Landscape, Nature And Travel Photography

By the look of this years submissions 2009 was a stellar year for many of the photographers who read the JMG-Galleries blog. The amount of participation in this years Best Photos of 2009 blog project was amazing… up over 30% from last year to 124 participants. Thanks to everyone who took part this year and for those that did not I’m hopeful you’ll take part next year.

Photographers taking part in this years Best Photos of 2009 blog project covered a wide variety of genres including landscape, macro, nature, photojournalism, portraiture, wildlife and more. In addition participating photographers ran the gamut of skill level from enthusiasts to professionals. As you scan the list below you’ll likely recognize some familiar names. Whether you recognize the photographers by name or not  be sure to visit as many submissions as possible. There’s a lot of great talent, known and unknown, out there and you’re likely to find some real gems as you explore.

Also be sure to take part in submitting and reviewing  photographs through out the year in the JMG-Galleries Flickr group and feel free to introduce yourself there.

To this years submissions… enjoy and good luck picking out your favorite. Some of my favorites are in bold.

1. Best Photos of 2009 – Jim M. Goldstein | JMG-Galleries
2. Best of 2009 Photo Set – Heikki Salmi
3. Top 10 2009 – Chris Moore | Exploring Light Photography
4. Best of 2009 – Wat Chedi Luang | FocusPocus
5. Best of 2009 – Dave Wilson | News and Views
6. Five For Friday – Favorites of 2009 - Craig Ferguson Images | Cultural Photography
7. Best Photos of 2009 – David Cleland | Flixelpix
8. Best Photos 2009 – Chuq Von Rospach | chuqui 3.0
9. 2009 Favorites – G Dan Mitchell | G Dan Mitchell Photography
10. Best of 2009 – Roberta Murray | Uncommon Depth
11. My Year in Pictures – Jon McCormack Photography
12. Top 10 Photos of 2009 – Steven Bourelle | SierraVisions
13. 2009: Year in Review – Stephen Zacharias
14. 2009 – A Photographic Year in Review – David Taylor | Sixtyone North
15. Best Photos of 2009 – Tony Rath Photography
16. Top 10 of 2009 – Steve Cole Photography Blog
17. my top ten shots of 2009 – Tom Varden
18. Best of 2009 – Mario Batalla
19. My Top 10 Photos from 2009 – Justin Korn [dot] com
20. Best of 2009 – Inge Fernau | Magical Glow Photography
21. My Favorite Photos From 2009 – Brian Auer | Epic Edits
22. Best Photos From 2009 – Janis Janums Photography
23. Best of 2009 – Tim Parkin | Still Developing
24. 2009 Retrospective – Jan Klier | AllKlier Photography
25. Best of 2009 – Jenni Brehm | Changing Perspectives
26. 2009 in Pictures – Hitesh Sawlani | A Visual Treat
27. Year 2009 in pictures – Minna Kinnunen | The Quiet Picture
28. 2009 in front of my Lens – Marcin Retecki Photography
29. Best of 2009 – Peter Carr | Vanilla Days
30. Best of 2009 – Dave Reichert
31. My top favourites from 2009 – Ricky Law
32. Best of 2009 – Joshua Beckman |PhotoVandal
33. 2009 Top Ten – Jessica Sweeney | Quotidian Photography
34. My favourite shots in 2009 – Catalin Marin | Momentary Awe
35. Best Photos of 2009 – Suzy Walker | Reef Beasties
36. My Best of 2009! – Michelle Johnson | My Two Seasons
37. The Best of 2009 – Photographic Phantasy: Photography by Samantha Genier
38. Best of Photos Part I-IV - Chuck Goolsbee
39. Statue of Liberty 2009 – Scott Dunn
40. My Favorite Photos of 2009 – Ed Rosack | Central Florida Photo Ops
41. Best Photos from 2009 – Jim Wheeler
42. Year in Review 2009 – Laurie Ballesteros | Photine
43. Favorites of the Year – Ken Trout | Lunch is Optional
44. Year 2009 in Korwel photography – Iza Korwel | Korwel Photography
45. Best of 2009 – Uschi Gerschner Photography
46. Top Five Images from 2009 and Keeping It New – Mike Cavaroc
47. Wrapping up 2009 – Ivan Makarov Photography
48. Favourite Nine from 2009 – Todd Metcalfe | Daily Grind Photography
49. Favorite Images of 2009! – Allison Pluda | Seneca Creek Photography
50. Best photos of 2009: Non Portrait Pictures – Julie Provost | Julie Loves Photography
