Favorite Images of 2022

 

At the end of each year, I like to go through all the photographs I have made for the year and pick my five favorites.  So, here, in no particular order, are my five favorite photographs of 2022.

 

Spring Leaves

 

 

When I discovered this image, it was early spring, and I had stepped outside to find out what my dog was doing.  He had gone quiet, which, just like a child, usually means he’s doing something he shouldn’t be doing.  As I walked out to my front porch to figure out what kind of trouble he might be getting into, I happened to look down and see some green spring leaves just inches from my porch that had popped up seemingly overnight.

Studying the leaves, I was intrigued with the lines and curves they created and used my 100-400mm lens to fill the frame with the leaves.

As for my dog, he made his way back to the front porch acting as he had been a good, well-behaved boy the whole time.  I’m pretty sure I don’t buy his story.

 

Winter Trees

 

 

Mother Nature can be quite the prankster.  We had experienced two weeks of Spring-like temperatures in the 70s and low 80s.  But, that ended rather abruptly when the temperatures suddenly dropped into the 40s and low 50s.  Still not too bad, but I much preferred the warmer weather.  Then, the snow moved in, and my world turned into a winter wonderland in a matter of hours.

Coming home early from work, I saw this group of trees in my yard that had become a winter forest.  I couldn’t park my truck fast enough.  The day was turning to night, and the heavily overcast sky was speeding that process along.  Running inside, I quickly changed clothes, grabbed my gear, ran back outside, found a location to set up my camera, and photographed this scene.

Then, I realized just how much snow was coming down and how hard the wind was blowing.  In my haste to photograph these trees, I had forgotten to grab a pair of gloves, and my hands were starting to go numb.  But, this image was worth those few moments of discomfort.

 

Mums

 

 

This image taught me an important lesson — photography is a process, and the process should not be rushed.

Sitting on my front porch one night, I noticed these mums my wife had planted and thought they could make for a very nice photograph.  The next morning, I was excited to get up and photograph them.

Normally, my photographic process is very rushed, especially from the standpoint of considering composition.  When I come away with an image that works, I usually feel it is more the result of luck rather than actual intent.  But, on this particular morning, I decided to really slow myself down and take my time, focusing on getting my composition just as I wanted it, and then determine the necessary exposure settings.

It took me about 15 to 20 minutes to take this one photograph, but it was time well spent.  And, it was a lesson well learned.

 

First Signs of Autumn

 

 

When I took a week off from work, I saw no reason to just let that week go to waste, so I headed out to do some photography.  My first destination was Petit Jean State Park.  I was hoping to find some Autumn colors, but the information I had said that wasn’t very likely.  Regardless, I headed out to see if I could at least find some beginning signs of the upcoming change.

Walking the trail that winds along the top of the canyon that is home to Cedar Creek and Cedar Falls, I came upon a small rock outcropping.  Stepping onto it, I saw nothing but green leaves.  Disappointed, I started to turn to leave, but, as I did so, I happened to notice this one particular scene in which there were some leaves just beginning to make their annual transformation.  I quickly set up my gear, framed the composition, and pressed the shutter button.

 

The Last of Autumn

 

 

This is a scene I drive by nearly every day on my way home from work, but I had never really noticed it.  But, in late Autumn when all the leaves on the surrounding trees had dropped, this one small section really jumped out.

My biggest challenge was the wind that would intermittently blow and rustle the leaves.  Given the low light level caused by the early morning overcast sky, the f/10 aperture, and the 13 second shutter speed, keeping everything in the image tack sharp was essentially impossible.

I ended up getting pretty lucky with this image because the wind stopped long enough for most of the leaves to stop moving.  There were a few near the top of the picture that showed movement because of the wind, but I thought they added a nice abstractness to the overall scene.