It has been a year full of travel and adventure with the result being a few reasonably good photographs. In looking back at some of the images I realize that most are a combination of planning and sheer luck. Being in the right place at the right time is always a key ingredient to successful images but also having unexpected things happen that end up making the image that much more unique.
Well, enough blabbering. Here, in chronological order, are my favorite photos from 2022. I have twelve images this year up from my usual ten because I really could not get it down to ten!
As always, if you find an image you really like, contact me. I love to print!
Cheers and a wonderful 2023 to all of you!
Foggy Morning in Kingston
The appeal I find with this image is the simplicity. It was a foggy morning so the background was a blur eliminating any distractions. The sun had just broken through the fog and illuminated the boat in an almost perfect way. The foreground reflection leads the eye to the subject. The exposure was a long 25 seconds, The element of luck here was that there was very little wind so the focus on the ferry boat remained sharp. I was thrilled when seeing the result!
Details: photographed February 3, 2022 in Kingston, Washington. 25 seconds, f/8, ISO100 at 200mm
High Speed Pass at Daytona
One of the highlights of the year was the annual trek to Daytona Beach, Florida for the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona endurance race. It really is a mecca of motorsports and you can geek out on racing for four days straight. The weekend culminates with the running of the 24 hour race which is a true test of driver, crew and machine. The race included five classes of cars all running at the same time so the closing speeds between the faster and slower cars can be severe. That is the case with this image. The Ally Cadillac Racing DPi prototype is very quickly passing the slower Pfaff Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3.R.
The element of luck here was getting the two cars together and having the image in focus (I was panning with the Cadillac).
Details: photographed January 29, 2022 at Daytona International Speedway, Florida. 1/60 second, f/5.6, ISO400 at 250mm.
Stunning Mazda RX-792P
The Mazda RX-792P is arguably one of the most beautiful (from a gearhead’s standpoint) racing sports cars ever built. This car was running at the 2022 Long Beach Grand Prix weekend as a support series showcasing sports car prototypes from years past. The RX-792P has an unbelievable sound that is produced by it’s Mazda rotary engine. Nothing else sounds the same! The long exposure added a great sense of motion and the element of luck here was that the drivers helmet was in focus!
Details: photographed April 10. 2022 in Long Beach, California. 1/40 second, f/16, ISO100 at 150mm.
Exquisite Morning in Maui
The main highlight for 2022 was a two and a half week vacation trip to Maui, Hawai’i. Maui has always been a favorite spot and for this trip I really wanted to focus on getting some nice photos.
I visited this location near Makena twice hoping for Milky Way images. This image was shot just as the sun was rising after a long night of waiting for the skies to clear (which did not happen). This is the only image in the top 12 that was captured with my Pentax K-70 and 18-35mm wide angle lens. The element of luck here was that this image was taken on a whim as I was packing up to leave. I am really glad that I decided to take just one more shot!
Details: photographed April 26, 2022 at Makena Cove, Maui, Hawai’i. 2.5 seconds, f/16, ISO100 at 18mm.
Stars over Makena Cove
Luckily clear skies greeted me during my second visit to Makena Cove. Maui. I had envisioned palm trees, a beach, wave action and the Milky Way. This location met all of those needs. Many images were captured and it was a lot of fun to experiment with light painting the trees and beach with flashlights. This is a two image vertical panorama. One image was taken focused on the beach and the second on the Milky Way.
Details: photographed April 29, 2022 at Makena Cove, Maui, Hawai’i. Both images, 25 seconds, f/2.8, ISO1600 at 24mm.
Sunset Colors in Kihei, Maui
Maui can have some incredible sunsets. This one occurred while sitting in a hot tub with friends tipping a few beers (life is good…). As luck would have it my camera was close by. There were these wonderful trees in the park behind our condo complex and I had been looking forward to including them in a sunset shot. Everything came together and this image is the result. In hindsight I should have taken a few steps back to get a wider shot.
Details: photographed May 7, 2022 in Kihei, Maui, Hawai’i. 1/100 second, f/4, ISO100 at 50mm.