51. 2009 in 12 beelden – Jeroen Mentens | FaunaFlora.org
52. Reflections on images of 2009 – Mark Graf | Graf Nature & Wildlife Photography
53. An End of Year Retrospective for 2009 – Derrald Farnsworth-Livingston | Journey of Light Photography
54. Top Ten Photos Of 2009 – Jed Link | Mr. & Mrs. Link
55. YEAR IN REVIEW – TOP 5′S OF 2009 – Matt Graham
56. Ten Best for 2009 – Dan Baumbach
57. Top 10 Photographs For 2009 - Seung Kye Lee – fine art landscape photography
58. My 10 Favorite photos of 2009 – Alex Budak | Unpopped Collar
59. Best Photos of 2009 – Dave Hammaker Photography
60. My Best Photos of 2009 – D. Travis North | Shutter Photo
61. Favourite Pictures of 2009 – Janne Moren | Janne in Osaka
62. My Best Photos of 2009 – Michael Spivak | Developing The Fixer
63. 2009 Favourite – Marc Hodges | sevennine
64. NZ Opera: Macbeth behind the scenes – Alexia Sinclair
65. The Best of ‘09 – Porter Watkins
66. Respect - Paul (Slimeface) Tarin
67. Best Images for 2009 – Giovanni Russello | GRGalleries
68. Happy 2010 / Best of 2009 – William Neill Photography
69. Top 10 Photos of 2009 – Digital Kloc Photography
70. Best Photos of 2009 – Dave Schumaker
71. Best of 2009 – G. Kaltenbrun | gZphotoGraphs
72. Favourite landscape photographs from 2009 – Jonathan Martin-DeMoor | Silvicola borealis Images
73. Top 5 of 2009 - Jim Maher | Jim Maher Photoworks
74. Favourites 2009 – Chris Gin
75. Best Photographs of 2009: Globetrotting – Justin Shifrin | J. Stuart Studios
76. Best 10 of 2009 – Duffy Knox | The View Through My Glass
77. Best of 2009 – Rian Castillo | Digitized Chaos
78. Best of 2009 – Rick Goldwasser
79. Best of 2009 – Jeremy Brooks
80. My best from 2009 – Massimo Belloni
81. Favorites of 2009 – Pat Ulrich Photography
82. Best Photos of 2009 – Nick Fuller | JadeGreenImage
83. Best of 2009 – Stig Nygaard | Rockland
84. My Fave 5 from 2009 – Greg Russell Russell
85. Best Images of 2009 – Peter Cox Photography
86. My Favourite Photos of 2009 – Daniel Loshak
87. Favorite photo – Lacey Smith | Lace’s Photography
88. 2009 Year in Pictures - Lane Hartwell | The Post and Review
89. Ten More from 2009 - Ann Torrence
90. Best of 2009 – Ken Snyder
91. Best of 2009 – Simon Ponder | Simon Says
92. TOP Photos of 2009 - Gary Crabbe | Enlightened Images
93. 2009 Top 10 – Steven Scherbinski | Randomness
94. Looking back, looking forward - Kevin Ebi | Living Wilderness Nature Photography
95. Best of 2009 – Todd Heckert | Great Lakes Exposure
96. MY BEST PHOTOS of 2009 – Sean Willis Photography
97. Best Photos of 2009 – Andre Maltais | Maltphoto
98. Top 9 of 2009! – Jenna Stirling
99. 2009 in review, the photo version - Sam Bloomberg-Rissman Photography
100. Favorite Photos from 2009 – Ron Niebrugge | Niebrugge Images
101. Niner for Zero Niner before Zero Niner of Zero Ten - Jay Goodrich Photography
102. Best of 2009 – Prajit Ravindran
103. Photos of 2009 + Flickr Set- Carl Donohue | Skolai Images
104. Top 12, 2009 – John Fujimagari
105. Top 10 Photos of 2009 – Mike Criss
106. 2009 IN REVIEW – Kriz Cpec | kRiZ cPEc Photo Blog
107. My Favorite Photos of 2009 – Greg Lato | latoga photography
108. Best of 2009 – Andree Oulmann | On Linden Way
109. 10 Favorite Pictures of 2009 – Chris Williams | Hidden Light Photography
110. Your Best Photos From 2009 – Gurbir Singh Brar | Fotovala
111. Landscape Photography My Best of 2009 – Steve Sieren
112. Best of 2009 – Torsten Curdt
113. Best of 2009 – Stefan Neuweger | addicted2pixels
114. Image Picks from 2009 – Neil Corman Photography
115. Jahresrückblick (fotografisch) – Steffen Goethling | Lens-Flare.de
116. Best Photos of 2009 – Mike Reys |pl?dys
117. My Best Photos from 2009 – Terri Jacobson | Greyhound Gardens
118. My best photos of 2009 – Bryan Villarin | All Narfed Up
119. Best of 2009 – Heidi Donat
120. Best of 2009 – Pedja Pavlicic
121. Best of 2009 – Matthew Sallee | IAmMatt
122. Best of 2009 - Go2Grl
123. 10 Top Photos of 2009 – Gavriel Jecan Photography
124. My Top 10 Photos for 2009 – Neil Creek Photography

