2019 Year in Review

Once again I sit at my computer on December 31st frantically composing my annual year in review blog post. Even up to a few minutes ago I wasn’t positive I would be writing a post this year. It has been a bit of a weird year for me and even photographically I have seen some challenging times using my camera. The first three months of the year were incredibly slow. I didn’t capture a hundred images. It wasn’t until April when the snow had melted and the fields began to turn green that I got into gear.

This isn’t to say I was not generating blog posts. I managed to push out 223 posts this year, which, unbelievably is the exact same as I did in 2018. I will admit that by not making my annual fall trip to Walt Disney World this year I fully embraced the Autumn and was on a crusade to capture the colors of the season. This dramatically allowed me to get my average up after a slow start. You will see quite a few of my favorites centered around this time of the year.

Another year with a big change for me. I moved into a townhouse in Rome in order to get the house spruced up and ready to sell. I didn’t think it would be easy to work on the house with my three little helper cats always under foot. I’m happy to say all four of us are enjoying the new digs. And no, I’m apparently not very ambitious, as the house is not quite on the market. Very soon though…

After looking through my images for the year I decided to change up the format for this review. In the past I would find the best image for each month but with a low supply in the first half and an abundance in the second I thought I would switch to my thirteen favorites (I couldn’t trim any more to get to a true dozen, hence, the baker’s dozen)…

  

The Inner Sanctum – How could a year in review post highlighting my favorite images not include one of my favorite subjects. As readers of this blog know, I am a sucker for dandelions. I found this one during lunch one afternoon in May at the Old Erie Canal Park in DeWitt. I had needed a break from work and the park provided the perfect atmosphere. Typically I go for a silhouetted image of the seeded dandelion head but for this one I wanted to show of the incredible detail a the center. Original post: The Inner Sanctum

  

  

Wave Riders – My favorite image format, square, was used to highlight wonderful wave action at Delta Lake State Park. When the sunset light is right and there are waves rolling into the beach I love to capture the buoy line used to designate the swimming areas at the park. It usually requires a few different exposures to get the right feel to the image. Original post: Wave Riders

  

  

Bellamy Harbor East – One of my go to places is even closer now that I live in Rome. Bellamy Harbor Park can provide me with a photographic view at almost any point in the day. I have a habit of always capturing images of the barge canal, the Mill St. bridge, etc., but on one particular colorful morning in July I explored the park addition across Mill St. and ended up with a favorite of the new pavilion. This is also the image that caught the eye of a local Oneida County website and they started re-posting quite a few of my local images. Original post: Bellamy Harbor at Sunrise

  

  

Mornin’ Delight – I did mention that Bellamy Harbor Park is a favorite spot for me… this one is from a quick stop on my way to work one August morning. I could not deny the colors forming in the sky and the car would not let me drive past the turn off for the park. What can I say, beautiful color and calm waters provide excellent material for a favorite image. Original post: Mornin’ Delight

  

  

Miss Sunshine – It isn’t only dandelions. I love to photograph black-eyed susans as well. You can imagine my surprise when I realized the flower of choice along the road through the Griffiss Business and Technology Park is the one I have been waiting to photograph. I made a couple of trips over to the park but this one with the isolated flower against a sea of yellow is the one. Original post: Miss Sunshine

  

  

Inconguity – Sometime in september I felt I couldn’t sit at my desk through lunch every day. I started walking the periphery of the parking lot. If you make a couple of laps it is easily a mile, but then I started carrying my camera because of all the opportunities I was spotting during my walks. This reduced my lap to barely one most days but it brought me a plethora of midday images. These two little snail shells in monochrome is definitely at the top of the list. Original post: Incongruity

  

  

Forsaken – Plethora was the word I used because a second image from my walks is in my baker’s dozen. A tiny leaf, a drying up puddle of rain water and a macro lens can produce magic. I love the contrasting color of the autumn leaf with the reflected sky in the water. Narrow the focus the a razor thin line and the ordinary can be special. Original post: Forsaken

  

  

Delta Autumn – This is the first of those autumn images I mentioned at the beginning of this post. I hit this season hard. I’m typically in Florida and miss my opportunity but this year, once I started I could not put the camera down. With delta Lake State Park so close to me, the second I notice the right sunset conditions I’m hopping into the car. This isn’t even the lake. It is a small body of water at the entrance to the park. I didn’t have to drive far to capture my autumn colors. Original post: Delta Autumn

  

  

Autumn Reflected – A few days later I stopped at Big Brook Creek on my way to Pixley Falls. A few small pools of water next to the creek allowed my to play with the Lensball. Multiple reflections of all that color brings this one to the top of my favorites list. Original post: Autumn Reflected

  

  

Buttermilk in Autumn – The very next weekend was my trip down to Ithaca to revisit my favorite parks for some waterfall action. I came home with another great set of images. This particular image from Buttermilk Falls State Park was by far my best. This single image would have been worth the drive down to Ithaca. The autumn colors, the sunrise light and a waterfall. Not much more I could have asked for in this one. Original post: Autumn’s Last Call

  

  

True Backside of Water – On my way back from Ithaca I decided to try Tinker Falls. I had tried this location years ago but the conditions in the creek and low water levels didn’t allow for any good images. Considering the luck I had in Ithaca it was worth a stop. As I stood in the creek at the bottom of the falls not being very happy with my results I noticed some hikers walk past me and venture up a trail that leads behind the falls. The rest, is as they say, history… Original post: Autumn’s Last Call

  

  

Alabama Sunset – In November I made a couple of business trips to Mobile, Alabama. This is when I fell in love with the USS Alabama battleship and the memorial park. I managed to bring my camera for my last trip down and found time to be at the park during sunset. This is the I had in my head after first seeing this ship. Original post: Alabama Sunset

  

  

Night Into Day – I’ll end this special dozen with another from Bellamy Harbor Park. I managed to time the sunrise perfectly for the panoramic view of the harbor. I love that I was able to capture the remaining bits of night to the start of the new day in one image. Original post: Night Into Day

  

  

This year I’m going to stick with my baker’s dozen. I’m having a little love/hate relationship with Disney right now so I will not be including any images from my single trip in August. I will also stick with my going trend and not offer any predictions for the coming year.

I do like the ending from last year though…

I would like to thank everyone for their continued support. Your comments and encouragement are always welcomed and appreciated. I value the friendships I have developed with a lot of my regular readers. Although we have not met in person, your presence in my life brings me a lot of joy. Thanks!

Happy New Year and best wishes for a fun and entertaining 2020!