Favorite Images of 2021

This was one of the first images I captured in 2021, and it was by happenstance that I noticed this scene.  I had visited the area the day before and discovered a subject that would make for a nice photograph.  Arriving the next day, everything worked out as I had hoped for, and I captured the image I wanted.  As I began packing up my equipment to head home, I happened to catch this pine tree that began to look like it was glowing.  Without a moment’s hesitation, I set my tripod and camera back up to photograph it.  This picture isn’t so much about the tree.  Rather, it is about light itself and the contrast between highlights and shadows.  If the tree had been in complete shadow or in full light, I don’t think I would have even noticed it.

This is a very unusual image for me simply because I almost never photograph people.  If someone is in the viewfinder, I will wait (sometimes patiently) for them to leave.  But, when I saw this gentleman fishing from the bank of Lake Bailey at Petit Jean State Park, I just couldn’t let the opportunity pass me by.  Did this gentleman actually catch any fish that morning?  I don’t know.  But, he seemed to be enjoying the relaxing and peaceful morning, and that’s what matters.

I have always liked photographs that seemed to be captured in some fantasy world; I could stare at those photographs for hours and just let my mind imagine all the incredible things that must exist within that world.  I actually discovered this scene in a small area of another image I had taken a few weeks prior, a “scene within a scene,” so to speak.  I returned to the area a couple of weeks later.  When I arrived, a thick fog had formed that, combined with the slight glow of light, gave the scene a very fantasy-like look that I thought was simply amazing.

Autumn is my favorite season for photography, and I love it when things come together to create an image that epitomizes the season.  For me, this picture does just that.  It took me three attempts to capture the exact image I wanted.  In my first attempt, the depth of field did not have everything as sharp as I wanted.  On my second attempt, I tried to use a focus stacking technique to ensure complete sharpness, and, while that worked ok, it still didn’t look quite right.  On the final attempt, I used the smallest aperture on the lens, and that did the trick.

I photographed this scene in my front yard.   I had just walked back from photographing another tree at the end of my street when I noticed this area that is at the corner of my house.  Immediately, I was struck by all the various colors — the reds, the yellows, the oranges, the greens, and even the purples — and the way those colors contrasted with the tree’s large, dark trunk.  It embodied everything I think of when I think of Autumn.  I was expecting to have a few more opportunities for some Autumn photography, but, as it turned out, this was the last picture I was able to capture before the leaves fell and winter began to announce its imminent arrival.