My Favorite Images from 2012

Hi John,

Thanks for joining in. I think that you are the only one who picked #10!

#16 in definitely in my top ten!

Folks, go see John’s work: http://www.johnoconnorphoto.com/

Workshop pics are welcome anytime. John helps me sometimes in my Yosemite private workshops, and is an excellent photog and teacher.

Hi Bill,

I had the pleasure of attending one of your online courses remotely from Germany a few years ago – which established a sound foundation for my own portfolio development. Thanks again for your input then!
In addition, I am keen to follow your ongoing work and watch how it develops over time – it’s so often inspiring.
Well, here is my list of favorites, just the top 6 to keep it digestible (no ranking implied by the order) …:
1 – 5 – 11 – 19 – 29 – 34

I like your point of wrapping up a year of activity & development by a retrospect, hence I took up your idea and compiled my top 20 pictures from 2012.

You can find them following the link below (N.B. even if “Gestische” Photography is often challenged – I value it as an additional, important approach for my photographic expression and hence it constitutes quite a significant part of my work):
http://www.vistascout.de/cd/fav_2012/gallery.html

Cheers, Matthias

Hi, Bill. Actually, I’m here looking at your picks as a diversion….I’m finding it so hard to whittle down my own 2012 picks, I figured I’d come over and look at yours. I’ve still got 68 at the moment and getting nowhere fast.

So, after a quick look, I’m going to go with:

1, 11, 16, 19, 21, 26, 29, 31, 34, 36

I like 1,7,10,12,19,27,28,29,31,and 33. i find it so interesting how we all choose different favorites. i am just a beginner but here are my favorites from 2012 for those with google+. ( i hope this link works; like I said: beginner.)
https://plus.google.com/photos/108245580780237292414/albums/5835619453443618193

Bill,

All great images (still not keen on those “Impressions of Light” images). 16 is my favorite of the portfolio.

William – these are all tremendous, notable images. My first choice would be the beautiful No.2 (Sandpiper at Sunrise). Following on from this achievement I would select Nos. 4, 16 and 20. Really great work.
Congratulations on a great year’s work.

Bill, As usual, your 2012 picks are great. It is like trying to pick a favorite child out of a family of 38. My favorites are #1,5,9,and 16. I look forward to your bulletin eaach month.

I like number 38 the best

My favorites are #3, #4, #16, and #31. Runners up are #6, #8, #9, #23, and #38. I always enjoy seeing your work.

My favourites.
#2. Sandpiper. I like the soft pastel colours and the several levels of colour.
#4. Poppies and Lupine. Love the impressionistic interpretation. It is so much better than a sharp image would be.
5. Redbud. The purple and yellow against the silky water create a wonderful composition.
15. Ferns. I must admit I am a great fan of fern shots.I did a few using a pantyhose filter over the lens. It creates a much softer and somewhat silky image.
16. Elderberry leaves. A very sharp image. The muted colours are different that you would expect from a photograph of leaves. It makes it unique.
17. Pine and Clouds. A unique composition that catches your attention right away.
20. Yellow Maple leaves. The very few leaves against a darker background shows the end of season well. Only a few leaves makes it more interesting and striking than if the tree was nearly full.
22. Oak and Pine. Great lighting. I like the juxtaposition of a deciduous and conifer.
27. Merced River. Wonderful composition with the green weeds in the foreground, the grey rocks and the light on the water.

Oh….is very difficult choose one….So: number 1 and number 38…the sun and the moon…simply , great. Compliments.

Hi
Very inspiring images. I like the first photo the most, but 5, 9, 20, 22, 23 are exceptional too. Thanks for beatifull images.

Nice work William. I enjoyed the collection. My favorites are 1, 5, 11, 17, 22, 23, and 34.

You saved the best one for last! #38 is the show stopper as
the tone on Clouds Rest is amazing! I hope you stayed up all night after that!!!
I also enjoyed 34, 33, 28, 26 & 20 to keep it to a half dozen!

Hi Bill, Found the collection fascinating. When push comes to shove, however, I narrowed my top 10 or 11 to 2, 27, 28, 33, 36, 37, 38 and 17, 18, 22, and 23. Cheers, Shirley

Bill:

No surprise to find a wonderful collection of beautiful and imaginative photographs in your favorites list. If I were to list all that I like, the easiest thing would be to just include them all. I think you know that I’m a fan of your camera-motion photographs – I generally am not a fan of that sort of thing, but I find your examples beautiful and compelling. (I think about them often as I do my own experiments with camera motion blur.)

