Year in Review

Happy New Year!

Is it only me? I blinked and the year jumped to the end. I feel there was more I should have done this past year. More I should have accomplished. I hit a wall with my photography late in the year. I think I climbed over it. Might be more like I’m standing on the top trying to decide if I should jump down. And when I do jump down, which way do I go? Maybe that is the next adventure…

Normally I would ramble on before getting into the review. I don’t have much to say, I’ll let the images speak for themselves. I stayed with my normal format this year, highlighting my favorite image for each month. As before, it might not be the most popular image but it is my favorite.

Here are my favorites from 2021…

January – I didn’t venture out with the camera very often this month. I spent the few excursions hitting up my go to locations, Bellamy Harbor and Delta Lake. We had snow early but the water at both locations hadn’t froze yet. Most of the images posted were landscapes with my favorite being one at Delta Lake that I converted to monochrome. I am a sucker for a good tree silhouette in the winter. Original post: Resolute

February – Even fewer trips out into the winter during this month, again staying close to home. I did manage a walk or two along the Mohawk River trail but brought home few images. I was driving into Delta Lake State Park early in the month to capture the sunset when I was stopped by the view over the pond near the entrance. I quickly grabbed this image before the cold wind drove me home. Original post: Long Shadows

March – I have a feeling I was attempting to make up for a lack of photography during the first couple of months of 2021 because I went a little crazy this month. It was helped by early snow melts which pumps the creeks full and has me wanting to capture the flowing water. I had a few excursions to state parks and a trip down to Ithaca under my belt by the middle of the month. I would have bet my favorite image involved that flowing water but no, a very minimalistic sundown at Delta Lake takes the title. Original post: Sundown Colors

April – After the vernal equinox last month and the warming weather I was definitely looking forward to seeing the color green. This month was a mix of landscape and macro photography. I was getting out more with the macro lens and discovering how much I love that style. I was spending a lot of time walking the trails at the Griffiss International Sculpture Garden and pointing my macro lens at everything. This is also the month when I can find the first flowers of Spring. My favorite is actually more an art image as I converted a photo to look like a painting. Original post: Field of Blue

May – Macros and waterfalls. This month had plenty of both. I even found my way back to Walt Disney World. I’ll post a couple of favorites from that trip at the end. A late month trip down to Ithaca to visit my favorite gorges produced my favorite image. Buttermilk Falls State Park is by far my favorite gorge to hike in Ithaca. I usually don’t visit the namesake waterfall due to the plethora of photographic scenes along the gorge trail. Hard to beat good light. Original post: Ithaca Gorges

June – This month was dominated by one thing, a new toy. I bought a drone and spent some time this month playing with it. Sadly, I didn’t get to fly it as much as I wanted. Partly due to the weather but mostly a hesitation on my part. One that I will need to correct in the new year. Plenty of regular photography this month, more macros and landscapes but I’m going to have to pick an image from my first flight with the drone (for photography). Original post: Morning Take-Off

July – A very busy month for me, at least photographically. I was out exploring constantly. I found a few fields of sunflowers, plenty of floral subjects for my macro lens and a hunt for the full moon. I’m definitely fascinated with capturing the moon and luck was on my side this month as the full moon would be setting on a Saturday around the same time as the sunrise. I brought home a lot of keepers that day. Original post: Buck Moon

August – Plenty of floral macro images this month. There was also an attempt to capture a meteor shower which ended up disappointing for me. I even had a day long trip up to the St. Lawrence seaway, starting in Clayton, NY for the sunrise and working my way back home along the shore of Lake Ontario. But my favorite image is one from a midday walk around the building at work. During lunch I would haunt the edges of the parking lot looking for interesting macro images. Original post: Find Me

September – Things started to slow down a little this month. I was in that grey area between full on Summer and waiting for Autumn to arrive. Plenty of walks with the macro lens and a few excursion to capture a waterfall or two. I even managed to find Delphi Falls which I had been seeing online. It was definitely worth the trip. Another try for a full moon ended with me getting creative with the processing to create an image I was quite happy to post. Even with all that my favorite image is an end of the journey floral macro where I also got creative with the processing. Original post: Until the End

October – Ah, the month of Autumn, of changing colors and falling leaves. I had high hopes for this month. Numerous excursions to state parks for the grand vistas were dancing through my head. Most never did materialize. Timing and weather confronted me at every turn. I had one good trip up into the Adirondacks and another quick trip to a few state parks around Syracuse. I made the best of what I was given. My favorite came from the trip up North. A quiet look at the colors reflected in the Old Forge pond. Original post: Old Forge Pond

November – Sometime within the first week of this month I lost my mojo. One day along the sculpture park trails and another walking around the parking lot at work before I let the camera sit for over five weeks. I’m not really positive what caused it. Maybe I needed it. I don’t know. Of the limited images captured, this one sticks with me. Original post: Call Out to Me

December – When I did pick the camera back up I spent time at my favorite local spots. Bellamy Harbor Park and Delta Lake State Park can usually get my creativity going. They might not be the “go to” photography destinations for landscape photographers but if you know them well, you can find a story to be told. Although I was robbed of my favorite perch for images at Bellamy Harbor I managed to get the camera between the fences and grab this classic morning sunrise. Original post: Bellamy Bookends

Walt Disney World – I think my love/hate relationship with Walt Disney World is alive and well. I wish it wasn’t but I was able to make one trip this year and the resort didn’t change my mind. I love the photographic opportunities. I love the rides, I miss the live shows and I long for the little moments that always made my trips special. I get how a company that lives and breathes based on attendance had to make changes during the past couple of years but I wish they had chose differently.

I was amazed at how little I stayed in a few of the parks. Shortened hours and limited entertainment had me back at my hotel early. I would spend the mornings photographing the sunrise around Crescent Lake and some of the evenings grabbing the sunset there as well. I did manage to capture a wonderful image of Cinderella Castle all dressed up for the 50th anniversary of the Magic Kingdom. Also, a brilliant sunrise image of my home resort, the Beach Club, from across Crescent Lake.

Well, I believe that is it for 2021. It was an interesting year. It appears I have stayed fairly consistent, I’m not sure if that is a good thing or not. Hopefully I have grown a little and possibly I learned a few things along the way. I’m looking forward to some new opportunities in 2022.

I would like to thank everyone for their continued support. Your comments and encouragement are always welcomed and appreciated. I value the friendships I have developed with a lot of my regular readers. Although we have not met in person, your presence in my life brings me a lot of joy. Thanks!

Happy New Year and best wishes for 2022!