2011 was an odd year… Photographically it seemed there was steady improvement and an increase in a couple higher paying gigs, but it seemed that I was not *pushing* myself as hard as in the past. This, will have to be rectified as the next post will cover my favorite photographs from other photographers over the past year I’ve been following who have brought their game.
I am not going to rank these images, but rather will talk about them in chronological order and explain why each one of them has made it into my years top images. Also, every year like this one, Jim Goldstein has a Best of Photography call where our photo peeps submit their best work and Jim compiles it in a single post. Its a great opportunity to catch up on the photography of a wide variety of people, particularly with an interest in landscape photography, so you have until January 7th to get your work in.
Onto the photographs…
The year started with a repeat photo gig down in Las Vegas that I’ve been going to in January for the past couple of years. That gig has so far not produced any images I am particularly fond of, but they have been keeping me in camera gear and end up generating lots of traffic for Jonesblog. At any rate, I figured that I’d try and piggyback a personal project to photograph some pilots and their aircraft right before being shipped off to patrol the skies over Afghanistan. Everything was going swimmingly well and I showed up on base with clearances and appropriate passes only to find out that the Air Force had changed their schedule and my shoot would not happen. I consoled myself with a little spot where the pilots were making low passes that were close enough that the shockwave of air moving over the planes shook me at the same time as you could feel the heat from the exhaust mixing with the cooling desert night. This was one of the photographs that emerged. I liked the action and drama from this shot.
This image of a cortical neuron was made while trying out a new approach for meso-scale connectomics. There is nothing really inherently new about the algorithm or how the data was processed, but the simple technique application could help out groups that are looking to track neuronal connections over larger distances. At any rate, the approach generated these beautiful images that really reminded me of charcoal and paper drawings, though this is optical microscopy data that has been processed to some degree to render the image.
This image was made while working on a manuscript that ended up being published on the cover of the Journal of Comparative Neurology. Again, this is not strictly a single photograph, but a photographic composite of a number of separate images that are computationally combined to create a composite image that reflects the concentration of small molecules in cells or tissues. The color of this image as well as the amorphous forms deliberately blurred, lend a sort of dreamy quality to the image.
One of the photographic themes I like to play with is macro photography. I’ve yet to make any money from *any* of my macro photography, but this one was the best macro shots of the year. This image is a focus stacked shot composed of 3 separate exposures stacked to reveal more depth of field. If I can make a few more of these, there may be a sale in one of the macro shots yet… I liked the even illumination (ring flash), the detail in the leaf and body of the fly.
This shot is here because it represents a sea change in photography. This shot illustrated to me that photography was getting ready to go through another revolution. I’ve had a few significant photographic changes in my life starting with a Kodak Brownie Box camera, followed by my first SLR then my first digital camera, an Apple Quicktake (deserves its own Jonesblog post sometime), followed by the first digital SLR of mine that produced images I was really proud of, a Canon 20d followed by my first “pro” digital SLR. Though what makes this image remarkable to me is that its a very good image produced by a small sensor in an iPhone and not a dedicated camera. I had started to integrate imagery from this blog made with the iPhone a little while ago, but recent revisions of the iPhone have made the imagery rather impressive for the sensor size. On top of that, while this image is literally straight out of the iPhone camera with no post-processing, the options for controlling that sensor with software signal to me, where photography is going in the future. Even more compelling from a photojournalism perspective, this image was taken and uploaded immediately to Jonesblog within minutes of it being made. The combination of good quality imaging sensors with communications devices mean instant communication of imagery from anywhere on the planet a cell tower data link can be achieved. I liked the atmosphere in this image, a combination of verdant green signifying hope, prosperity and bounty combined with the foreboding sky and dilapidated farm house giving a sense of post apocalyptic abandon….
This shot was my favorite portrait of the year. I’ve shot a few portraits, most of which have not appeared here, but a couple shots of colleagues have made it. That said, its my favorite of the year, not only because it features my favorite person on the planet, but also because of the casual informality of it. Technically, I was really, really happy with the shot, but not because every detail was planned out as I was shooting something completely different and for this shot, casually picked up the camera and made the shot, not really expecting anything to come of it.