Technorati Tags: Best of 2009, Photography, Blog Project, Photographers

As has become a yearly tradition on the JMG-Galleries blog I’m kicking off the 3rd annual blog project for you to share your best photos of the past year. Last year we had nearly 100 people take part (Best Photos of 2008 by JMG-Galleries Blog Reader’s) tripling the results from 2007 (Best Photos From 2007 by JMG-Galleries Blog Reader’s). This has proven to be increasingly popular and a great way to introduce JMG-Galleries readers to each other.

How to Participate (Read Carefully):

1. Review & select your top photos from 2009.
2. Create a blog post on your web site or a Flickr set containing your top photos from 2009.
3. Access my Contact page filling out all required fields.
4. In the subject line type “Your Best Photos From 2009″
5. Include in your message:
   • Your web site name (if applicable)
   • Your web site address
   • The URL to “Your Best Photo From 2009? blog/Flickr set entry

Note: Due to the increased volume of entries submissions lacking this information may not be listed.

The only rules for this project is that you share photos taken within the calendar year of 2009. As with all my photography blog projects participation is more important than anything else. I look forward to seeing your photos!

Deadline to Take Part
The deadline to take part will be Saturday JANUARY 9th at 11:59PM PST.
The following Tuesday I’ll post a link to all submitted sites and photos.

Spread the Word!
Feel free to spread the word of this project on Twitter, Facebook, photo forums you frequent and/or your blogs. All who are interested in taking part are invited.

Join the JMG-Galleries Flickr Group
New to this years blog project I’ve created the JMG-Galleries Flickr group to make it easier for JMG-Galleries blog readers to view and comment on each others photography. Join the group, read the rules and post your best photos year round.

The results are in for the Buying Prints from Your Favorite Photographers 2009 blog project. Turn out similar to last year was small, but given the economy was worse this year than last I’m happy with the degree of participation. If you decide to pick up a print, book, calendar, etc. before the end of the year feel free to drop me an email and I’ll be happy to add an addendum to the results below. In this digital age the more people experience the tangible nature of photography the better.

Thanks to all who took part in the project this year. I hope the project was a pleasant one and worthy of encouraging others to take part in next year.

And now for the results…

Mark Groves – Mark Groves Photography
Purchased a photo from Nicki Steiger and conducted a digital file swap / print exchange with  Robert Jaudon.
“As Jim mentions in his post, “It’s not a photo until it’s a print”, I could not agree more, every time I print one of my shots I am very pleased at the results.”

Paul Marcellini – Paul Marcellini Photography
Purchased a fine art print from Guy Tal.
“… Guy Tal… has been a big inspiration to me with his images and writing and I have always liked this image.”

