My Ten Favorite Photos from 2012

Well actually, this is a baker's dozen of my favorite photos from 2012, and I had a very hard time narrowing the list to just 13.

Winter Sky 
(1/8/12)
This picture was taken on the way home from work one evening.  I saw that the sunset had potential and looked for a place to get a good shot of it, so I pulled into Bennett's Creek Park in Suffolk.  The photo was taken from the boat ramp, and what you can't see (or smell) is the giant rockfish carcass at my feet, left by someone who should have his fishing license revoked.


Missing Bike
(2/26/12)
Not all of my pictures are pretty.  This is another on-the-way-home opportunity I came across.  Many of my photos are taken from this spot on the Elizabeth River near my house. It is where I like to watch the setting sun.  On this particular evening there was an astronomically low tide, and the normally deep water was elsewhere, exposing hidden secrets.


Elizabeth 3412
(3/4/12)
Here is another shot taken from the same spot where I found the Missing Bike above, but a week later.  Any evening where I see a cloudy day is going to give way to clearing at sunset, I grab my camera and head for the water.  The cranes are an ever-present feature of the landscape here.


Cuauhtemoc (Mexico) (4)
(6/9/12)
In early June the Norfolk waterfront was host to OpSail 2012.  I was there early in the morning as crews and ships from all over the world were preparing for a busy day of tours and ceremonies.  The sailors below were kind enough to step out of the pages of a tourism brochure long enough for me to get a shot.


Witnessed by the Oaks
(6/29/12) 
We broke up a long drive south with a night in Savannah, one of this country's most beautiful cities.  My wife and I had been there before, but I wanted my son to see it.  One of our stops was Forsyth Park early in the evening on the way to dinner.  It was incredibly hot, humid and downright miserable, even by a summer in Georgia standards, but the light coming through the oaks on a wedding party was almost as lovely as the beautifully cool bride. Right place, right time.


Everglades (22)
(7/2/12)
When all of our other vacation plans fell through, my brother graciously allowed us to stay with him in Fort Lauderdale.  I quickly came up with a short list of things I wanted to see while we were in south Florida, and near the top was the Everglades.  If you look at the pictures I take, it is quickly obvious how much I love where sky, water and land merge, and the Everglades is the mother of such places.  Throw in a some local wildlife, a trip to IKEA, and it was a perfect day.


Gargatha (50)
(7/28/12)
Speaking of where sky, water and land merge, we took a second mini-vacation to Virginia's beautiful Eastern Shore later in July.  I went kayaking each day and could have filled this post with the photos I took.  One of my investments this year was a water-proof case for my camera, and it has given me many more opportunities to photograph.  All of the photos I took that week remind me that while I was out paddling through my favorite part of the world, things were going to hell quickly at my old job.  That first Monday back at work was my birthday, and was probably the worst one of my adult life.  A big pile of figurative poo was left where I couldn't help but step in, and it took a huge effort to get my shoes cleaned.


ESCS BMX S3
(8/24/12)
In late August my son and I had an epic bike ride from First Landing State Park to Rudee Inlet in Virginia Beach.  The oceanfront was in the thick of the East Coast Surfing Championship, and we were able to catch some of the BMX competitions.  I must have taken 50-60 pictures of people doing crazy things on bikes.  I was  mesmerized.


Layfayette 9-15-12  (6)
(9/15/12)
The next three photos were all taken from the kayak. This first one was taken close to home underneath the Granby St. bridge where there is a popular fishing pier.  Not everyone can afford a boat to fish from, so this spot is popular with many local anglers.  It faces east, and I often get some nice shots here early in the morning.


Old Bridge 3
(10/6/12)
In October I had a great paddle along the Nottaway River in Southampton Co.  I got up at the butt-crack of dawn so I could get to the river while the light was still special, and it was.  This shot was taken at the landing where I put in.  The pilings of a long defunct bridge still rise from the water among all the bald cypress.


Cypress  (2) Diascund
(11/3/12)
One of  my last paddles of the season was a trip back in time to a place where I spent many a weekend before adulthood, the Diascund Creek Reservoir in New Kent, Co. The skies were moody and I had the water to myself.  In the middle of the lake, near a spot I was familiar with, was an island of bald cypress trees.  I tried really hard to keep the kayak still while I took the photograph, as I wanted more of a mirror image of the trees in the water.  It was not to be, but the photo still speaks to me. 


Lafayette Sunrise 2
(11/12/12)
My neighborhood is on a peninsula that juts out into the Lafayette River, and unlike most of Norfolk, the waterfront is accessible, not private. As my wife and I come and go, we often go a little out of our way just to see the river.  On this morning the river was still, the air slightly misty, and in the sky above a jet trail, was an odd formation.  A friend thought it might be a sun devil, but I thought it looked more like a falling angel.


Cherry Light
(11/12/12)
Perhaps the biggest change in my life this year was getting a job at the Norfolk Botanical Garden.  Beside being a great place to work, it has afforded me many more photo opportunities, and I keep my camera close at hand.  The tree below is a weeping cherry, and it is just outside of the building where my office is, though I don't spend much time at the desk.  On this particular morning the rising sun made the tree even more special. 


If you are perhaps interested in seeing the rest of this year's contenders, just click here for a slideshow on my Flickr page, and you can also see my Top 10 from 2011 here.

Have you taken some particularly favorite shots in 2012?
If so and you like to share, post them on your blog and let the reading public know why you like the photos (I do like a good backstory).  They don't have to be gallery-worthy, they just have to be special to you.  If you will, leave a comment here, with a link, to let me know when your post is up, but there is no need to make this detailed or complicated.  Just have fun with it.