One of the things I like to do at this time of year is look at the images I have taken over the past year.  It is a neat way to look back  and remember.  It also stirs some pretty emotional memories both good and bad.   The image above is one I did on the “Asbury Shoot” this Summer and it is one of the images I didn’t use at the time because it just didn’t appeal to me.  Maybe it is because I am missing the green grass and warm breezes of Summer that I decided to use it today.

I shot a total of 3,397 images in 2010.  I suspect it would have been a lot more because there were a large number of images that got deleted off my hard drive after I looked at them.  That’s saying a lot for me because there is something about an image (even a really bad one) after I have captured it that makes it special to me and I don’t like to delete them.  Even though I would never show them to anyone.  🙂

This is my favorite image for 2010.  There wasn’t even a close second.  I had thought about this image for a couple of weeks before shooting it.  I hadn’t even told the kids about it.  I had it all set up, even with a soft box for kicker lighting when they came over for dinner one evening.

I guess you could say this is my favorite retro look black and white.  The one below would have to be a close second.  Funny thing about the one above is I was not going to use it at all until I decided to do it in the retro look.

This image I captured on the way to one of our banks after the first snow fall.  It really lent itself to B&W and that was what I was thinking about when I shot it

This is my favorite pure black and white image.  This was taken inside the retreat deck house by the pond at our friend’s home .   Becki and Steve Kent have such a lovely, wonderful place on the Lazy K Farm.  Jeanne and I just love to go there and relax.   Lots of pictures to take there as well.

I experimented a lot with HDR (High Dynamic Range) photography this year.  Above is my favorite image (mainly for the colors.)  It was really difficult to choose my favorite in this category because some of the HDR images were pretty dramatic.    That is what I really enjoy about HDR  you can do so many different looks with it and run the gambit from surrealistic to really detailed images.

This is one of the images of the Nativity (from the 5 in the HDR Range.)  Because of the lighting conditions I couldn’t expose for the highlights without losing the detail in the shadows and if I exposed for the detail in the shadows the highlights are blown out.  Therein lies the beauty of HDR.  You capture all the values of the luminance range.

Without a doubt this was my favorite color image of the year.  This is pretty true to what I saw.  Okay I punched up the sky a bit but and enhanced the shadows but it is pretty close to what I saw.

I could go on for another hour.  There are so many images that have a story but then again I would loose your interest in a matter of minutes.  Obviously the birth of Joshua Michael was the highlight of the year.  I like this Grandpa stuff and I can’t wait to teach him things that will drive his parents crazy 🙂

A lot of sadness in 2010 as well.  The loss of Krista Grant was extremely difficult for me.  She was a trusted friend and a source of much inspiration.  The loss of Ed Tubbs was also hard.  Ed’s positive attitude, will to live, and can do spirit was a powerful lesson in perseverance.

Of course the loss of Jeanne’s Father, John Andreae was a blow to all the family.  Especially after seeing him in such good spirits on Christmas day.  My very favorite image of John was one I took of him in his living room on his birthday.

It was the first year of our marriage and I had made John a Pitching Wedge and he was just thrilled with it.  He was swinging it in the living room and I captured the swing, and his smile with my 35mm camera.  I made an 11 x 14 inch photo and framed it for him and it will be displayed at his visitation this afternoon.  I wish I could find the original to post.  Maybe one of these days.

Well that’s enough looking back.  As a good friend once said to me during a particularly difficult time, “Don’t look back too long or you’ll loose sight of where you’re going.”

I wish us all a happy and prosperous 2011.  Thanks for stopping by.