Image of 2019

In a sense, I've been working on this all year, but in the actual writing sense this has started on Solstice. Getting the draft started, and going through all the images to review the star selection. While I'm doing that, you might want to review the image of 2017 and image of 2018 posts. I'll try not to repeat myself.

This was a huge year in terms of photographic output. HUGE! I'm past 50,000 photos and not done the year yet, as of this writing. Of course, 2 months in New Zealand, and 10 days in Yukon might have something to do with that. Lots of star shots in those, which don't get edited in the same sense that the photos you usually see on the blog.

On the edited front, as near as I can tell, about 3600 were done for me, and a further 2000 or so were done for the Community association, and I'm not even sure how many for other client shoots. There are additional ones edited for specific purposes that I'm not counting here, like those for a time lapse, or one particular client shoot. Let's just say I'm not entirely consistent in my Lightroom use.

Right now there are 217 with 4 stars, and 25 with 5 stars. These 242 will be the pool for choosing image of the year. After all, on further consideration, some of the star ratings change. And I could get the shot of the year over the next few days. No, I'm not going to treat the 12 images of the month as the finalists. It's like drawing for the big door prize, all the tickets that won a minor prize go back in the hat.

As in previous years, there was much temptation to choose best within categories, but no, that way madness lies. So many categories are possible, and some overlap. Winner, a couple of runner up, maybe an honourable mention, that's it. There can only be one.

Last year there was a big image showing some of the finalists, so I'll do that again. Hang tough. I'm going away for a while. Don't hold your breath. I got down to 13 and dithering. Then my famous buddy Neil suggested I not wait, and post the photos I like best on his Facebook workshop page, as several others had done. I did the 13 and got some nice comments, thank you. Even now the likes are still coming in.

But 13 is a weird number to screen shot nicely, so I dropped the weakest one, and you get 12.

And now I dither more. Longer. Harder. I think I've got two of the finalists picked out, at least based on one theory of best photograph. If you've read about the previous years image winners, you'll know I have several theories about best.

Which one took the most work? Probably 2 and 5. For 2 I was up I the middle of the night, walked 100 m to the beach, then worked to find a place where the camera was out of the light of the moon, and out of the really strong wind. It took me a long time to get the camera set up for these shots. Finding level with all the conflicting lines seemed to be really hard at the time, to say nothing of all the technical camera stuff. With 5, it took two separate trips to the log, using a bunch of different lenses trying to get the effect I wanted. It was probably the most technically demanding shot of the bunch, with everything having to be just so.

The easiest? Number 4 was one of many of the camera doing its thing, though the editing was tricky. Number 6 was one improvised shot as we were about to leave. Number 9 was one of many. 10 I hopped out of the van, took two shots of the ferry, and hopped back in the van again. If you think of number of shots taken vs used, then 8 wins. I had hundreds of shots chasing dragonflies that day, with only a few to show for it. But so much fun!

In the end, photography is all about the light, and the skill of the photographer in catching it. When I look at these photos and think of where I've captured extraordinary light, the answer becomes clear. Now, which order? Hmmm.

2nd Runner Up
This one has been growing on me ever since I took it. I keep coming back to the smoky twilight, the reflections of the trees and ferry in the calm water, and the textures in the mountain side. Dawson City ferry.

1st Runner Up
This was image of the month for November. Fish Creek Provincial Park.

And the 2019 Image of the Year!
The view from the gazebo at Larnach Castle, New Zealand. I, and other people think it looks a bit like a painting because of the particular quality of the light.
(This was not assembled until after I got home, so it wasn't in the running for January image of the month. It's 11023 x 3149 px, or about 3 feet by 10 inches for a high quality print.)

Tombstone

Part of my recent trip to Yukon was a trip up the Dempster Highway (think of a gravel road that gradually gets worse as you go north) from Dawson City to the Arctic Circle. Let's just say there are many photos, but these are the ones from the Tombstone Park. The trip up was on the 8th, and back the next day, so there might be some similar shots with different light. We were a little past the peak of the colour this year, but it's still pretty spectacular, especially if you love a brutally rugged landscape replete with golds, browns, and yellows.

This first one is the iconic valley heading toward Tombstone Mountain in late morning light. This panorama is 15490 px wide by 4098 high, or about 3.8 wide x 1 tall. It would print out about 5 feet wide or so. Perfect for that big space over one of your windows.

