What's The "Best" Photo You Took In 2014 ... Ready, GO!!!

[paul04]

I have learnt a lot in photography in the last few months, and I've got some very good advice from this website.


I have taken quite a few pictures, its just to hard to pick just one out of so many,

I made a calendar for 2015, mainly for a Christmas present for my mum, and quite a few pictures were flowers which were in her garden, including this picture which is more sentimental.

The church where many family members have got married, a few funerals, and I suppose part of my childhood, going to the cemetery with flowers for Grandma and grandad.

 

[wornish]

I chose this one as it reminds me of our trip last year to see our son and his wife who now live in San Francisco.
The picture just sums up San Fran for me its a great city with so much to do and see.

 

[sonicbuffalo_RIP]

@paul04 and @wornish....great pictures!

 

[dh photography]

I ran this through my head over and over and over and over again all day yesterday trying to figure out how in the world i could pick out a "best" of the year. It's like picking a favorite child (you may actually have a favorite, but you could never pick one out and tell them all).

Having only picked up a dslr for the first time about 7 months ago; I have learned so much since then. There have been so many people here that have helped me along the way. I feel as if I have not only learned quite a bit, but actually grown tremendously in crafting photos that I want to see. How other's may feel about that, I'm not sure. LoL.

In the end, I had to chose one of my last of the year as the "best" of the year. I'm certain there are better photos in my folders; however, this one represents so much of everything that 2014 culminated into. It's a combination of being able to put together a shot I had in my mind's eye; from thought to post. It shows a growth in set-up, technique, composition, rules, and the control of exposure, light, and post processing. It also shows the gathering and use of new equipment; from camera upgrade, better glass, tripod, ballhead, and flash. So many things that have improved in my photography came together all in one shot. "Best"? Who knows. To me it just represents a years worth of change and growth.

"Last Sunrise of 2014"

 

[Danno_RIP]

Ok... first picture to post... This thread really intrigued me. I started photography the end of October last year. I had some health issues and went on a medical leave. Part of my therapy is walking. I live in the country outside Lawrenceburg, Kentucky. I had always wanted to take pictures, but the workaholic in me did not have time. Now at 57, I do...

This thread really struck a nerve.. I wanted to share a memory. My Dad has been gone 3 years. When I was young he and I wandered all over the state. Dad had surveyed for the railroad in his youth. He loved trains, rails, and trestles. One of his favorite spots was High Bridge out side Wilmore, Kentucky. It is one of the highest trestles in the country if not the highest.

It was a cold and gray day... I was missing dad a bit and went to High Bridge. It is weird, but my dad and I talked about fast cars and motorcycles most all my life. 6 months before he got sick I became a Christian and the discussion changed. Dad got cancer and we talked about God. We regained that closeness that we had when I was a kid. High Bridge was a favorite motorcycle ride. It is my favorite picture this year. I made it black and white... seemed fitting.

I know I have much to learn, but I enjoy this so much. I really appreciate what I pick up here.

 

[paul04]

@paul04 and @wornish....great pictures!

Thank you

 

[sonicbuffalo_RIP]

My wife and I started taking cruises each year in late September to mid October to celebrate our anniversary. We were on our 6th annual cruise when I just looked back at the dock and saw these ships all lined up facing out ready to sail. I just thought the symetry was right for this being one of my best of the year. We were on The Allure of The Seas and walking in Nassau, Bahamas.

 

[cwgrizz]

So far these are very good pictures and the stories that accompany them are just the icing on the cake. Thanks all for sharing. I'm still looking for something to post. It's not that I have a huge number to go through to decide, it's I just haven't found anything worthy to grace this thread. :indecisiveness:

 

[SteveL54]

This is just impossible to pick one, but this stands out in my mind. My first trip to DC in 35 years. My wife and I had been there since early morning. We had started at the National Mall, gone to a few of the Smithsonians, and walked from the Capitol to the Lincoln Memorial. We walked up the steps, and turned around to see this amazing view. Made me proud to live here.

