Photos – The Best Of 2011

2011 has been good to me in the form of photography and adventure. I started the year off with a trip to the Adirondacks to climb New York’s highest Peak: Mount Marcy, Then in April, I made my first ever trip to Yosemite National Park and despite the rain, Had a blast. Then in August I completed one of my dreams and crossed the United States in my car. I have had the opportunity to create some pretty fantastic images this year, And today I want to share my favorites with you. I’ll show you the photos and give you a little back story on each one. So go grab a glass of wine or your favorite bottle of scotch and enjoy.

1. Crater Lake Panorama

While I was traveling the country for several weeks in August I visited many places. Mount Rainier, The Hoover Dam, Arches National Park, but one place that was not initially part of my plan was Crater Lake National Park in Central Oregon. While I was at the Summer Outdoor Retailer Show in Salt Lake City, A friend asked me if I had planned on stopping at Crater Lake National Park. At the time I hadn’t even thought of that one. I put it in my mental “Maybe” list and continued on my way. After a fantastic but tiring summit of Mount Rainier, I decided I would do something relaxing. That’s when I decided to head to Crater Lake and ended up shooting this wonderful panorama.

 2. Land Of The Golden Sun

In August, while traveling the country, I spent a few days with my friend Eileen in Ventura, California. One night around sunset we went for a walk along the boardwalk area. A little ways down the beach we noticed a rock garden of sorts in the sand. The stacks of rocks ranged from a few inches to a few feet tall. With the golden light of the sunset as a backdrop, I saw this as a perfect opportunity to create a silhouette of these peculiar rock stacks. So I got on the ground and used the largest stack in my field of vision to block the sun and this image was born.

3. The Globe

In one of the rooms at my parents house lives the most beautiful reproduction of an old style globe. I had a little trouble at first figuring out how I wanted to frame it and light it, but after a little deliberation I knew that it needed to be framed like this against the wall which complimented the old look of the globe thanks to the color of the wall.

4. Blind Find

Next to photography, Climbing is one of my favorite activities so it is no wonder I enjoy shooting it so much. This was shot on a route called Gemstone in Northeast Pa. Prior to this climber climbing the route, I climbed a route to the top and perched myself on a protruding feature near to this route. Fortunately the sun was to our back which helped minimize the harsh midday light. Here the climber blindly reaches for a less than fantastic hold on his way up the way.

5. Lady A

In November of this year I picked up a gig shooting freelance for the local newspaper. I have been fortunate to be receiving exciting assignments. On a recent assignment I had to shoot a few shots of the country band Lady Antebellum for a review that was to be written. Though it wasn’t the one that got printed, this is one of my favorite shots from that event. I really like the well lit performers and the dark almost liquidy background.

6. 2317

The Steamtown National Historic Site has been a place that has always been close to home, but it took until just recently to get there. I was amazed at how much history and knowledge I found there. Oh and did I mention all the beautiful classic trains. This photo shows Engine 2317 in a storage bay in the roundhouse. The light being cast through the windows paints the side of the engine in beautiful light showing off the numbers well.

7. In The Spotlight

This was quite possibly my favorite paid photo gig ever. I was on assignment for the Citizens Voice at the Mohegan Sun Arena for Arenacross. I originally only planned on staying for an hour or so to grab the shots I needed for the assignment, but I was so enthralled by the action that I ended up closing out the event with nearly 900 photos. Standing right down on the track with the action made this such a great experience. In this shot, one of the riders is being tracked by a spotlight to dramatically introduce the event. I have the face of the rider focused and the rest of the shot blurred to show motion.

8. Crossing The Mississippi To Freedom

During my July/August/September trip of epicness I stopped in St Louis on my pilgrimage west. In this shot, my friend Bill is being contemplative as he walks along the muddy banks of the Mississippi River. I chose to make this photo black and white because I feel that it conveys emotion better for this scene. There was also not a ton of color in this shot to begin with.

9. Last Train Home

Earlier this year I began playing a bit more with model photography. Tessa was one of my first subjects. We shot around northeast, PA exploring our options, and this train trestle happened to end up in our list of locations. here, Tessa leans nonchalantly against the railing and gazes into the distance.

10. The Gingerbread Man

Christmas lights and bokeh (The shaped created by out of focus lights and shallow depth of field) seem to go hand and hand. I decided that the week before chirstmas I would play with this concept. Mr Gingerbread Man here cordially agreed to be my subject for this shot. This was shot with my 50mm 1.8 lens.

2011 has been a great year for me. Full of growth as a person and a photographer. This list is by no means a complete representation of my favorite photos of this year, but I decided to limit myself to only 10 for this post. for more of my favorites for the year, check out my Best of 2011 Albums on Google+ and Flickr and be sure to add me as a friend on both. For more of my day to day adventures, follow me on Twitter. And last but not least, have a safe New Years Eve and an exciting and prosperous 2012.

-Patrick