My Favorite Images of 2013 (or 13 images for 2013)

Just like everyone else, when the end of the year draws near I look back at the previous 12 months and the adventures I had. Reminiscing is a way to see how far we've come and the accomplishments we made. It also helps us look forward and make plans for the upcoming year.

Looking back at the previous year, I saw a good times with good friends. A new venture start up and a new technique to play with. In all, it was a pretty good year and I look forward to the next year.

There were so many great adventures and images that went with them, I found it hard to narrow down to these 12. More often than not, it's the story behind the image that makes it a favorite of mine.

1. Radiator - My business venture begins! I took clients out on the 1st Trail Turtles Adventure to Opal Creek in Oregon to teach them the fundamentals of photography. Opal Creek is a remarkable area with old pieces of equipment lined along the trail to some beautiful waterfalls. We were working on depth of field with this radiator.

2. Starfish - I hiked out for a weekend of sleeping under the stars on the Washington Coast with a friend. I got up early the following morning to catch sunrise reflected over the Pacific Ocean and as I meandered along the tide pools, I was able to get close to several sea stars. I love the curves of this guy's arm over the rocks.

3. Sunburst over Big Four - Mid-Winter snowshoe with good friends, what more can be said?

4. Iridescence - I led a photo outing to the Butterfly Pavilion at the Seattle Center during the dreary days of a Seattle winter. I used a diopter filter to get really close to the wings of the butterflies. I just love the sparkling blue.

5. Cherries and the Capitol - For a couple of days every April the cherry blossoms turn the gardens around Washington's Capitol building a light and cheery pink. I went to the sundail on the south side of the building and lined it up with the entryway for this image. This is 3 exposures blended together and a lot of patience as people walked back & forth.

6. Roasting Hotdogs - Each summer, I lead hikes for the Conditioning Hiking Series from the Mountaineers. And every summer we have a campout filled with hikes, laughter and food. Fond memories for the making.

7. Mt Adams over Snowgrass Flats - When people ask why I enjoy backpacking so much, I have a few stories to tell and images such as this to show. By the way, my tent is the cream colored one on the left.

8. Cradling Rose - Of all the images I came back with from my vacation in California, I love this one. I have started working on garden photography more and more this past year. I think it's my mom in me. The cradling aspect of this rose is comforting to me and exciting, as if there is a world to be discovered in its embrace.

9. Kayaker in the Mist - Sometimes the celebrations in life aren't your own, but for those in your life who you love. My sister bought her first kayak this year, the girl who kicked and screamed when you tried getting her into open water, so afraid of it she was. She discovered kayaking and fell in love with the sport - I love the symbolism of her kayaking out of the mists of fear into a world of opportunity.

10. The Pink Room - I think there is a little bit of me left in Montana. I love exploring the towns and countryside and cry everytime I leave.This was taken in an old building in West Glacier, an abandoned apartment above the train depot. It's simple yet to me speaks volumes of the people who braved the west. 

11. Reflections - What's a year without some abstract fun? This is the Seattle Great Wheel reflected in the waters of Elliott Bay.

12. Dungeness Lighthouse - This year I learned about blending textures. This just so happens to be one of my first.

13. Penderoy - I love this little town in Montana. Since my introduction, I try to plan a trip here each visit to the area. I went out for sunrise this past summer and played on the open prairie as the sun colored the morning clouds.

So these were my favorites this past year, which were yours?

The Road before You

It snowed recently in the Seattle area. When it did, I got up early and went for a walk with my new camera. Near my home is a wonderful pathway. On sunny days, it is often crowded with walkers, dogs, strollers and bicyclists. Today there were very few people out in the snow and chill.

As I walked, I stopped and photographed simple scenes of winter. And felt pretty special walking out in the snow with hardly anyone else around. A few tracks in the snow revealed that I was not the 1st to pass this way, plus a bicyclist had ridden along the trail at some point in the morning. What a hearty soul they were.

I took my time. I had nowhere to go except forward. So I kept going.

