Trading Cards

Well, after nearly four months of shooting, I'm almost done the trading cards for the Toronto Police Mounted Unit, 2011 series. It's a labour of love- I donate my time for this project because I think it's important to foster police-community relations. In this case, so many children are collecting the cards whenever they see a police officer on a horse, it's great. They're reading about the officers and horses on the backs of the cards and learning little details about them all. It's a lot of fun working with the unit and they're always warm and accommodating. Over the past seven years of shooting them I've amassed a huge archive of images, everything from horses getting their teeth done to escorting the Queen's landau at the Queen's Plate. I've loved every minute of it.

Being a Toronto photographer in a sea of other photographers, I'm not gonna lie, it's nice to have that "Anne de Haas Photography" on the back of each of the thousands of cards, tiny marketing aids, but it's the little moments and memories with the unit that keep me doing this project year after year. Thanks to them all for trusting me and letting me into their day to day lives, it's been wonderful.