Best of 2011

2011 was a busy one for me. The first half of the year I was busy planning a wedding, then after the wedding and honeymoon it seemed like the rest of the year just flew by. Photographically, I had a great year. I got to do things on my photographic bucket list (Costa Rica, trash the dress, NM abandoned state pen) and explored many new techniques and subjects such as TTD, lightning, and astrophotography. It was a great year!

Below are my favorite 10 images from 2011.

INTERCHANGE - The Big I in Albuquerque, with the Sandia mountains in the background.  This is probably my favorite image of the year, and one of my favorite of all time.

Stiletto - My wife's Christian Louboutin wedding shoes and engagement ring.  Terah loved these shoes, so we had a photo shoot for them before they got all scuffed up.  Unfortunately, we didn't get to take an after shot, the shoes broke right before the wedding and then were lost/stolen.

Secluded Sunset - Guanacaste, Costa Rica.  Like many photographers (or people in general), I've taken a bunch of sunset shots, but this one was special.  It wasn't just the amazing display of colors.  This was on our honeymoon, so seeing this image reminds me of our great trip and the sunset we got to share together.

Jackpot - Lightning over the Sandia Resort & Casino in Albuquerque, NM.  I took several trips outside during the summer to photograph the lightning storms.  This was by far the most intense storm, I shot this from the back cargo hold of my car to avoid getting out in the elements.

Electric Milky Way - Lightning storms in the distance are dwarfed by the Milky Way near Chilili, NM.

Hideout - My beautiful wife Terah on our trash the dress trip in the Gilman Tunnels near Jemez, NM.  We both had a blast doing this TTD session!

Serenity - Terah at the base of a small waterfall in the Jemez mountains.  I couldn't choose just one from the TTD session.

The Chamber - The gas chamber at the abandoned New Mexico state penitentiary. A little dark, I know, but the opportunity to shoot at the abandoned prison is a rare treat.  I guess it's a photographer's thing, shooting old, abandoned, worn out places, like we are hoping to catch a ghost on camera or something.

Miner's Sunset - at Calico, CA.  This ghost town was a silver boom town in the late 1800's and early 1900's.  The investors in the mining company spent more money setting up the mines and the town than they ever mined out of the mountain.  Makes for a great sunset setting.

Brushed Beach - Looking East towards the Sea of Cortez near Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.  I used a 9 stop neutral density filter for this shot, which allowed me to slow the shutter speed down and blur the waves crashing on the beach.

 Happy shooting!