OutdoorType

With only a few days left to 2007 I am finding it a difficult to escape end of the year, retrospective, best of lists. Earlier today I began to wonder if I could choose my five favourite photos from the past year and, as it turns out, I can’t!

Maybe at this point I should mention how I like knowing the facts and figures of things. The knowledge that something is X times faster or Y times steeper than something else helps me put into perspective things of interest. Like, for this best of photo choosing exercise I made a spreadsheet (yes, this was nerd-like) to figure out how many different photo events I attended (a photo event in this case meaning an event for which I was paid – or should have been paid for – like a race or wedding).

The grand total? Thirty-one. Thirty-one “paid” events. Based on my rough calculations, that comes to nearly 83,000 photos taken. Which is a lot. Except guess what? I pretty much have a camera with me wherever I go and so I have taken a few more pictures on my own time, you know, for fun. So in total I have probably taken close to 100,000 shots this year of which maybe 25 – 32% made the final cut and were posted online someplace.

Hopefully that helps to explain why choosing my top five favourite shots of the year became a bit of a difficult task. In any case, my top five favourite shots from 2007 are:

Memorial Day

Memorial Day at Arlington Cemetery… I was there not for a photo op (though a camera was at my side just in case), but to visit my grandparents. As close as the cemetery is to my house I do not go often because twelve years later the loss still feels fresh. Standing there in Section 60 I can’t help but think of things they have missed, milestones that would have made them happy… the graduations, weddings, and great-grandchildren born. Holidays spent together.

My grandparents, I believe, are some of the last of the Greatest Generation to be buried in Section 60. This portion of America’s most hallowed ground is now reserved for the Baby Boomers and Gen Xers and Y who fight and die in the Global War on Terror. It was here, on Memorial Day, that I found families grieving at the site of their lost loved ones.

Keeping a respectful distance (far enough away that they might not hear my shutter click) I took a handful of images. Later, after processing them, I debated with myself about posting them online and nearly chose not to. Of course, I did post them and I’m glad for it. About 24 hours the woman in the photo above left a comment on Flickr. At first glance I thought perhaps I was in trouble, but after re-reading her note I realised that she was actually thanking me for capturing a special moment. These are the things a photographer loves to hear.

Cranky Crash!

Ok, I’ll admit it, I kind of had an idea someone might crash here… It happened on the first or second lap of a 12 hour mountain bike race when racers aren’t 100% sure of the course but are still pretty amped up with adrenaline. The guy carried his weight too far forward which resulted in a spectacular crash landing… Head crumpling into shoulders as he pile drives himself into the ground. Still, the guy managed to pick himself up and continue racing. You have to respect that.

Check out the full sequence. It lasts about 2 seconds from the time he hits the jump to the time he is sprawled out on the ground. As an added bonus, watch the sequence again but check out the reaction of the girl in the background. Priceless.

This photo was picked up for the Metro Sports Year in Photos feature.

Zombie Bride

Mmmm, Brainz… After missing the first DC Zombie Lurch there was no way I was going to skip out on this year’s event. A portion of the assembled ghouls danced to Thriller then the whole mob advanced upon the monument for a group photo (when in Washington, right?). To grab this on-the-move shot I had to get between the Zombie Bride and the undead horde, such as they were.

This shot is perhaps my most post-processed image, having run it through a couple filters to get the washed out post-apocalyptic look to the sky. Later it was picked as DCist Photo of the Day for Halloween. w00t!

Blurry Twighlight

Not much to say about this fairly simple shot except that of all the many photos of barns that I took this summer and fall this one is my favourite. On this day I’d shot barns for over an hour and was walking back to the car when I turned around to watch the last bit of light slink away for the day. I lifted my camera for one more go, turned off the auto focus, and relaxed…

Christmas Eve Full Moon (& Mars)

Going against family tradition we opened presents on Christmas Eve this year. Because our brand new GPS units did not work in the house (difficult to obtain a satellite, you know?) I followed my Dad and brother outside.

Hilton Head Island is really, really dark (even under a full moon) and makes for great night time sky gazing. Luckily I was able to set aside my new toy (the gps), and pick up an older toy (the 20D), lie down on the cold concrete driveway, and grab this hand held shot. To better see the ring around the moon I ran it through a couple post processing techniques, thus the greenish tint.

And yes, I could not pick just five photos. The runner’s up are as follows:

Red Dress Wonder Woman

Paddle Put In

el burro

Huckleberry Pumpkin

HB on the back porch

And an honourable mention goes to the many, many barn and field photos from this summer.

One last note, I think the fact that I took each of these images after May (and the majority between August and December) is not a coincidence. It is funny the things that can distract the creative process.