My Shot of the Year---Girl with Cherry Blossom Bloom

My favorite shot of the year is this shot from last April of a young lady in Washington DC taking pictures of the cherry blossoms near the Tidal Basin. Her dress matched the look of the blossoms, especially after the application of a filter that brought out the colors. I think I missed the peak bloom or perhaps it was a weaker bloom this year as there was a late cold snap that took away from this past year's display, but this shot made up for it, at least in my opinion. My two granddaughters disagree, not liking that I took a picture of a stranger. For me, the light, the pose and all the pedals scattered over the ground made up for the fact that you can't see her face, which isn't the point of the picture anyway. I knew I got the shot when I saw her go for her own shot of some of the pedals. Maybe the kids are right but this is still my favorite shot for 2019. Hope you enjoyed all the shots this year. More to come, hopefully, in 2020!

Shots of the Year--Tulips in Springtime

Since it is winter again in Chicagoland, I thought it appropriate to post a Shot of the Year candidate from back in the spring. Just missed the peak of the tulip festival in Wisconsin but we got close. Love the greens and reds.

Shots of the Year--Sunset in the Red Rocks

Caught the sun just about to set over the mountains and through the trees (no Grandma house, though) in the Red Rocks Canyon National Conservation area last February.  Love the different colors in this shot with greens, yellows and deep blue in the shadows. The Red Rocks area is always good for a couple of Shots of the Year. This year was no different.

Shots of the year--New York Standing Tall

Finally got a chance to visit the top floor viewing deck earlier this year at Freedom Tower in New York City. A little pricey to get up there, but what a view. I also love the video that plays as the elevator goes to the top floor. The walls of the elevator are all video screens that sees the island of New York go from rural to increasingly urban as time progresses. Pretty cool effect. When you get to the top it is a live view of modern day New York City. Anyway, this shot is looking towards the Empire State Building and all the new construction going up around it. Looks like a whole row of buildings standing tall and proud.

Shots of the Year--Sports

For me, sports shots are mostly about racquetball. The pros come into Chicago once or twice a year and this year was no exception. I got a number of great diving shots and the three shown here are my favorites. I also visited my niece, Emily, for a women's college baseball game in which she pitched for her Oberlin College team. Great game and a fun time for the family. I like that I got the ball between the fence hoops on its way to the batter. Hope to visit Oberlin itself this year for a home game. However, the sports shot of the year has to be in the competitive upside-down diving category, where my nephew Joe Davern, Jr., was the sole entry into the event. Got Joe Jr on his way down into the pool. I hope it wasn't a belly flop. That would be painful--but worth it for a shot of the year award. 

Christmas Tree at Home

Merry Christmas everyone. I think Cheryl did a real good job on the tree this year.

Shots of the Year--Madison Square Park Bench in Winter

A sudden snow squall brought some quick snow to the streets of New York City last week. That allowed me to get a cool looking and rather stark view of some park benches in Madison Square Park near where I was staying in Chelsea. The snow came and went quite quickly but left the only view of a white Christmas that we will see this year. The temps will reach 53 this week!!! Wow. I was looking for a shot with a Christmas feel to it. Couldn't come up with anything from the catalog unless this shot has some deep meaning which I can't fathom. Does this shot say anything to you? I can see it as depressing or maybe it is a shot with an old time feel to it. I can't decide. Merry Christmas, in any case.

Shots of the Year---Rattlesnake Ridge

I don't know if this is really, really good or really, really bad. I hiked up Rattlesnake Ridge with Sammy Wroblewski in November from the parking lot in the bottom left in this shot up to the top of this ridge. It took about an hour to get from that spot up to the top. A good, tough hike. I carried my expensive mirrorless camera all the way up there and took a bunch of shots along the way and at the top. However, the one I liked the best is this cell phone shot that I took to share with Cheryl to tell her where I was. Without realizing it was from my cell phone, I included this in my "shots of the year". I always say it when asked, "It's not the camera. It's the eye and being in a good spot to get a good shot". Can't get this shot from the parking lot. So, the best "camera" is the one you have with you, even if it is just your cell phone. Those camera are getting better and better anyway. Anyway, cell phone or no, I like this shot of the mountains in the background and the view down the valley. Very cool place and thanks to Sam for taking me there.

