All photos by Barbara Matthews

Friday, December 23, 2011

Personal Top 10 Photos of 2011

As the year comes to an end, Levi Moore on Google+ posted a challenge to choose our own personal top 10 photos for the year. This is harder than it sounds. Mine are not necessarily my best images but the ones that meant the most to me in regards to my photography. Starting with the present and working back:


One of my recent photos. I chose this one because as the year comes to an end I have been exploring other subjects and stepping outside my comfort zone with my photography. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!


I loved the simplicity of this shot. This was also my first attempt at using my newly purchased Photoshop Elements for editing. I edited out a few thousand mosquitoes that looked like black dots all over the image.



Sometimes you just get lucky, light and color were in my favor for this photo of Lake Tahoe.



Such a peaceful spot for some solitude. I chose this one because I felt I really captured the feeling of the place.



Taken long after the summer swimmers have left, this stack of rocks was in the middle of the river. Light and reflection drew me to this scene. I initially passed by it when the sun was higher in the sky. As I was leaving the river I was fortunate enough to see it.



On my State Park road trip I found wonderful waves and moody fog at McKerricher State Park. I loved the capture of the breaking wave. This photo got a nod from PhotoExtract.com as a supporters photo.



Beautiful Greenwood State Beach, one of 70 State Parks slated for closure. This image won photo of the month for September 2011 in the California State Park Foundation's photo contest.




This was taken at the Folsom Rodeo with my Kodak Easyshare since DSLR's were banned. A magical moment when the sunset, dust from the livestock, and the cowboys all combined for my favorite shot of the year.



My first rodeo event after getting my Nikon D5100. Finally able to manage light and action with a clarity I liked, even if the horse almost bucked the rider out of the frame.





My first real photo expedition of 2011. It gave me the encouragement to keep working to improve my photography.



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