After 20 years I returned to the Grand Canyon to find quite a different landscape. In March 2000 there was only patchy snow/ice along the south rim, and as I hiked all the way down via the Kaibab Trail to the Colorado River, the temperature actually increased as I descended. Visiting now in December 2019, the winter season presented Grand Canyon views dominated by white. Snow blanketed all the trails, viewpoints, and even the walls of the canyon itself. In fact snow was all I could see at first because the entire canyon was filled with clouds, or mist, or cotton candy for all I could tell. Finally, after several hours the clouds lifted and the Grand Canyon in its winter colors were revealed!
This is my second year in a row choosing my Favorite Five photos of the year. I first did this back in 2009, my first full year as a professional photographer spanning time in Tokyo and Florida. I kept up this custom until 2013. Then there was an absence as things meandered in my life and my business. However, I intend to keep this custom going strong on into the future.
How do I choose?
The diversity of photos I made in 2019 once again made it very hard to choose just five, and this year the photos are made from three different devices: my now sold Nikon DSLR, my new Sony mirrorless camera, and my updated drone.
My criteria for choosing are simple:
photos made in the 2019 calendar year
Only one photo per category
There is something about the photo that appeals to me in a unique way
Below I will post links to all past Favorite Five years. I would really be interested in feedback in the comments on what you think of my 2019 selections, and as compared to my past years’ selections.
For the third year in a row, and the fourth time overall, I volunteered in Help-Portrait. This annual event happens in cities all over the country where photographers, editors, and organizers give back in the form of making portraits for families. The organizers were really, really good this year as there were at least triple the people that were able to visit Help-Portrait! Here are some of the families I photographed including a 4 day old baby!
You may have noticed that WSP is a regular client. They were originally headshot clients, but I have recently been doing a lot of drone aerial photography for them. Well, they have hired new employees since our big headshot shoot over the summer, so as new hires come in, I get to make more new headshots for WSP. I really appreciate Frances and everyone at WSP continuing to choose me as their go to headshot photographer for modern, business headshots here in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
This was my third drone aerial photography project in the past two months for WSP, this time taking me way up to Rio Rancho along Paseo Del Norte Blvd and Unser Blvd. This was more of a utilitarian assignment getting aerial photos of the road itself and the intersection, but while I had the drone up I did point to toward the Sandia Mountains to get the above photo mostly because I thought it was a unique view I could share. Then the top down view of the intersection I found personally interesting as I managed to somehow capture a moment with zero vehicles passing through it!
At Embassy Suites by Hilton Albuquerque I photographed another event for the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce, this time focused on education where large checks were handed out, awards were given, and Secretary Designate of Education Ryan Stewart spoke. Photography often takes me inside events I would never normally be able to attend, and this was another example where I got to have an inside look at the state of education in New Mexico. Here is an insider tip, charter schools got mentioned, a lot.
