Top 12 of 2012

In trying to select my Top 12 of 2012, I found myself choosing images that held a specific meaning or that represent a change in perspective or that caused me to think or reflect on things larger than the images themselves.  I want to think my Artist grew into my Photographer   Now I see no distinction between the two.  I once held the belief that art and photography were somehow held apart by an invisible definition and that to do one would by association diminish the other.  Now I realize it is one and the same.  Art is the expression of self and surroundings using external representation.  Photography certainly fits that role.

 

Most of the images are available to purchase by clicking on the image

Nathan Phillips Square at night looking through the fountain to Old City Hall.  I took this image at the end of a Photowalk on my way to my parked car.  It was taken while I was alone and taught me it’s never too late for a great opportunity.

 

My Sunflower image was was processed in a live processing “hangout” for my G+ Mentorship Program students.  I was demonstrating my Adobe Lightroom  workflow.  Hangouts are an integral part of building solid and lasting friendships in social media.

 

The first “intersections at the Speed of Life” gallery series taken while on one of the many Toronto photowalks.  This is the image that spawned a series.

 

As the sun was setting on Lake Huron, these alien looking ice creatures stood like druids among the ice ruins of winter. I had hoped to get many many wonderful images of snow and ice at the beginning of this year, but conditions were less than ideal and the ice that covered this shoreline melted.  My best opportunities came from that one trip.  sometimes, good planning is the key and one trip is enough to “get the shots”.

 

How could I not include Mr. Canadian Maple Bacon, Jordan Oram in my best of 2012.  He mad a cross Canada and back trip spanning thousands of miles.  Along the way he photographed and visited many many people and places and reported back to all of us through the G+ network.  on his return trip we were able to spend a few days getting to know each other better and building a lasting friendship.

 

 Below is a haunting image I took while volunteering at a camp for First Nations children north of Thunder Bay Ontario.  They say the eyes are the window to the soul, I would have to agree.  Sometimes uncomfortable.  Our First Nations people and their communities hope is in their children, we need to instill value and opportunities and invest ourselves in breaking the cycles that bind, so that the youth can change the future for their generations

Eagles Cove Summer Camp

 The eyes are the windows of the soul.  That is not always comforting.

I was a volunteer at a summer camp for first nations children this year.  It was a life changing experience.  My pre-conceived notions and bias were shattered like crystal ball on a concrete pier.  There is a deep abiding hunger for significance and value in children that know far too much about pain and neglect.   It was overwhelming at times.  The future of all cultures is in the children.  Let’s invest ourselves there.

 

This Image of swans was taken on a small lake quite close to home while on a sunrise photowalk with a few friends.  The sun had just broke the horizon and the mist was rising.  Within a half an hour the rain came, but  that half hour or so was one of the most productive times shooting all year, producing several stunning fall images.

Sometimes, everything comes together only  for a brief moment.  I now understand what was meant by the saying “Chance favors the prepared mind”

 

 I chose this in my Top 12 because it represents persistence.   I have wanted to capture this lighthouse at night by using a technique called light painting.  I lit the lighthouse with multiple bursts of my speedlight while moving around the scene. The moon was bright and the stars were showing.  I went to this spot many times over a 1 year time period before the conditions worked out how I wanted.

 

The Idea that light shines in the darkness intrigues me.   Light is a force that breaks through darkness in glorious splendor  Light shatters misconception and reveals what is true.  Light is active and powerful. Light is spiritual. Light cannot be hidden.
You are Light

 

This set  has been really hard to pick because more than anything I want my top picks to have more meaning than just “cool shot”  I am choosing images that have had an impact on shaping my perception of things.  Shots that reveal a change in thought, direction or attitude. Shots that make you think.
Artistic Licence

 

If there was one theme to this year photographically speaking, it was the photowalk, I have been on numerous trips to the city to meet some amazing and creative people.
This image above was one of the last images taken while we were on a photowalk at an all night art festival in downtown Toronto.  I have been working on a gallery series called “Intersections at the Speed of Life” in which, I want to convey the lights, movement and sounds of the city in still images.  It has been an extremely rewarding project.

 

This old house is the subject of many many photos I’ve taken over a two or three year period.  The roof is now completely gone and the house will soon be sticks and stones.  I was fortunate to have stopped and took the time in the cold wind and snow to capture it;s last mighty stand against the elements that so relentlessly pushed her down.  A few things happened while working on this image.  I began to allow my creative mind artistic licence to process what I “felt” more than what I “saw”.  I moved away from a journalistic style of photography to the freedom of a more interpretive playful approach.  this year, as a direct result of the inspiration, relationships and encouragement of so many wonderful friends on the Google Plus Network, I have let my artist out to play and began to create images that make my heart soar.  I hope you enjoyed just a few of my “picks.

 

You can find me HERE on Google Plus.

 

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