Technically, this shot leaves much to be desired, but the challenges of getting the shot were considerable. It was the first Space Shuttle landing that I’d ever attended and that inexperience combined with some misinformation that the Shuttle would be landing after sunrise, the speed that it landed, the pre-dawn light (or lack thereof) and absolutely lousy press viewing area made for a very small window where images could have been captured. The action, appeals to me here though the blur on the parachute and high ISO noise is not quite what I had in mind… That said, its a historical image as it was the absolute last Space Shuttle landing ever and it somehow works for me.
This morning shot of the Bonneville Salt Flats was made during Speed Week, a time with lots of race cars out on the salt. But this image shows the desolate, yet fragile nature of the environment out there. There is something about the desert that has always appealed to me. The desolation, the stark beauty and *silence*… Though during Speed Week, there is not much that is silent out on the salt as the race cars engines echo across the barren salt flats during their high speed runs down remarkably flat surfaces. This particular image had remarkable color contrast (no polarizer on this particular shot. The sun was just in the right place) with the sky against the salt floor of the basin.
This grey heron (Ardea cinerea) seen in Baden Baden, Germany on the Lichtentaler Allee was one of the better quality bird shots I’ve been able to manage with the relatively short lenses in my bag. As this bird *slowly* walked up through the stream, he stopped in a beam of light that illuminated this grey heron against a very dark background, making the shot.
This shot of the Strasbourg Cathedral was made the evening of a very quick, stop in Strasbourg, France a few months ago. The skies had just cleared, going from grey to blue as the evening sun was starting to throw its light against the cathedral. I had hoped for a decent shot of the Cathedral with evening light, but had almost given up hope just 30 minutes before.
This shot from the Lockheed C-130J production line was made during a recent visit to the Lockheed Martin plant in Georgia. The aircraft are made from a variety of materials that have different color anti-corrosion paints and epoxies as well as coatings and materials that it makes for a vibrant palate that is forever hidden at the next step in the assembly line, paint. After painting, these aircraft are made to blend in to their surrounding environments with all grey or green color schemes.
These shots of the last lunar eclipse of 2011 were made from the Moran Eye Center in Salt Lake City as the moon set against a hazy morning sky. This was my first attempt at capturing imagery from an eclipse and hope the next one will be in a warmer season.
Update: Here is Jim Goldstein’s list:
From Jim Goldstein:
“This year we had an amazing turn out for the Best Photos of 2011 blog project with 289 entries, topping the results for best photos of 2010, best photos of 2009, best photos of 2008 and best photos of 2007! Participants spanned a spectrum of skill levels from hobbyists to professionals and covered a wide variety of genres including landscape, macro, nature, photojournalism, portraiture, event, wildlife, fine art photography and more. There are likely many names you’ll recognize below and many others you won’t. I highly recommend visiting each entry as I have. Even after 5 years of running this blog project I’m blown away by the talent of those that take part. It is truly inspirational to see so much creativity and beauty. If your curious to see photos I personally enjoyed look out for the entries with *** next to them.”