In any case, rather than offering up a long list, I decided to just mention a few favorites that caught my attention for various reasons:

6. Lillies
10. Elderberry leaves
28. Oak Reflections
31. Oak Forest in Fog

Best wishes for wonderful vision in 2013!

Dan

My responce is as follows, but certainly hard to chose. #’2-5-6-8-22-27-28-29-20-34-19-18-16-11-14-9>>>>>>>>>>> Thanks so much for your expertice –RON

Thanks William Neill for all the beautiful pictures. My favorites are many. I hope that is okay.

#2 Sandpiper at Sunrise. I like all the blues with the highlights of yellow.
#4 Poppies and Lupine. This reminds me of an impressionist painting.
#5 Redbud. Simply beautiful.
#9 Stones. Love the color. I like rocks!
#11 Sunbeams and Fog. Days like this are interesting to photograph.
#13 Rock Formations. Reminds me of similar or the same type of rock formations at Salt Point State Park.
#16 Elderberry Leaves. Love the colors & texture.
#18 Half Dome at Sunrise. Beautiful picture of Half Dome. I love Yosemite which makes it difficult to not like every picture taken there.
#19 Gulls at Sunrise. This is a favorite because it is a different view of the coast.
#27 Merced River. Creative composition.
#29 Oak Reflections. Lovely
#32 Oak & Fog. Fog creates such wonderful picture opportunities. Especially when the right person is behind the camera.
#34 Winter Sunrise over Yosemite Valley. Beautiful. I love that view with all the colors in the photograph.
#36 Ice Patterns. Very interesting, creative.
#37 Winter Sunset on Half Dome. There is nothing in this picture to dislike.
#38 Winter Moonrise over Half Dome. This might be my favorite.
Tough decision to pick these! I’m strictly an amateur but I hope this helps as you narrow down the selections.

My favorites are 4, 6, 22, 37. Love all the images.

Hi Bill,

The images are all outstanding as usual. However, I had one query- why did you use an ISO 800 in the winter moon rise over half dome image. Since I’m sure you would have definitely used a tripod. Why couldn’t a low ISO number be used. That said, this one is my personal favorite too !

All images are just terrific William.
The ones that really caught & kept my eye are: 1, 5, 6, 7, 16, 20, 25, 38
1. Sunrise… I love the simplicity, softness & color – so simple but I could stare at it all day long.
5. Redbud… The wire like branches of pink & occasional green are beautiful especially with the soft water background.
6. Lillies…The lilies are lovely, but their context even more interesting with the pockets of water on the leaves and the overall curve in the image!
7. Nautilus… I like this B&W so much better than the color. This is one of the best images of a nautilus that I have ever seen — the soft white goes so well with the gorgeous contours – just the right mood for a nautilus image!
16. Elderberries… such an interesting image with great balance in tone & composition -perfectly shot & processed! I find myself looking at every nook and cranny of these fabulous leaves!
20. Maple Leaves… I love the contrast with the black barren branches and then the delightful splashes of yellow – very pleasing to the eye!
25. Maple Leaves…This is my favorite of your abstracts here – just the right amount of movement blur to hold my eye. Lovely!
29. Oak Reflections… This is fabulous. I love everything about it and it has so much depth – more than the average reflection image – from the grass in the foreground to the back rock wall. The light is subtle but deliciously rich. Terrific!
38. Winter Moonrise… this is just classically wonderful. The hue in the sky, the mountains, the moon is so tangible I feel like I am looking into the night sky myself! This image transports me.
You had a fantastic year William!
Joan Herwig

All good photos William but here are my favorites:
#1 Sunrise, Santa Monica – I like the contrast of warm and cool and the complete abstraction of the image.
#4 Poppies and Lupine – I love the colors and the composition.
#5 Redbud, Merced River Canyon – Again a contrast, this one of sharp tree limbs with flowers against blurred water. Well composed.
#13 Rock Formations – Great rock pattern, well composed and cropped.
#16 Elderberry Leaves – Leaves on the ground can be cliché but his one is great because of the light and it is different, featuring brown leaves instead of the more usual brightly colored ones.
#20 Yellow Maple Leaves – By now you’ll get that I like contrast of warm against cool color and sharp against blur. I also like how the dark limbs connect the spare yellow leaves almost like insects caught in a spider web.
#26 Black Oaks – I think of this one as classic Wm. Neill. Good composition and I love the sun coming through the trees on the right.
Again, they are all good. Those are just some thoughts on the ones I like best and why.

Wowza Bill!! These are stunning images, each and every one! Total eye candy! I love your abstracts, they’re wonderful! I’ve really been getting into those a lot myself this year.
You truly have had a fantastic year! Best wishes in 2013! 🙂
Rachel