Fireworks over Kingston
The Independence Day 2022 fireworks in Kingston, Washington were outstanding. I had decided to shoot from a different location than years past. The view from Saltair Beach Park placed the fireworks directly over the ferry terminal. Many shots were taken and it was difficult to select a favorite. This “in your face” image won in the end. I loved how the trails fell behind the ferry boat on the left giving it a real sense of scale.
Details: photographed July 4, 2022 in Kingston, Washington. 8 seconds, f/8, ISO100 at 50mm.
Slice of Life in Frankfurt
Planning was the key to capturing this image of the Frankfurt, Germany waterfront at dusk. I used this shot as a test case in an article for Petapixel on finding photo locations. Every part of finding the location was planned. What I could not control was when I arrived there. Because of flight delays I found myself riding the train to Frankfurt as the sun was setting. This was disappointing because I figured all my planning was wasted by missing the sunset good light. But luck was in my favor. When I arrived at my planned location the blue hour light started taking off. An opening in the clouds situated itself directly behind the skyline. I quickly fired off a twelve image panorama (two rows of six). There is a lot going on in this image with people strolling the riverwalk, having dinner at the biergarten or sharing a hug (far left). I love these images that show us a little slice of life.
Details: photographed July 31, 2022 in Frankfurt, Germany. Bottom row images, 6 seconds, f/11, ISO100; top row images, 4 seconds, f/11, ISO100 at 50mm.
Sunlit Heron
A favorite location near my home is Appletree Cove. During sunrise you never know what you are going to see there. This morning I arrived for sunrise and in a stroke of luck, a great blue heron was hunting near the waters edge. Venturing out on to the muddy tide flats, I positioned myself to get the rising sun’s reflection backlighting the bird. My camera was focused on the heron but in hindsight getting the background also in focus would have improved the shot. It was nice to have the Kingston marina and retired ferry Hyak in the background to help establish location.
Details: photographed October 2, 2022 in Kingston, Washington. 1/100 second, f/11, ISO100 at 450mm.
Audubon Swamp Garden American Alligator
There is something a bit sinister when seeing an alligator with the top of its head just above the waterline. Stealthy and ready to pounce of some unsuspecting prey, they look like a log floating in the pond. Their eyes are downright scary looking but also very beautiful. The floating pond plants and tree debris added to the camouflaged reptile.
Details: photographed October 29, 2023 at the Audubon Swamp Garden, Charleston, South Carolina. 1/125 second, f/5.6, ISO400 at 450mm.
Peaceful Foley Beach Dawn
Upon arriving at Foley Beach for sunrise I was met by a pretty lifeless sky. Somewhat reluctantly I set up to take a few shots. It was still rather dark so the exposure times were several seconds. To my surprise the images turned out really nice with great textures in the waves and faint sun shadows in the sky. This simple image has a very peaceful nature as I remember the sound of the surf and the morning calls of the gulls. If you look closely at the left center you will see faint ghosts of surfers waiting for the next wave.
Details: photographed November 7, 2022 at Foley Beach, South Carolina. 2 seconds, f/16, ISO100 at 70mm.
Canadians Photobomb My Sunrise
This was one of those images where everything came together at the right time to create my favorite image of 2022. Once again at Appletree Cove for sunrise, these pilings have always been a favorite foreground element for many of my shots. While photographing the sun rising above the Cascade mountains, a flock of Canadian geese flew into the frame. I snapped one shot. Luckily, because I was shooting directly at the sun, my camera was set at a 1/1000 second exposure. I was also shooting at f/16 which meant that the focus was near perfect. All of it was totally unplanned and just plain lucky. The morning fog added to the atmosphere and the orange light gave it a wonderful warmth. The way the birds line up with the pilings works really well. Interestingly, I did not know that I had actually nailed the shot until getting home. I continued to shoot the sunrise after the birds flew by without doing any review.
Details: photographed November 12, 2022 in Kingston, Washington. 1/1000 second, f/16, ISO100 at 250mm.
If you have read all the way through this article, I greatly appreciate it!
Here’s to a happy and successful 2023!!