- JMG-Galleries Best Photos of 2011 – Jim M. Goldstein
- Dalal al-Dhubaib’s flickr – Dalal al-dhobaib
- www.mawpix.com – Matthias Wassermann
- 2011 Retrospective – Alex Wise
- Jon McCormack Photography – Jon McCormack ***
- Top 10 of 2011 a Exploring Light Photography – Chris Moore
- The year in review: My favorite 2011 Photos – Ed Rosack
- Dave Wilson Photography – Dave Wilson
- Top 10 from Behind The Clicks – Mohammad Noman
- Art in Nature Photography: Best of 2011 – Floris van Breugel ***
- Alaska Photography – Mike Criss
- My best photos from 2011 – Lasse Sørnes
- http://www.500px.com/photo/3230405 – Keivan Zavari
- My Five Best Images of 2011 – Peter Cox ***
- My Top 10 images of 2011 – Charlie Widdis Photography
- MY TOP PHOTOS FROM 2011 – Chaz Curry ***
- Best of 2011 – Juan Guevara
- Stories From Home – David Patterson
- My Best Of 2011 – The Photographs – Sven Seebeck
- The Uprooted Photographer – Zach Frailey
- Top ten wildlife photos of 2011 – Burrard-Lucas Wildlife Photography ***
- Eleven From Twenty Eleven – Jacob F. Lucas ***
- My ten favorite photos of 2011 – Stefan Bäurle
- Changing Perspectives – Jenni Brehm
- 2011 Top 10 Photos – Andrei Olariu
- Best Photos of 2011 – Ahmed Almuhairi
- Favorite Photos of 2011 – Pat Ulrich ***
- Top 11 of 2011 – Younes Bounhar
- Natural California – John Wall ***
- 2011 – A Review – Jim Denham
- yeeehah.com – William R. Bullock
- 2011Top11 – Kate Church
- Top Ten Photos of 2011 – Steve Cole
- Top 10 of 2011 – Brian Rueb ***
- http://www.davidjohnstonart.com/index.html – David Johnston
- 7 Images of Denver in 2011 – Neil Corman
- My Top 10 for 2011 – Lon Overacker
- Craig Ferguson Images | The Year That Was – Craig Ferguson
- My Best Images of 2011 – Clark Crenshaw
- “Sort of the best of 2011: ants – Jeroen Mentens
- Best Photos Of 2011 – Dawnstar Australis – Daniel McNamara
- Skolai Images – Carl Donohue ***
- Favorite 10 of 2011 – Alan Dahl ***
- Tony’s Blog – Tony Unwin
- Best of 2011_Laurie Rubin – Laurie Rubin ***
- FlixelPix Best Photos of 2011 – David Cleland
- Ilja Melnikov – Ilja Melnikov
- Best of 2011 – Rob Tilley ***
- Free Roaming Photography 12 Best Photos from 2011 – Mike Cavaroc ***
- Adventures Through the Lens: 2011 in Review – Rebecca R Jackrel ***
- Top Photos of 2011 by Gary Crabbe / Enlightened Images – Gary Crabbe ***
- My 10 Best Photos of 2011 – Michael Russell
- Digitized Chaos’ 2011 faves – Rian Castillo
- Top 10 Photos of 2011 – Mike Chowla
- John Fujimagari’s Best of 2011 – John Fujimagari
- 10 Best Landscape Photos of 2011 – Cody Duncan ***
- Best photos from 2011 – Janis Janums
- Best Photos Of 2011 – David Leland Hyde ***
- PhotogAbby’s Photoviews – Abigail Gossage
- Do Not Get On or Off While in Motion – G. Kaltenbrun
- Tony Wu’s Underwater Photography Blog – Tony Wu ***
- 12 Months – 12 Favourite Images – Petr Hlavacek | NZICESCAPES IMAGES ***
- Alpenglow Images | Greg Russell Best of 2011 – Greg Russell ***
- An End of Year Retrospective for 2011 – The Top 11 Images of ’11 – Derrald Farnsworth-Livingston
- 11 from ‘11 – Dru Stefan Stone
- William Neill’s Top Forty Images for 2011 – William Neill ***
- Dave’s Best Of 2011 – Dave Reichert
- 10 Best Photos of 2011 by Scott Thompson – Scott Thompson – Scott Shots Photography
- My best 10 images of 2011? – Duffy Knox
- My 5 Top Photos from 2011 and Photography Year in Review – Tommy Holt
- Russ Bishop Photography – Russ Bishop ***
