Here are a few of my favorite photos from 2011. There are many more than these, but the ones shown here have a little more meaning for me, though I like a lot of the others too. (I took more than 8,000 photos in 2011—there are going to be some likable orphans.)
I present these without context or commentary, please enjoy the thoughts they engender. Some of the images can be clicked through to Flickr where a larger version can be found. They are pretty much in chronological order.
Many thanks to friends and visitors during this past year, I hope your 2012 is what you wish or need it to be for you and your loved ones.
Barry
Caveat lector This is a lengthy post, but once the images load you can zoom through them.
Well, this one's painful
Thanks for visiting...and thanks for everything else. Have a great year.
all photos copyright © 2011 by barry b. doyle · all rights reserved
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And looking forward to another year of your travels , stories, photography and friendship - Be blessed in 2012 Barry...
So hard to pick a favourite but I am partial to the outdoor shots ... especially 'Temple in the Wind', 'Drips', and 'Dawn on Davis Mountain'.
Wow. Just wow!
Jan, I'm not surprised you like cats. I like to think the smarter folk do.
Kate, thanks so much, I like those a lot too. You're a bit ahead of us now that you're in the new year...is it safe to come out? xo
We're waiting for you!
Brazen, thank you so much for that, and happy 2012 back to you.
Jim, you're one special guy.
Myriad, thanks so much! Stay warm!
David, I think you should, and then share. Thanks for the kind words.
Diana, the pleasure is mine in getting to know you better this year. Thanks for all you've done for me. xo
Grace! So nice to see you again. I've missed your writing and hope you will post more often. Your piece on Locke is one of my all time favorites. Thanks so much for your lovely words. xo
Füsun, thank you for that. There are a few shots above sprinkled in that never made it to an OS post before this. One of my favorites out of that group, which wouldn't make anyone else's list, is the shot of the Apollo 6 Command Module hatch door. The reason is that it was technically very difficult to get both shiny and matte in what turned out to be the right choices for the available ambient light. It represents a distillation of experience and muscle memory and intuition. I'm looking forward to your photos, and thanks so much for stopping by.
Gary, you've been such an artistic mentor in so many ways, I can never thank you enough or properly. Best to you always dear friend. xo
I am in awe - you met the most interesting man in the world!! How can you top that in 2012?
The others were striking. Masterful selection and that dern cat- so little with so much personality was infectious!
Algis, thank you so much for your kind words and affirmation, and you know more than most that the slices of time that the photos represent all have backstories that have some meaning. Thank you again for your lovely and wonderful words. May you continue to bless others with your own extraordinary talent.
Dandy, there was a Flickr meme, long before meme was even a coalesced concept that was used in many different situations. It was "Bring on the kittys!" Covers a lot of ground. Thanks!
Trilogy, thank you dear for your friendship and support. Your words mean a great deal to me. I'm the one who should always be thanking you.
Mango, thank you so much. Popper is a big part of my life, a rescue cat who has adopted me in spite of all the personal quirks she has, she's a lovely friend, codependent and aloof all at once.
Joan, your own talents, multiple and multidimensional, are inspiring to me and to countless others. You see the world in a beautiful way, one that demonstrates fundamentally what a beautiful heart you have. Thank you for all things.
Scarlett, yes indeed—if true I would be awfully blabby. Thank you for your connection this past year. xo
Anne, your friendship to me and your affection for Popper means a great deal to me. As she assigns to me good wishes to others since she is often occupied, we both wish you and your husband good health, safety and happiness.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bbd/6224040288/lightbox/
It's a big image, full size is more than 18,000 pixels wide (about 187 inches) but it's an interesting shot.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bbd/5746452337/
with a comparison between a "professional" photographer and me =)
All the best for 2012
~R~
Lea, I love that Owl Moth too...such a beauty. Happy New Year to you as well. xo
Stim, there's an explanation for that photo in a previous post of mine, you'll remember it I think because you did post a lovely comment. The image represents a self portrait, but the better explanation is on that post, found here: link
The setting is on the banks of the Chama River in north central New Mexico not far from O'Keeffe's Abiquiu. I often stop and think quite a bit on my photo journeys, this was one of those times.