 

[TedG954]

I called this photo Pre-Game Warm-Ups. The photo was taken near Jacobs Field on the day of the Cleveland Indians Home Opener. As I walked by this scene, I found that it represented Cleveland Fans of all sports. It was a cold and semi-wet day, a miserable day to be outdoors, but the fans would not be denied. Here they sat with the hope of an Opening Day win... and pondering what was in store for the Indian's 2014 season. Cleveland is a beer-drinking blue collar town that deserves so much more than she was dealt. On this day, in this scene, all the past is forgotten and only the future in sight.

I chose this photo because it contained street photograply, architecture, and the drama of black & white.

 

[SteveH]

I have taken a lot of shots of this street (The Shambles) in York, but I'm picking this one as my favourite. I think the couple wondering along holding hands adds to the feel, also it won me £100 in my first ever photography competition.

 

[Ironwood]

I see plenty of these Rock Wallaby's everyday, as they are grazing on my lawn in the morning and afternoon. This is probably the best shot I have taken of them so far. Mother and Joey.

I debated whether to post this shot or the shot of one of my pens that made the front page of the International Penturners Association Forum, the Hoppers won .

 

[Vixen]

For me, I think this one.
Indoor shots, requiring flash, is something I have never done before and on this attempt I seem to have almost nailed it in one. I haven't been able to reproduce it

 

[Bob Blaylock]

Having just started at a trade school, to learn to be an electrician, I was arriving one morning, just as the sun was about to rise. I crouched down very low, next to a strip of grass in the parking lot, and aimed my D3200 toward the rising sun, and captured this shot.

I don't know that I can objectively state why I think this is my best shot of the year, I just think it is.



This is a small portion of the image, to show the level of detail captured in it, but alas, lost in shrinking the whole image to the 1000 pixels to which the forum limits it. Note the refracted images, in the dewdrops, of distant trees.

 

[Whiskeyman]

A very difficult assignment, Jake.

I chose this shot for its relative simplicity. The subject is obvious in its contrast to the environment, but at the same time, the vertical grass and the bird's neck complement each other.

WM

 

[Don Kuykendall_RIP]

I have a couple that I am very proud of.

 

[nidding]

To me it's not easy choosing one at all. Looking back through my catalogues for the year, there are quite a few that brings back a lot of memories. But as we're looking for the "best" photos of the year, I will have to say that this is the one for me. I took it just as I passed by a building at my university on my way home, and didn't think much about it. Only when I got home and loaded it into the pc, I could see that it wasn't actually half bad. I was pretty new in the hobby, and still am, but this was one of the first photos I took, where I actually felt that I could "see" a picture and then reproduce it in the camera
DSC_3250 by jonas_sandager, on Flickr

 

[grandpaw]

I will pick one of many that I liked and post it. I choose this one because of the detail,color and that it looked like a portrait. He was a very cooperative model and followed directions well!!!

 

[RockyNH_RIP]

Jake, great thread but also tough.... It was hard to choose a "best". I have many that I like and some I even think are very good and it is compounded by the fact I shoot scenery, industrial, wildlife, flowers and more... In some cases, I have some wildlife shots I am pretty proud of and some florals...... SO, Why did I choose this????

Some of my wildlife and florals are actually likely better... but I can go shoot them every day, over and over until I get one just right...

This shot was a specific location and moment in time as I was on my way to work (not planned).... if I was earlier or later, I would have missed the shot... I also was fortunate I had my camera with me, but I also could have muffed the shot... In any case it would be gone forever. This location with this sunrise and these clouds was a one time opportunity. That is my logic for choosing it... I could not go back later and get the shot for it would be gone.

Anyway, that is my story and I am sticking to it!

Pat in GA

 

[RON_RIP]

That would be my pick too Pat. You captured the moment beautifully.