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Here's a closer view with a big lens. This is the least hazy I've ever seen it.
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A medium view from the next day, in late afternoon light. You can already see the smoke rolling in.
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It's a big empty place. Look for the transport truck for scale.
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There are more Tombstone photos on my daily blog, here.

The recent tours

The major photo rambles lately have been Neil Zeller tours. I don't mean to turn this blog into a commercial for him, but lets just say his offerings are a ton of fun and leave it there.

There was:
Cypress Hills May 23 to 26.
The 'secret' tour July 3.
The Sheep River tour July 5.

Here's some of the photos from each, giving a flavour to whet your appetite for the next one.
Neil awaiting his passengers.

A bridge on the way to Cypress Hills.

Reesor Ranch.

Sunrise above Reesor Lake.

The view from above Reesor Ranch.

Some of the wildflowers there.

A pelican in Reesor Lake.

We weren't sure if this barn was abandoned or not.

Red Rocks Coulee.

Conglomerant cliffs.

Fox Valley.

Near the Sand Hills

Neil found a double rainbow for us, sorry about the water drops on lens.

Sunset over Reesor Ranch.

For the secret tour Neil promised places he'd never taken anyone before, and wow did he deliver! This is inside the Calgary Tower, they call it the bat cave.

The Bow Tower sky garden and view.

Village Brewery, lunch and tour.

CP Rail headquarters.

The next tour was Sheep River. At least it didn't rain, but we couldn't see the mountains.

Cataract Creek campground.

The Central Library Tour

Sat November 24 was the big day for the Central Library workshop/tour. Neil Zeller wangled this with the library staff, so we could get in early, as in 6am, so as to avoid the public. There were only 20 or so of us, plus a few library staff, all spread out through this amazing building. Even better, when it's other photographers, there's a lot of respect for the shot you're trying to get, and people trying not to get in the way.

This is probably one of the most photogenic indoor spaces in Calgary. The central space, the wood, the lighting, all those curves! I suspect that nearly every piece of wood in the building had to be individually measured and cut, and many would have had to be bent to shape. Just like some people make a point of seeing the Peace Bridge when they come to Calgary, I can see people coming to see the library, especially if they are also going to the nearby National Music Centre.

As I said in my regular blog, this isn't your parent's library, with Miss Grundy shushing you if you breath loudly. It's intended to be a living space, and it sure is. Shortly after the building opened to the public for the day, people were coming in and finding their space. Some came to the coffee shop, where we were hanging out and discussing the morning. A few of the people that hadn't seen it before were absolutely gobsmacked.

The shapes and curves of the library are quite evocative. Some say an eye, some say other body parts. Many people think a ship, and I have several images that support that. I deliberately emphasized the ship feeling by not straightening out the verticals.

This first thing, just arriving. The wood roof arches over the entry in a set of complex curves, setting up your brain for more.

City Hall looks so old and dowdy, though admittedly this is the back end of it.

One of my fellow workshop attendees, working on a shot.

 This is the view looking straight up from near the entrance. I was lying flat on my back for this, wishing I had an even wider lens.

More shots of the amazing curves, the lovely warm wood, the light and shadows, and all of those lines.

I'm a big fan of reflections, and I was really liking the way the lights showed up in the windows against the backdrop of the outside wood ceiling.

Most of the workshop attendees. I like to get away from the herd, so I can take photos of the people in the workshop.

Trying for a selfie reflection shot.

The metal buttons at the top of the stairs are lovely leading lines when you get close.

This reading room is amazing! At least some of the attendees took turns playing with books on the table in the foreground, some with more, some with fewer, some with none. I arranged for symmetry, with just one book to break it.

The shape and curves of the central area suggest many things, but ships often come to mind. I was flat on my tummy to get this shot, playing with the camera to get just the view I wanted.

Yes, I was hanging onto the camera quite firmly. It's a long way down. I could go back and just shoot the stairs.

Probably my best 'overall' shot of the central space. It's so big, with so many curves and viewpoints there really is no one perfect shot to show the whole thing. Things to look for in this image. The bison, which has a close up below. The scaffolding to repair a broken window. Another photographer working on their shot.

 This one is actually an impossible image to see in real life. I cheated in Lightroom to improve the composition by flipping it horizontally, so the lines open up and to the right.