2009: A Look Back...

[regnaD kciN]

As I have done for several years running, I am concluding 2009 with a retrospective based on two rules:

1) Twelve images, one per month, and
2) None of the photographs can have previously appeared on DU.

As always, I find myself griping about how hard it is to follow the second rule, as I tend to post every good image I take here, and resolving that, next year, I'll make sure to hold back a number of good photos per month so that I'll have a good selection to choose from next time around. (In the words of Noah: "Riiiiiiiiiight...") Anyway...

The year got off to a promising start on Inauguration Day, January 20th, where, after attending the Air America party at Pioneer Square, I got this image of a fog-shrouded Smith Tower, for many decades the tallest building in Seattle.




In winter months, when photo opportunities are few and far-between around here, I'm always grateful for the nearby vantage point of Mount Rainier, where I can usually count on a good image when the atmospheric conditions are right, as they were late on this February day.




March marked the real beginning of "photography season" in the Northwest, and my first visit of the year to the Skagit farmlands, to catch fields of daffodils under a dramatic sky.




April found me chasing Water Falling Over Things, this time at Bridal Veil Falls in Oregon's Columbia Gorge.




I took lots and lots of photographs in May...and posted practically all of them here. One exception was taken during a trip to Lincoln Park in West Seattle, where I happened upon this abstract sculpture. Whether the colors were part of the original design, or simply added by graffiti artists later, I have no idea -- but it made for an interesting close-up.




More Water Falling Over Things in June, with a long-delayed trip to Sol Duc Falls in Olympic National Park.




July brought the beginning of wildflower season to the slopes of Mount Rainier...




...while an August trip there gave me an unexpected iconic view of the mountain, ironically taken a few feet (but in the opposite direction) from the location of the previous picture several weeks earlier.




September took me to Larribee State Park on Puget Sound for this sunset.




Of course, October is the time for fall-foliage imagery, this one an abstract view of nature's lattice-work taken at a city park not far from home.




Early November offered a last glimpse of autumn in a forest on Mount Rainier's lower slopes.




Finally, December brought us one of the coldest weeks in Puget Sound history...and the rare chance to catch a frozen-over Snoqualmie Falls.




Looking back, it's been quite a year. I wish you all joyful lives and great photo opportunities in 2010!

[Celebration]

1. thankfully

you can't enter this month!

Amazing that you had these great shots every month and never posted them.

Of course, I love most pictures of Rainier......particularly yours.

[HappyCynic]

2. No kidding

Although there are many others whose 2009 retrospective photos leave all mine in the dust. I'll probably muster up the courage to enter anyways and see how far the unpredictability of GD voters takes me...

[Blue_In_AK]

3. These are wonderful, regnaD, as always

I especially like November. The leaf in the foreground is perfect. :thumbsup:

[Mira]

4. MASTERPIECES -all of them!

Thank you

:)

[JeffR]

5. Novices and pros alike, take note.

Fully half of these gorgeous photos were taken in portrait orientation, and for very good reason in each case. The artist has eliminated distractions and used the framing to draw the eye easily and logically to where he wants it to go. The leaf in the November shot is a perfect case in point. I don't know how a landscape orientation might have worked for this shot, but I do know that the photo as it was taken presents the scene to great advantage.

There's a wealth of things we can learn from these photographs, over and above the sheer enjoyment of seeing beautiful work, but next time you're pointing a camera at something, think about rotating it 90 degrees before you click the shutter. All the evidence needed to support the idea can be seen above.

Sermon off, and edited to make myself clearer.
____________

Have a great 2010, regnaD kciN!