- My Top 10 Favourite Images of 2011 – John Dunne Photography
- Asif Patel Photography – TopPhotos2011 – Asif Patel
- The Best of 2011 – Neil McShane (aka Mononeil) ***
- Top Nature Photographs of 2011 by Mark Graf – Mark Graf ***
- Year 2011 in 10 photos. – Filip Lucin
- Views Infinitum: Best of 2011 – Scott Thomas
- Dobson Central Photography – Top 10 Photos of 2011 – Ken Dobson
- “The Best of Myrmecos – Alex Wild ***
- Your Favorite Shots from 2011 – Fred S. Brundick
- Patrick Gensel – The Best Of 2011 – Patrick Gensel
- 100 Favorite pictures from 2011 – Patrick J Endres
- My Ten Favorite Photos of 2011 – Randy Langstraat
- KennethVerburg.nl – Kenneth Verburg ***
- Naturography: My Top 5 for 2011 – Mike Spinak ***
- Edith Levy Photography – 2011 A Year in Review – Edith Levy
- G Dan Mitchell Photography – G Dan Mitchell ***
- Jonesblog – Bryan William Jones
- Timages’ 2011 Top Ten – Tim Mulcahy
- naturalvision-photo.com – Derek Griggs
- Favorites of the Year: 2011 – Ken Trout
- Beetles in the Bush – Ted C. MacRae
- Chuqui 3.0 – Chuq Von Rospach
- Peter Carroll Photography – Peter Carroll
- My photos of 2011 – Frederico Quintao
- http://raptorgallery.wordpress.com – Glenn Nevill
- Best of 2011 – Brad Barton Photography – Brad Barton Photography ***
- Rocky Mountain National Park 2011 / Non-Rocky Best of 2011 – Erik Stensland
- My Favorite/Best Photographs of 2011 – Inge Fernau
- Best Photos of 2011 – Ryan Golias
- Best of 2011 – Larry Rosenstein
- Best of 2011 – Mellimage
- The Quiet Picture – Year 2011 In Pictures – Minna Kinnunen
- My personal Top 10 images from 2011 – Alexander S. Kunz / Daylight Colors
- 11 Best of 2011 – Olivier Du Tré ***
- Best Photos of 2011 – Jim Coda ***
- Living Wilderness: Best Images of 2011 – Kevin Ebi ***
- Oxherder Arts – Best of 2011 – Don Schulte
- my best images of 2011 – Rhoda Maurer ***
- http://www.stamates.com – Jim Stamates
- Organic Light Pan – Youssef Ismail ***
- Rick Diffley Photography – Rick Diffley Photography
- Best Images of 2011 – Robin Black ***
- PhotoWalkPro – Jeff Revell
- Highlights from 2011 – Roman W. Schatz
- Uncommon Depth – Roberta Murray ***
- TKM Journal – Highlights of 2011 – Kent Mearig
- Amanda Herbert’s best of 2011 – Amanda Herbert Photography
- Google+ – Umes Shrestha
- Anne McKinnell’s Top 10 Images of 2011 – Anne McKinnell
- Best Photos of 2011 – Jim Maher
- www.fredmertzphotography.com – Fred Mertz
- Top 10 Photos of 2011 – Ireena Worthy
- 11 in 2011 – My Favorite Photos – Debra Feinman
- 2011 Top Ten Plant Photos By John Manuwal Photography – John Manuwal
- www.azaelmeza.com – Azael Meza
- David Sharp – The Best of 2012 – David Sharp ***
- Looking back at 2011 – Ivan Makarov ***
- Best Photos of 2011 – Pete Miller – USKestrel Adventography
- My favorite 10 of 2011 – John Christopher
- Neil Creek – Photographer – Neil Creek ***
- JohnLPhoto Best of 2011 – John Lemen
- Momentary Awe – Catalin ***
- 2011 Top Ten – Andrew S Gibson
- “Crest, Cliff and Canyon – A. Jackson Frishman
- 2011 – A Good Year – Margaret Summers
- Favorite Photos from 2011 – Richard Wong *** – Richard Wong
- latoga photography – Favorite Photos of 2011 – Greg A. Lato
- Looking Back – 2011 – Derek Fogg
- My Photo Blog – Ron Niebrugge’s favorite photos from 2011 – Ron Niebrugge ***
- My 10 Favorite Photos of 2011 – Dan Bailey ***
- My 11 favorites from 2011 – Kurt M. Lawson Photography ***
- Happy New Year – Lori Ann Cole
- My Top 10 Mixture – Ashley Cottle
- Google+ Beach Photography – Jennifer Brinkman
- Top 10 images of 2011 – Denise Goldberg
- www.azaelmeza.com – Azael Meza
- Erwin Kessing Photography – Erwin Kessing