'Tis the season

Getting close to the end. Only got 42 emails this morning telling me that maybe I can still get something online delivered by Christmas. Or at least by New Year's. This is a shot of the Naperville Christmas tree, which is on a lot that apparently is going to have an office building on it next year as the sign for a notice for a public meeting is right next to the tree. Apparently, this public meeting is so important that the sign couldn't be moved a few feet. Oh well, the tree is quite beautiful, reminding you that the sale for whatever item you really don't need is not going to last long. They will never sell such item again---until the New Year's blow out sale of the year. What can I say? 'Tis the season.

A Choir of Puppets

What can I say? I am a sucker for taking shots of puppet choral groups. From a pop up shop in Madison Square Park in New York City. Lots of shoppers out last week. I don't know about the shopping, but the eating was good....

Shots of the Year--Just grillin'

I don't know what year this was, but this Buick Super 8 was really sweet. Talk about a grill that goes for days! Saw this car while walking with my cousin Mark, who is well versed in car culture, around the Joliet Motor Speedway for the Street Car Nationals this past June. Love these massive grills. Definitely, a shot of the year contender.

Lone Tree in Black and White

Not all my favorite shots were in color this year. This tree in the Lisle Arboretum from last winter was pretty stark to begin with and made more so with a switch to black and white. Love the cold feel to this shot, appropriate to the day and season as I am in New York today and it is 12 degrees out. Tough to get around in a city that is geared more to walking than driving. Here is a cold shot hoping for warmer days soon!!!

Shots of the Year--Mount St. Helen from the air

Got to fly over Mount St. Helen's this past April and see the top of the mountain from the side as we flew over. Such an impressive sight. Got lucky on the window seat. Usually, I am on the side that can't see anything or I am in the aisle as it is more comfortable. You have to be willing to sit in a cramped window seat once in a while to get good shots. Can't imagine what it must have been like to see that thing blow. The close up view, the snow and signs of life with trees growing back up the sides, puts this one in the Shots of the Year folder.

Model Portfolio--Shots of the Year

I got to shoot with a couple of professional models this year in various places around the country. Always fun to work with pros. They know how to strike a pose. Usually, I don't post these shots as I didn't hire the model or set up the shots but with these models, I did get a chance to work with for a few minutes on my own and so I count these as my shots. If I didn't hire the model or set the pose or the lighting and I just stood in line to take a shot, it isn't really my shot. Here, I was able to get a bit of my own take and use my own lighting. So, these count. Anyway, all were great to work with and I feel these deserve to be in my 2019 best shots portfolio. 

Christmas Tree at Fourth Street Live

I'm not sure if this should be in the "best shots of the year" list but it is Christmas time and I wanted to get in a few holiday shots. So, I interrupt this best shot list with a little Christmas cheer from Fourth Street Live in Louisville. I am not sure how "live" Fourth Street Live actually is, but it was an early Tuesday night in early December, so hard to tell. Might be more live on the weekends. I hope so as I don't want to see these downtowns empty out again. At least Louisville is making an attempt to fight back and keep its downtown alive. Plus, you have the whisky tours and those draw in the tourists. Personally, I picked a bad time to do a Dry December. Oh well, maybe next time....