Then I looked down and realized the snow was unmarred by footprints. I would be the 1st to tread here. I would be walking in fresh snow. There's a thrill to walking in fresh snow - to go where no one has gone, to have this pristine world in front of you ready for your adventure.

I stopped to absorb the moment.

I would be making my own trail.

And I stopped again.

What a great metaphor.

I would be making my own trail, here as in life. I get to decide where I walk and where not to walk. Isn't that cool? As with this trail, as with my life and my photography. And yours too. You get to walk down your path and make it your own. You get to decide how to live your life. You get to choose what your photography will be.

No one can live your life for you, nor can they tell you how to live it. Neither can they tell you which direction to take your photography. You get to do that.

There is only 1 right path and that is for you to decide. It's often scary, we'd love to follow in someone else's footsteps to know we are going in the right direction. But ultimately the right direction is for us to choose.

Detours are ok, too. You can join and follow others along the way. Others will follow you. Ultimately, you will know how these events and experiences were beneficial to you and others. But again, that is for you to decide.

It's all about you.

Are you ready to walk into the fresh snow?

Break out of your Comfort Zone

Admittedly, I like my comfortable places. My big squishy chair in the corner of my living room beckons me every night when I arrive home. I curl up in my chair, wrapped in a blanket to contemplate the day's events. Whenever I've had a rough day, it is to my chair I go to relax and refresh. And then there are days I sit in my chair and never want to get up.

Photography can be kinda like that.

We all have our comfort zones in photography, the styles and subjects we work with well and could photograph blindfolded. (Not really recommended unless you want to break into art images.)

For me, it's flowers. I can "fall" into the details of a flower with my camera and let its petals wrap around me like that blanket in my chair. Flowers are my go-to subject when I don't know what else to photograph or how to treat a scene. Or when I'm just being lazy.

On the flip side, we all have those styles and subjects we feel entirely uncomfortable with. We stress over the idea of photographing in these situations and find our "niche" so as to avoid them. It's so easy to say, "Thank you for the compliment, but I'm really a nature photographer. Here let me give you the name of a friend of mine who is really good at family portraits. I think you'll be very happy with her."

But if we always take the easy road, will we ever grow as photographers?

It was with this thought in mind when a friend mentioned she should have me come over to photograph her grand-daughter. I said, "I'd love to." And then I gulped. I had only photographed one other baby. What do I do?

What if I mess up? What if I just can't get the baby to behave? What if she doesn't like the images? What if I drop the camera . . . on the baby? What if, what if, what if.

What if I stop fretting, do some research and show up at the session with a smile on my face? Aren't those better questions to ask? So I did and kept reminding myself that it will be ok. No matter what, it'll be ok.

In the end, I'd like to say everything turned out wonderfully, but the light was a little off (luckily I knew how to deal with that) and the baby fretted and fussed (mom and dad knew what to do there). At one point we put the blanket over mom and had her cradle the baby - something I thought of from some very creepy images I had seen in my internet travels.

Even though the photo session wasn't perfect, it was fun. We all had a good attitude and enjoyed the afternoon. Oh, and grandma loved the pictures.

Is it time to become uncomfortable in your photography?

Tree in Solitude

"I live in that solitude which is painful in youth, but delicious in the years of maturity." - Albert Einstein

I read this quote from Albert Einstein and almost passed it by, before scrolling the page back up to look at it again. Then I imagined this tree, hunched over the canyon rim of Dead Horse State Park in Utah.

How fitting.

I had spotted this tree years ago on a trip to the southwest. The setting was simple - nothing in the background to distract except a dark grey sky. It was a vision of solitude. As a sapling, it must have struggled and fought for every inch gained for its roots and drops of water. Wind must have buffeted the poor young tree, threatening to tear it from the cracks in the rock. Maybe, if it had  other trees surrounding, the elements would not have been so harsh. Yet the tree withstood to grow in maturity with strength and beauty.

How many times in our youth do we yearn for someone to stand with us against the elements and when we turn to look for someone to buffer us we're standing alone? The only action we can take to survive is to dig in and hang on to our vision, beliefs, and selves. And in time, we too grow into our beauty and strength. We find we can stand on our own.