Thank you very much for your thoughtful and gracious comment. I'm delighted that you like that image. There's a link below the image on that other post to see it in a larger size.
Stim, thanks for taking the time to look at that...I treasure your thoughts.
Mumblety, it means a lot to me that you enjoy the photography, but that you also recognize a lot of the backstories is also something I really like. Now, having seen hints of some of your own photography, I hope you'll be more sharing will all the folk here who love to read your words and with the added benefit of your artistry.
Patricia, thanks for stopping by and for your questions.
I think your comment "I thought a subject wasn't supposed to be..." is something that you might have picked up in your photo education. I would be careful about absolute proclamations, even by respected teachers of photography, because I think the bottom line should be about pleasing your own artistic sensibilities first...and those sensibilities come with time and experience.
You're probably referring to the "rule of thirds" and while it is a good compositional technique that often has value both in how a shot is structured and the subliminal effect it might have on a viewer of the photograph, it is never an absolute rule. In fact, I did a post on photography, appropriately called On Photography, where I discuss the rule of thirds, the fibonacci sequence, the golden mean or rectangle and other aspects of deliberate choices a photographer can make when composing a shot...and one of the most important things I said about those and other elements is that it's more important to know what the rules are, and how to use them, in order for you to effectively break those rules.
That post can be found here:
http://open.salon.com/blog/bbd/2011/02/24/on_photography
If you look at the side column links on any page of my blog you'll see a subheading with links on it that refer to my "On Photography" posts covering several topics.
As for the equipment, I think it's probably a wise choice to stay with either Canon or Nikon as they are the most ubiquitous brands and that has certain advantages for the consumer. That's not to say that other brands aren't excellent, but it's what I normally advise.
As to which to use there are a couple of considerations.
First, there are generally three levels for DSLRs: consumer, "pro-sumer" and pro. I have two cam bodies, a Nikon D300 and a D3s. The D300 is a prosumer body and the D3s is a pro body. When new they represented $1900 and more than $5000 respectively for just the bodies alone, no glass. I think you should start out at the consumer level and work your way up. If you wish to have a better camera to start out with then perhaps the Nikon D7000 would be a great choice. It's not too expensive and has very good features. I'm sure there's an equivalent for Canon, but I don't track their hardware so I can't advise.
Next, the most important, and the most expensive part of your equipment or kit will be your lenses. Consumer and prosumer bodies can be purchased with one or two lenses in a kit, but those lenses are at the bottom of the lens spectrum for quality, build and performance. Do a search on Craigslist in the photo/video section and you'll see those "kit lenses" for sale in abundance. I would suggest you buy the body only and get a 50mm lens, either the f/1.8 or f/1.4. It's a prime lens, which means that it is not a zoom lens and has a fixed focal point. What that means further is that you will be composing with your feet, moving back and forth to compose your shot, instead of standing in one spot with a zoom lens and just moving your wrist on the zoom barrel. One of the greatest lessons on composition is using a prime lens. It forces you to move and to think, it forces you to make artistic decisions.
Just as in camera bodies, there are consumer lenses and pro lenses. Lenses that have zoom and a range of focal lengths, such as f/3.5 -5.6 means that not much light is getting into your camera to your sensor. Lenses that have a fixed focal length of f/2.8 or smaller (meaning a larger aperture for more light, are more expensive, and much much better lenses in a range of measurable performances.
Lenses are also made in two modes, one that fit a cropped sensor--1.5 for Nikon and 1.6 for Canon and lenses that are designed for full frame or FX bodies. Know the difference. On Nikons, lenses for the prosumer body are known as DX, lenses for the pro full sized sensor are FX. If you use a DX lens on an FX body, for example, it will self crop to half the resolution or so and probably give you dark corners.
So, the first question you have to ask yourself is do you have or do you have access to, any lenses for either the Canon or Nikon? Is there a family member or relative that has a collection of lenses in either brand that you can borrow while you continue your photo education? If so, then I would go with that brand. A caveat though is that Nikon is much better at you being able to use much older legacy lenses than is Canon. Search on kenrockwell.com for "lens compatibility chart" and you'll see all the lenses made by Nikon and any limitations on modern bodies.
