My Best Photos of 2012

I don't normally do this year in review crap, but I'm off work today and I have the time. So I decided to go back through my photos for this year and pick my favorites from each month.

January:


I didn't take a whole lot of photos in January, in fact everything in my January 2012 album is from the first two days of the year. Les and I went to New York City for New Year's Eve last year and we explored the city a little.

I would have to say that my two favorite photos from that trip are the one I took of the skyline from the Staten Island Ferry and this one of Les at Grand Central Terminal. I like the first one just because it turned out so well, it was a long exposure taken without a tripod from a moving boat full of people. I like the second one because it so accurately represents the hustle and bustle of New York.





February:


The year's shortest month was also fairly slow for me photography wise. It was a month I worked a lot and not too much else. Les and I had finally started to feel comfortable with the atheist meetup group and were finally getting to know local people outside of work. All the photos I took in February were taken from my house. My favorite one is probably one I took of a full (or near-full) moon through the tree in my backyard. I took it from inside the house because that was the only way it would line up properly.










March:

Les and I have stopped really giving each other gifts for our birthdays, mostly because if we want something we just buy it. As a replacement we've mostly gone on trips or to concert. In 2012 for Les's birthday we did something I've always wanted to do - we went to a rally in Washington DC. It was the Reason Rally and we went with some of the people from the meetup group. It was cold and rainy but we had a great time. The only photos I took all month were from that rally. And of those my favorite was the sign that read "At least it's not raining Santorum."


April:


My two favorite photos from the month of showers are both from my front yard. The first is one of the numerous rainbows I have seen while living here. I took several of that particular rainbow but my favorite is the one I took where it looks like rainbow is coming out of a pink tulip. The second one is of Les and our dogs in the grass. I just like it.

May:

May was the month I really got back into taking photos. And the reason behind it was geocaching. Les and I did a lot of geocaching in May and I took the camera along for all of it. We ran across a few creatures in our hunting and my favorite photo of the month is of one of them we found in a little park in a very little town. I did a little research and it is an Eastern American Toad. In this photo he is sitting on Les's hand.

My other favorite photo from May is one I took of Les when he opened my door for me. I like it because of the composition but it has the secondary benefit of making me look like I am a gooey romantic (which I'm not at all, Les is though, as if you couldn't tell).

June:

My favorite photo from the first summer month is one of a summer storm. It's no secret that I love lightning storms and I was finally able to capture some lightning from my bedroom window. It took hundreds of tries and I only got 3 good shots, but they're pretty awesome.

My other favorite from June is from a hike Les and I took the dogs on. We went on the Power Line Train in Letchworth, the trailhead is just down the street from our house. The end of the trail overlooks the gorge and  I took a photo of the dogs looking over it. They are really looking at the deer on the other side, but it looks like they're being all deep and contemplative and shit.



July:

When one thinks of photos from July one thinks fireworks. But I don't like any of the firework shots I have taken more that the one I took in 2009 in Chelan. And one fireworks photos look very much like any other fireworks photo. So I have to say that my favorite photo from July is one I took of a chicken crossing a road. Just because it is a chicken and it really is crossing the road. We actually had to stop the car for it.



August:

For my birthday in 2012 we went to Boston. I've always wanted to go to Boston and it was an absolutely fantastic trip. I had a very hard time choosing my favorites from that trip, I had great photos and memories from Boston and the Cape. In the end I have to go with the long exposure of a very interesting bridge right in Boston.

September:

Labor Day weekend in Dansville is the New York State Festival of Balloons, a hot air balloon festival. It's an interesting festival, and the biggest thing in Dansville all year. Of course having been to the International Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque it seems small, but it is a big deal around here. This year Les and I got to chase a balloon and I got several good photos from it. But in the end I think my favorite photo from the month is one of railroad tracks near my house. It's a shot I've been trying to get for a long time, since Price, but that I've never got right. Finally in September 2012 the lighting worked out right.

October:

Autumn is my favorite time of the year for photos and Les and I realized we hadn't taken a photo of ourselves since we moved here.  And his parents are always bugging us for a new one for their wall (but I think they're only after one where my shoulders aren't showing because having my bare shoulders on the wall of a Mormon household is akin to putting porn up on the church wall). So we headed out into the woods with a tripod and took several. We finally figured out how to stand that doesn't look so awkward and I think this one, taken in Letchworth, is my favorite.

November:

Over Veteran's Day weekend Les and I took a whirlwind trip to Cleveland because we had never been there. That's the kind of people we are. I didn't take many photos while we were there because we spent the majority of the day in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame where photography is not allowed and we spent the rest of the the day eating fantastic food. All the photos I took there are in my blog post detailing Ohio. My favorite from the month is yet another skyline, Cleveland with it's tower lit up like a bomb pop for Veteran's Day.

December:

Today is the last day of December and of 2012, so assuming I don't take any awesome photos in the next eight-and-a-half-hours (which isn't likely since I'm sitting on the couch typing and eating chips and dip) my favorite photos from December are from both very Decembery and of things I don't like. The first is a self-portrait in a Christmas tree ornament. I took it while sitting in the Springwater, NY Town Hall waiting for children to come sit on Santa's lap so Les could get a photo for the newspaper. I had seen it done before but had never tried it myself because I tend to avoid Christmas trees in general. But I think it turned out really well.

My other favorite from this month is of snow. The snow didn't start falling until the month was almost over, but once it started it came in force. The day after it started, and the day before it quit, I didn't go to work because all of the people who produce the clothes I put away called in so there was no reason for me to brave the roads. Instead I took the dogs out to play in the snow. And Luna had such a good time playing in it that I had a hard time deciding which photo was my favorite.