Shots of the Year-- Red Rocks in Snow

I got to visit the Red Rocks area twice on a week long trip to Las Vegas in March. The first trip caught the last of the snow in the area. As you can see, the mix of colors aren't red in this area, these are mostly older, yellow rocks. The reddish rocks are younger but in many places they have been pushed up over the older rocks. I got 6 or 7 decent shots in this area that are in my 5 star collection for 2019. Hard to take a bad shot when you have such beauty in front of you. The trick is to try to find a shot that tells a story since the camera limits the field of view to a great extent. Here the story is still about color. The white snow, blue sky, yellow rocks, green trees and a little red on the lower bottom rocks all give an interesting perspective to the majestic rise of the hill in the muted afternoon light. The rise in the hill just says "power" to me. Such amazing force must have worked to push those rocks up. So, this is one of my favs for the year.

Shots of the Year--Sagurao National Park

This is the time of the year when I try to clean up my photography portfolio and see if I have any 5 star shots taken during the course of the year. Getting harder to find 5 stars as you want to add shots that are only your absolute best. I like this one taken way back in January of last year at Sagurao National Park in Tucson. It is a good representation of the park with lots of the types of vegetation that you find while walking around. I got to three national parks this year (the Everglades and Cuyahoga National Park in Ohio being the other two). Not a bad year for National Park travel.  Sugarao is actually two parks, one on each side of Tucson so maybe that should count for more? Anyway, love the colors and the mountains in the background so this is a winner, at least for me. Imagine trying to walk through that if there were no paths around? No thank you. Glad we saved these old Sagurao trees as they grow very slowly and live a long, long time.

Behind the Falls

One of the great features of Silver Falls State Park in Oregon is that on the Trail of 10 Falls you get to walk under and behind a number of the falls on the hike. This is the North Falls and the shot is taken from a cavern under the falls. Quite cool and dark there and I bet it is a welcome relief on hot summer days. I was there a few weeks ago on a cool fall day, perfect for hiking. The hike is supposed to be 7 miles but I was at about 10 miles on my watch and only got to see 4 of the falls. You get a lot of steps going up and down to each of the falls. The shot bellow is a 4 or 5 shot composite to show more of the walkway behind the falls. Interesting view of the falls from that location.

Classic Oregon Coast rain forest shot

I love this shot. This is what the Oregon Coast rainforest looks like. Spanish moss everywhere. Lots of green. Misty blue light in the background. Cool area to hike. From Silver Falls State Park outside of Portland.

Fall Color, Spanish Moss and Blue Water all on the Oregon Coast

According to most guidebooks Silver Falls in any other state would be a national park. However, in Oregon it is just a state park and an amazing one at that. You were supposed to be able to do all 10 Falls in one day but I found that hiking up and down to each falls really takes a lot of time so I was only able to get to 3 of the falls in the half day that I was there. Great hike and well worth the drive from Portland to check out the area. This view brings in some fall color and some classic Spanish moss on the trees (which is not really a moss but that's the name), which is just everywhere in the Pacific rain forests along the coasts. 

I'm adding a second shot of these same falls as I will never get through all of my favorite shots of this hike doing this one day at a time!!! So, here is another view that I like:

Velociraptors are coming

Every time I see this shot on my computer (and I saw it when I shot it), I say to myself, "Watch out. The velociraptors are coming". This looks like the scene from Jurassic Park where the velocriaptors come out and kill one of the bad guys. They rustle right out of the ferns. That one lone tree truck sort of looks like a Velociraptor tail....watch out...from Jurassic Park or rather, Silver Springs State Park not too far from Portland.

Silver Falls State Park, Willamette Valley, Oregon

According to most guidebooks Silver Falls State Park in any other state would be a national park. It is called the best state park in Oregon and it did not disappoint. You were supposed to be able to do all 10 Falls in one day but I found that hiking up and down to each falls really takes a lot of time so I was only able to get to 3 of the falls in the half day that I was there. Great hike and well worth the drive from Portland to check out the area. 

"My boat is the white one....

This is a sunset view taken from my balcony window a couple of weeks ago in Marina del Rey. All I can see is a jumbled mess of masts and boats in the water. Marina del Rey hosts over 4,000 water crafts, most of them are white for some reason.