I recently saw a blog post where the photographer shared his favorite photos from the previous year. It dawned on me that I should do that. The point is not so much to say, “Look at these great photos,” but it gives me the opportunity to share about specific photos, and what I like about them. When I started this blog, the photos were always intended to be a major part of each post. However, I know that as one looks at a post it’s easy to just flip through the photos in the slide shows, especially if you are short on time. So this post gives me a chance to take you back and note some photos that were significant for me. I know it’s March already, but I hope you enjoy the review of 2022.
Our first trip of 2022 was down to Seaside, Oregon for a long January weekend. The weather was actually quite nice for most of our time. One of the places we visited was the Lewis and Clark National Historical Park just outside of Astoria. The park had recreated Fort Clatsop, the small fort which the expedition team built for the winter. Inside one of the rooms there was a skull with antlers sitting on a shelf. A squirrel was running around it, and I managed to capture this photo. I just found the subject so fun and interesting. It’s not the best photo technically, but it makes me smile whenever I look at it because of its unusual subject matter.
The next photo was taken in the evening at Seaside. We had some magnificent sunsets the nights we were there. The colors were amazing, and I took a lot of photos. However, I struggle with sunset photos. I don’t want the colors to be too strong and look unrealistic. If you want to check out the sunset photos click here for the post. This photo is not a sunset photo as such but one can see the evening glow. However, what I particularly like is the foggy atmosphere. I have always liked that look in a photo, and this one captures it better than most I have taken.
My next trip was in February with my daughter Andrea. We drove north from San Jose, California along the coast and then spent a few days exploring the redwoods. The California coast was beautiful, but I wasn’t very satisfied with my coastal photos. I was having trouble with the light being too bright so I just wasn’t that happy with my shots. However, I did like some of my photos from the redwoods.
The one below I set up. It reminds me of photos of the area I saw as a child. I got out of the car, and Andrea slowly drove the car while I shot some photos. She was unhappy with me, however, as she thought I should be shooting the photo vertically to catch the height of the trees. She’s probably right, but I still like this image, and the nostalgia it brings me.
Because the redwood trees are huge, it’s good to have something to compare it to for perspective. Often I think I want a clean nature shot, no signs of human activity. However, often having a person in a photo can really add perspective which is why I like this photo. Again it doesn’t show the height of the trees, but it definitely gives a perspective on the width of the trees.
I was home only about a week when my wife and I left for El Paso, Texas. One of the excursions we took was to visit three old missions in the area. The photo below is of the first mission, Mission Ysleta. I have always enjoyed the Spanish mission buildings. However, this one is a bit unique with the unusual dome shape on the right side. To me it looks like some kind of a 50s space capsule with a cross on it. Because of that, I really like this image with its unique building.
The photo above also has a pretty clean front, It’s pretty simple. There is a genre of photography that pushes a minimalist style. By keeping a very uncluttered photo the image can have a big impact. I have always like images like that, so when we visited White Sands National Park in New Mexico, I had in my mind that I would be able to capture such an image. I did. In fact I have three images of this sort, but this is my favorite. The two small people walking add to the sense of isolation and vastness to the image.
Another element I like to look at in photos is clouds. To me clouds can add a lot to an image and change a photo from so-so to really good. In New Mexico we had some really nice high clouds, and this photo is as much about the clouds as the mountains. I don’t usually convert photos to black and white, but I felt this one would highlight the clouds better in black and white. What do you think? I used the color picture in my blog post, but I like the black and white better.
Only a month later I was boarding another airplane. This time Andrea and I were headed to Belgium and the Netherlands. The tulips had been calling Andrea for a long time. We first stopped in Belgium, and there I captured some night photos of the city of Ghent. I really like the golden glow in the photos. It’s another example of how shooting photos at night can give you a more interesting photo than shooting in the daylight. This one is my favorite of the night photos I took. I used a version of it for my cover photo on my post about Ghent.
Of course the main reason for our trip was to see the tulips. I took a lot of photos. I took photos of individual flowers as well as sections of the gardens. It was hard to decide on a favorite photo, but I kept coming back to this one. Visually they say three are best. Perhaps that’s why I like this one, and yes, they are tulips.
The other interesting and unique thing in the Netherlands is the windmill. We visited an area where there were a number of windmills, and of course I took photos from a lot of different angles. However, my favorite photo is not of the windmills, but inside the windmill. It’s just a photo of a random work area, but it gives the antique feel of the windmill which I really like.
When summer arrived, my wife and I decided to visit nearby Whidbey Island. We had been there on occasion but had never spent a long time exploring the island. The first favorite from this trip is a clear statement about our trip. The photo was taken at Greenbank Farms. I love the clean lines and bright red color. It’s a very eye-catching photo. In fact this one is on my wall.
My final photo was also taken on Whidbey Island at Fort Ebey State Park. We had never visited this park before and stopped by in the evening. We found ourselves in a beach area with a few boats out in the water, and some great clouds in the sky. With my telephoto lens I was able to capture the image below. I changed the color slightly making it more an aqua color. In this case the clouds make the photo, but it also has that minimalist feel I like.
So there you have it, a dozen of my favorite photos from places far and near. This year has been a slow start for travel, but it is about to pick up so stay tuned. The battered suitcase will be packed soon and ready for more adventures along with more photos to share. In the meantime your comments, likes and shares on social media are always welcome.
Credit: The cover photo of me was taken at Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico by SIlvette Lee