Lenses are expensive, as I've mentioned, it's better to get good glass and a medium body than an expensive body and poor glass.
I'm not sure what you mean by a "low end pro camera" unless you understand the difference between FX and DX and the limitations, differences and strengths between the two. Once you get a handle on what each will do and what each won't, then it will help you decide.
For example, a 50mm lens on a DX camera will give you the same view as a 75mm lens on an FX camera. Again, it has to do with sensor size and the crop factor. A 70mm or 85mm lens on a DX body is considered an ideal focal length for portraiture. On an FX body, you would need a 135mm or 150mm to get an optimal portraiture lens.
Hope that helps.
When I think of your photos, I think of what you do with color, and how often color shows up in interesting and sometimes unexpected ways in your photos. Sometimes the color hits you in the face (the "fried butter" sign), sometimes it's gentle (the light-olive cat eyes), and sometimes you have to look for it (the tiny red square on the side door of the gas station). It makes for interesting photos, and you have to spend time with each photo to see everything that's happening in it (I had to look at an enlargement of "Art Gallery" in order to see whether the lady had polish on her toenails. It turns out that she doesn't, but you never know . . . .).
I'm delighted too that you took the time to explore and think about the photos, which in fact mirrors my own process in carefully thinking about the compositions before I ever bring the camera to my eye. And then because of my poor eyesight (was at the ophthalmologist today for some pressure maintenance--and the right eye, my dominant side, was improved to 20/200) I really have to rely on experience and settings in the field since I can't really tell if it's going to be a good shot...well, I'm just pleased that someone with your photo aesthetic would take the time to contemplate on what you were seeing.
I had to go back and look at the original of the Art Gallery photo because I couldn't remember if my friend and frequent photo sojourner and former OS resident Julie Delio had polish on her toenails. In fact, it looks like she doesn't because of ambient reflection, but if you look at the original resolution found here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bbd/5765596527/sizes/o/in/photostream/
you'll see that she does indeed have a muted rose color on her nails.
And I just love that shot. The awning above the doorway was thick flat rusted sheet steel that had the letters cut out so that for a short time during the midday sun, it would advertise on the sidewalk what was inside. It's a favorite little gallery and we were there for a particular show. The place is called PDNB which stands for "Photographs Do Not Bend" and is a place for fine avant grade photography.
http://www.pdnbgallery.com/Site/HOME.html
Thanks Mishima, you made my evening.
No bright copper kettles nor warm woolen mittens
But Prada in Marfa and notes re James Dean’s
These are the proofs of his favorite things!
Vases and beaches and steps up to icons
Sideviews and cheetahs through Canons or Nikons
Corn husks and beignets and two smiling girls
There are no limits to scenes he unfurls!
Girls in white dresses and Eve with Dos Equis
Nehi and gas tanks and nuns towling nippies
Sunlight in canyons and birds with tucked wings
These enter lens then to our screens he brings!
When our blogs slow
Art James’ woes grow
And we question God
Just go and access BBD’s favorite shots
Then sit and enjoy being awed!
(I sounded pretty good too.)
Woe is Kerry. If he Kerry Santa Cause-
Santa don't need to stuff any pillow.
Kerry goes ho ho ho and I groan a`
`
Cheery heehaw. Can Kerry read?
He hasn't seemed too courteous.
Maybe Kerry be nice on feast day.
I assume I can wait - Rosh Hash-
anah.
He blow a shofar and repent.
He be penitent. Yom Kippur.
When will he begin behaving?
Woe is Kerry. Hoe 5th Avenue.
He need a Heehaw plow mule.
Earlier my comment button wouldn't work`gin.
Gail? I am not trying to annoy. Pure intentions.
`
P.S.
This is only for Open Salon's Gail. Gail is helping.
I've been emailing her seeking courteous replies.
Gail.
The "square" comes often without my initiation.
That's when No comment leaves the OS scroll.
test?
Square seems to have vanished. It's confusing.
idiot?