bees,  flowers,  landscape,  sunrises,  sunsets,  trees

A Few Favorites

January 1, 2013

At this time of the year a few photographers begin posting their best images from the past year, something I’ve never done. Well, I thought I would look back over the year and pick what I considered are my best. I started adding images to a quick collection and by the time I went through the year I had 67 images in my collection. I’m not that good so I turned off the computer. This was not going to be easy.

The next day I made a pass through these 67 images and dropped it down to 48. Waited for the next day and repeated the process until I had whittled it down to these 12. I finally just picked one image from each month. It was more difficult than I thought and not because I have that many good images. It occurred to me I was selecting images I liked and not necessarily the best or of the highest quality. I therefore changed my criteria to select the ones I liked, my favorites, rather than my best. Some are HDR images as I played the software and the one image of the flowers and bee was taken with the G12, everything else was with the D300. Even after posting these images I will want to add others and delete these. Never satisfied.

Oh, and Happy New Year. I do hope the coming year of 2013 is good to you and your family. Happy shooting. 🙂

Retired. Having fun shooting Fujifilm cameras. Journal daily. Meditate daily. Learning haiku. Have a love for fountain pens.

23 Comments

  • Paul

    January 1, 2013 at 7:27 am

    Well, Monte, you did a fine job. In selecting the list, I think that “best” is synonymous with “best liked” 🙂 Unless, of course, you are talking about the best shots “technically”, but who cares about that?!

    A very nice list, Monte! 😀 Happy New Year!

  • Cedric Canard

    January 1, 2013 at 12:48 pm

    Nice selection Monte. I find it interesting that they all work so nicely as squares too even though none were composed that way. 2012 was obviously a most creative year for you. I wish you an equally creative and happy year for 2013.

    • Monte Stevens

      January 3, 2013 at 9:06 am

      Thanks, Cedric. I never noticed that and another reason to have fellow photographers see our work. I hope you have a good 2013 and for some camera magically show up with your name on it.

  • Earl

    January 2, 2013 at 8:29 pm

    Monte, certainly a beautiful group of photos! I really struggle with this selection process so I usually just don’t do it.

    Hey, let’s hope this new year continues finding us all making images we like and enjoy. Best wishes!

    • Monte Stevens

      January 3, 2013 at 9:11 am

      You again are right, Earl. I’m actually excited to see what I find in my view finder in the coming year. I also expect a few more images of those grand-babies.

  • Mark

    January 3, 2013 at 7:43 am

    Monte, what you described as your process is very similar to mine – only instead of doing it all at the end of the year, throughout the year I drop images into that collection. But slowly, I start to narrow that collection down. I also care little about if I think they are my technical best, and some personal favorites may outweigh some that are better technically.

    I don’t really have a good reason why I have stuck with 10 favorites. I often tell myself that #11, or 12, or 13 for that matter all could have equally been placed in the group.

    A great set you have here, some I have missed if you posted them before. I hope you will continue the tradition.

  • David Leland Hyde

    January 6, 2013 at 8:18 am

    Happy New Year to you also, Monte. I’m glad you joined the project. It’s an interesting process for learning about yourself and your images. Besides being the artful purveyor of intimate details, you are also becoming the King of wide open skies. I enjoy both types of your photographs. My favorites of these are the first one in the first row, and the first and last ones in the second row.

    • Monte Stevens

      January 6, 2013 at 9:42 am

      Thanks, David. While living along the eastern plains of the Front Range I had many good opportunities to drive out there and capture the wild open spaces. I’ve also found I like being in those wide open spaces. That could be attributed to working in a confined aircraft for several hours.

  • Anita Jesse

    January 6, 2013 at 3:03 pm

    Some of us are just built to love big sky country. I don’t think I would thrive in an area that didn’t offer that to some degree. The first time I visited New York City, I was close to physically ill from the combination of exhaust in the air, the crush of crowds, and that tiny sliver of soot-colored sky between the walls of the “canyons”. Your wide open spaces images are a major treat to me. A beautiful selection of outstanding work.

    • Monte Stevens

      January 6, 2013 at 3:46 pm

      New York City was a great place for me to visit but not the place for me to set roots. Even as I live at the foot of the Rocky Mountains I still enjoy shooting out along the eastern prairie. Those wide open skies call to my soul. Thanks, Anita.

    • Monte Stevens

      January 7, 2013 at 5:57 pm

      I moved back to Colorado almost 2 years ago, rented in Denver for a short time and moved back into my condo after my renter moved out this past May. Colorado has been home since I was 5. Meeting up for a photo walk would work for me. Do you have any ideas off the top of your head?