I’m furiously working away on a black and white series that I’m submitting to my church for their Holy Week “Walk to the Cross” so there’s no time to shoot, edit or print anything else. I realized as I was thumbing through some old images that I don’t think I ever showed you my favorite sunset of the past year. It happened in November and was a series of changing tones, colors and moods all rolled into one dazzling night. Here are a few of my favorites from that night…
I always thought I was a pretty observant person even before I started my obsession with photography but, time and time again, I find myself marveling at things that have been around me my entire life - always one step removed from my sight.
Take this tree. I noticed it for the first time last winter and had to actually ask someone “What are all those little balls hanging from that tree?”
Apparently, this is how walnuts are made. Go figure. 
I went outside right before sunset today and looked over the roof of the house to the tree limbs on the other side. They had this reddish cast to them and were weirdly backlit so I shot a round off and brought it into the house to see what I could do with it.
I ended up adding a “Midnight Glow” action to it and this is what I ended up with. I think the color combination is rather ethereal and that pretty much describes my entire afternoon.
It seems that many of the photobloggers I read are putting out their “Top Ten” this morning so I thought I’d give it a shot. I bought my Canon Powershot S3 IS back in January, getting me as close to a DSLR as I could afford at the time and it has definitely done its job at helping me take my images to the next level. Then, in late summer, I bought a copy of Photoshop Elements 5, took an online course and bought the indespensible book, “Photoshop Elements: The Missing Manual” and that also helped me take another step forward by changing how I post-process my images. By the end of the year I was adding actions and presets into the mix and now I’m just beginning to see all the different ways I can creatively take an image I see in my head and make it come out looking uniquely my own.
This next year I am going to do everything I can to get my hands on the Canon 40D and a few prime lenses and continue to delve into learning Photoshop layers.
Here, then, are my pick of my top ten images of 2007. (To see my top 100 shots for 2007, head over to my Flickr page and view the slideshow!) *Click on images to see the full size photographs.*
My favorite macro shot of all my flower images, this one just filled the frame with upclose detail.
My favorite butterfly image from the 200+ I shot at the Butterfly festival in Powell Gardens on an August afternoon. I cannot wait to go again next year!
This has to be my best cloud photo of the year. It was used by Stanford University for their brochure announcing a new weather major at their school.
Gotta be my best sunrise image for 2007. The golden tones just blew me away that morning and it’s luminosity shined through in this photograph.
My favorite plant photo of the year. Love the bokeh on this one and the contrast between the soft leaf and the hard-as-nails thorns.
This has to be one of my best insect macros of the year. I love the bokeh on this one as well as the detail of the tiny hairs along his legs.
I hate snakes…but this one got me over my fear as he posed for my camera in the driveway of my home. This is the first snake photo I’ve ever taken where I didn’t cringe when I first saw it.
I’m a leaf girl…no doubt about it. It was a three-way tie for my favorite leaf image this year but this one won, hands down. The texture of the mud against the texture of the leaf sealed the deal as I found it lying in the parking lot of one of my nearby state parks.
This one is probably more sentimental than anything else. I have access to squirrels 24/7 what with the 16 trees in my immediate backyard and this image really did it for me this fall. I was so happy with his expression, the angle of the shot and the great bokeh in the background.
My favorite black and white of the year, this was my second favorite leaf image of the year. It was my first attempt at taking a color image and converting it to black and white using PSE and I was very happy how it turned out.
And there they are…the ten best of 2007.
This time of year the light of dawn and dusk take on special qualities that you really only find between November and February (at least in my neck of the woods). November proved to be a beautiful month for both sunrises and sunsets and I added many new images to my collection just watching the sun do its thing.
This was the last sunrise of November; I took it on my way into the office. It was a really nice way to start the morning…
So, technically, this isn’t the greatest photograph ever taken. In fact, it was a quick one shot deal with little-to-no-editing. It’s not complicated in process or aesthetics but, I don’t know, I just like it.
I can’t help but wonder…if I think the view of IT was good from down HERE, what was the view for THEM like up THERE?
I almost missed it again tonight. Caught on the wrong side of the tracks as a coal train pulled through town, I came within minutes of missing another beautiful autumn sunset.
Finally, the train pulled out and I made it down to watch a stunning display as the sun slipped quietly down into the waters of the Missouri River.