- The Closing of the Year – Eustace James
- Mark Feenstra Photography: 10 Favourites from 2011 – Mark Feenstra
- Best Photos of 2011 – Ingo Meckmann ***
- Dynamics of Light and Shade – Richard Murphy
- My 20 Best from 2011 – David Maurer
- Top11 2011 – Patrick Ottoy
- Best of 2011 – David Edenfield
- Little Time Machine – This was 2011 – Pete Carr
- The Owl and the Wildcat – Jen Joynt
- Best of 2011 – Alison Wells
- My 2011 Best Nature and Landscape Photographs – Steve Sieren ***
- Best photos of 2011 on Flickr – Jono Hey
- Best Photos of 2011 – Ken Snyder
- Best Photos of 2011 by Ilya Genkin – Ilya Genkin ***
- My best of 2011 – Terri Jacobson
- Piya Trepetch Photography – Top Ten Images from 2011 – Piya Trepetch
- My Best 10 Pictures for 2011 – Barbara Newson
- Woo’s 2011 in Pictures – Gary Woo
- My (Possibly) Ten Best Photos from 2011 – Jim McCoy
- Favorites – 2011 – Daniel Leu ***
- Closescapes Favourites From 2011. – Marshall Black
- Nature and Landscape – Small Choice 2011 – Ben Schreck
- http://wernerpriller.wordpress.com/ – Werner Priller ***
- Peter de Rooij’s Top 10 for 2011 – Peter de Rooij
- Best photos of 2011 by ISIK MATER – ISIK MATER
- Best Photos of 2011 – ysvry
- Focused Planet Photography – Justin Scicluna
- Best of 2011 by Carl-Johan Rådström – Carl-Johan Rådström
- Western Skies Top 11 From 2011 – Björn Göhringer
- My Best People Shots – Matt Goode
- Darin Rogers Photography: Best Of… – Darin Rogers
- http://www.juzno.com/ – Rob Castro
- Remembering 2011 in Photos – Aaron Hockley ***
- Favorites From 2011 – Brad Mangas ***
- Robb Hirsch Best of 2011 – Robb Hirsch ***
- Best Photos of 2011 – Sathish Jothikumar ***
- My best underwater photos 2011 – Suzy Walker ***
- Year 2011 in review and favorite images – QT Luong ***
- “10 From Michael Toye – Michael Toye
- Photoimagery.net – Peter McCabe
- 2011 – Our Favorite Images of the Year – Isabel & Steffen Synnatschke ***
- ylitalot.net – Juha Ylitalo
- Top Ten Photos of 2011 – by Brian Grzelewski – Brian Grzelewski
- Jim Nickelson Favorites of 2011 – Jim Nickelson
- 2011: My Top Ten Images – Michael Frye ***
- My Top Images of 2011 – Andrew Kee
- Favorites of 2011 – Simon Ponder
- 2011’s Top 10 Picks – Vidya Narasimhan
- My Top Ten Favourites from 2011 – Adriana Glackin
- Top Ten of 2011 – Fedor G Pikus
- Best Photos of 2011 – Hady Moslehi
- Mara @ Fantasia – Photo Round up of 2011 – Mara Acoma
- My Journey through 2011 – Kevin Thornhill
- My 10 personal favorites of 2011 – Marleen Hallaert
- Favorite Photographs From 2011 – Seung Kye Lee ***
- Best Photos of 2011 – Michael Gerken
- Simple Photography – Jay Shah
- My Top Ten Photos of 2011 – Mike Isaak ***
- http://lensmankc.com/?p=811 – Amit Jung K.C
- baliultimatephoto.blogspot.com – Hendra Wiguna
- My Favourite photos from 2011 – Alan Owens
- John Dusseault’s top 10 of 2011 – John Dusseault
- Favorites of 2011 – Plastic[Picture]
- Farsighted – Ron Artigues
- Google Plus – Darren Harmon
- Bill Hornbostel Photography – Bill Hornbostel
- Korwel Photograpy blog – Iza Korwel
- Favorite Photos of 2011 – Elizabeth Brown Photography PhotoBlog – Elizabeth Brown
- 2011 Highlights – Alan Grinberg
- TJTPhotography.com – Ted Truex
- Thamer Al-Hassan Photographer – Thamer Al-Hassan
- Top 11 of ‘11 – Brian Arnold
- Looking Back – 2011 Top Ten – Jessica Sweeney
- Light Coming Back – Favorite Images of 2011 – Jennifer Durham
- My Favorite Landscape Photos of 2011 – Joshua Cripps
- Favorites Photographs from 2011 – Sudheendra Kadri
- João Almeida Photography – João Almeida
- Le meilleur de 2011 – The Best of 2011 – Francis Gagnon
