). This was a scouting mission to Provence for the lavender fields. Unfortunately, Europe decided to deliver a full July heat wave early, with temperatures hitting 40°C. Challenging? Yes. Part of the adventure? Also yes.

July

After returning home, I had a few days of private workshops before packing up again this time for my first-ever flight to the USA.

I’ve driven into the States plenty of times, but this was my first experience flying within the US. I cleared customs in Calgary, so when I landed in Seattle and walked straight into the domestic terminal, I genuinely felt like I’d snuck in.

This trip also involved my most connecting flight route yet: Calgary → Seattle → Anchorage → King Salmon

Destination: Brooks Falls, Alaska, to photograph the brown bears. And WOW! This experience is really hard to put into words—it was absolutely unreal.

Between Iceland and Alaska, I made the switch to a Canon R5 mirrorless setup. I knew I wanted mirrorless for Alaska to make sure I didn’t miss a thing. I borrowed some long lenses and ended up taking 16,000 photos in one week. For context, my usual yearly total is around 20–25k. Completely outrageous.

August

After returning home in early August, I almost immediately headed into the backcountry to one of my favourite places on Earth: Lake O’Hara.

I got to bring my boyfriend back there again, this time staying at the Elizabeth Parker Hut and sleeping in the backcountry with a bunch of strangers. I’ve done this several times, but sharing it with him made it extra special. We hiked, saw endless wildflowers, and slowed down for a moment—before I was off again on a week-long private booking with challenging weather but stunning landscapes.

Several more single- and multi-day bookings carried us through the rest of August.

September & October

September brought some new local adventures when I had the chance to host and local guide some group tours for a couple of tour companies. It was amazing to share my home with so many people and watch them experience it for the first time.

Fall seemed to last forever this year (a dream), which was perfect for the multi-day private adventures booked through late September and into mid-October. I squeezed in a short break to attend the Thanksgiving Market in Invermere for Ten Peaks Designs before diving back into workshop season.

November

The end of October turned into a mad scramble preparing inventory for Ten Peaks Designs ahead of the Banff Christmas Market. Then, at the start of November, I flew to Texas for two weeks to photograph the Bayou swamps.

Those two weeks were deeply transformative, that was spent on the water, surrounded by scenes that felt like an entirely different world. Before this trip, the furthest south I’d ever been in the USA was Cannon Beach, Oregon.

December

Once home from my final plane trip of the year, I had three days to recover before setting up our new booth for the Banff Christmas Market. What followed was four busy, wonderful weeks of creating animals, singing Christmas songs, and selling our animal ornaments every weekend.

Now, at the end of the year, I’m reflecting on just how full and fast it all felt. I’m wrapping up the year with just shy of 70,000 photos—which honestly blows my mind.

I don’t know what next year will bring, but I am incredibly grateful for this one. The last several years have been a struggle, and this year felt like a turning point.

Thank you to everyone who joined me on an adventure in Banff and around the world. You helped make this year what it was, and I’m endlessly thankful that I get to do what I love for a living. 💜

-Much Love, Dani