- Five Pictures for 2011 – David Lloyd ***
- Ian Ference – Google+ Top Photos 2011 – Ian Ference ***
- Marcin P?kalski – Google+ – Marcin P?kalski
- www.thephotographerblog.com – Mandy Jones
- My Top 10 of 2011 – Clement Biger
- russell.tomlin at Flickr – Russell S Tomlin
- Yosemite – Sheldon Neill
- My Top 10 shots for 2011 – Greg Berdan
- Best of 2011 – Dan Baumbach ***
- Top Photos 2011 by Mark Dodge Medlin – Mark Dodge Medlin
- The Carey Adventures – Peter West Carey ***
- http://www.wildernessadventureimages.com/ – Michael Burkhardt
- “Looking at the West – Andrew McAllister ***
- Photos and Ramblings by Steve Mattheis – Steve Mattheis
- My Favorite Photos of 2011 – Brandon Doran ***
- Shanti Gilbert – Best Of 2011 – Shanti Gilbert
- “10 of 2011 – David S. Ottavio
- Best photos from 2011 – Mark J P
- Heather’s Flickr – 2011 Top 10 – Heather Wallace
- Ben Chase Photography – Benjamin Chase
- Hypo-theses – Ian Stimpson
- “Best photos of 2011 – Robert Kusztos
- “Best of 2011 – Anton Huo
- Best of 2011: JMG Gallery – Stephen Zacharias
- Flickr Best of 2011 – Esther Reyes
- My Top 10 of 2011 – The Siggins Photography – Richard Siggins
- Andrew Benson | Best of 2011 – Andrew Benson
- http://www.johnpaulcaponigro.com/blog/ – John Paul Caponigro ***
- Google+ – Jim Davis
- Beckmann Images – Best of 2011 Images – 500px – Matt Beckmann
- Google + – Paul Conrad
- Avelino’s Best of 2011 – Avelino Maestas
- JMK Photography’s Best of 2011 – J. Krasner
- Rob Dweck’s Top 10 From 2011 – Rob Dweck ***
- www.myFedoraPhoto.com – Neal Fedora
- Best of 2011 on Google+ – Robert Mann ***
- My Top 10 Best Photos from 2011 by Matt Suess – Matt Suess ***
- My Favorites from 2011 – Michele Wassell
- My Top 10 Images of 2011 – Tom Bushey
- A Selection of Favorites from 2011 by Christine Hauber – Christine Hauber ***
- Favorite Images from 2011 – James B Martin
- Kauai 2011 – Sharon Willson
- “Best of 2011: Top 10 – Mark Hespenheide ***
- shirley lo photos – shirley lo
- Google+ – Christina Lawrie – Christina Lawrie ***
- My Ten 2011 Faves – Rich Greene
- Sunset at Vizhinjam – Agnisoonu K
- Gary Randall Photography – 2011 – Year in Review – Gary Randall ***
- 2011 faves – Anthony Chiong
- NewmanImages: 2011 in Retrospect – Jay and Sue Newman
- My 11 favorite pictures of 2011 – Marc Perkins
- My Best Images of 2011 – Vaibhav Tripathi
- My Best Shots 2011 – Annika Ruohonen
- Top 11 Photos of 2011 – Shane Srogi ***
- Wolfcats Top 10 images – Wolfcat
- Alexander Filatov Photography – Alexander Filatov ***
- Wendy Baker Photography Best of 2011 – Wendy Baker
- My 6 best of 2011 – Patrick Smith
- randomfire: The best of 2011 – Ramin Miraftabi
- Closing California Parks – Eliya Selhub ***
- MY BEST OF 2011 – Stan Rapada
- 2011 Top 10 – Kyle Jones
- 2011 Studies | Best of 2011 – Oskar Bruening ***
Special Thanks To Oskar for his technical contribution to this list!
Great recap. Happy 2012!
To you as well Kris. Looking forward to some more of your photography from your travels around the world.
Great write up !
Thanks man! We should schedule a 2012 coffee meeting for sometime in the near future.
These are really beautiful. I covet some for backgrounds… do you have larger-resolution versions available (specifically time and space, salt flats, and strasbourg)?
Hey Mike,
Thanks. I typically only make 600pixel wide images available on Jonesblog. Its too often that I already see images being used online without permission, licensing, etc… and having higher resolution images here would only make that issue worse. I do violate that rule from time to time however…