Nancy Stockdale – Futurowoman Fotographie
Discusses her purchases of fine art photography by  Sharon Montrose, Skippy Sanchez and Elinor Scott-Sutter.
“In all, buying prints is one of the most wonderful things a lover of photography can do! Holding a photo in your hand, gazing upon it framed on your wall, and supporting an artist whose work you admire through a simple financial transaction is a wonderful thing! I highly recommend the experience, even if you can only afford to buy a small, inexpensive print or even a postcard.”

Greg Russell – Alpenglow Images
Conducted a print exchange with Guy Schmickle.
“After a long discussion with my wife, we chose one of Guy’s prints to have in our house–the American Basin Waterfall–because it captures my love for this mountain range, and her love of waterfalls.”

Jim M. Goldstein – JMG-Galleries
Purchased prints from Joseph Rossbach and Aaron Johnson creator of  What the Duck
“This year my entries focus on artists with a fine eye for observation.”

Technorati Tags: photography, blog project, photo prints, fine art

This year my entry for my Photo Project: Buying Prints from Your Favorite Photographers 2009 focuses on artists with a fine eye for observation. One thing I’ve noticed about creative work that I’m attracted to is they almost always incite the same core reaction from me.

I wish I had been in the right creative mindset to see that.

First up is a photo from Joseph Rossbach titled “Small Worlds”. I first saw this photo on a photo forum we both frequent naturephotographers.net or otherwise referred to by members as NPN. I was blown away when I saw this the first time and I’ve since revisited Joe’s site and Flickr photostream several times to look at this photo.

Aside from having the creative mindset to see this subject I’ve always been attracted to the patterns, lines, details, composition and over arching abstract nature of the ice. The cold atmosphere and fine details add to the attraction to this photo all the more.

While not photography specifically my next purchase is photography related. I picked up two signed prints from Aaron Johnson creator of  What the Duck.  If you haven’t seen What the Duck then you’re likely one of the few. Be sure to check out his interview: EXIF and Beyond: Aaron Johnson Creator of ‘What The Duck.

I couldn’t help pick up more than one print after digging through the What the Duck archives. With collecting in mind I decided to buy the very first What the Duck cartoon:

I’ve always been a sucker for this one particular What the Duck cartoon. I appreciate the message here because its in line with my personal philosophy of relying on my camera not software to capture a photo correctly.

There you have it my recent purchase as part of this years buying prints blog project. I’ll be posting results very soon so if you haven’t yet sent me your blog entry as part of this blog project do it today!

Technorati Tags: photography, blog project, buy prints project

Before I head out to Yosemite I wanted to make sure that everyone planning on taking part in the Buying Prints from Your Favorite Photographers 2009 photo project knows the deadline has been extended to Friday December 11th. I’m hopeful this gives everyone a little more breathing room to take part in this years project and to find photo prints worthy of purchasing. Be sure to pass word on to others about the project and of course have fun!  Have a great weekend everyone.

Yosemite Textures

Last year I kicked off the first year of the Buying Prints from Your Favorite Photographers blog project and was really happy with the participation, but even happier with the prints I purchased. In the hope of building upon last years effort I’m kicking off another blog project with the exact same goals. For details see below…

“It’s not a photo until its a print“

One of the unique aspects of digital photography is that we’re now able to enjoy photographic work with out viewing it in printed form. More so now than ever before supporting a photographer is shown almost exclusively online through photo forums, blogs, and other online communities. While viewing photographs online is easy and relatively inexpensive it is a hollow experience by comparison to holding an actual print from a photographer you respect and admire.

The goal of this project is to introduce fine art photography, photography books, print exchanges, and other photography related products to photography fans of all walks of life. It is also to spur photography fans to think in terms of financially supporting talented photographers so they can continue to do what they love.

What This Project Entails:

1. Find photographs from photographers that you respect and admire.
2. Purchase a photograph or photographs from these photographers. Spend within your means. Ideally try to purchase 1 to 3 photographs.
3. Write about the experience (buying, viewing, etc) on your web site, blog, Flickr page, etc.
4. Participants should then send me a link to their write up (see details below)
5. I’ll consolidate a list of links to the write ups of everyone that took part in early December on my blog and distribute it.

What You Can Do To Make This Project A Success

1. Contact photographers that you may or may not know.
2. Point them to this post and provide them background to your print request.
3. Even if you have little to spare inquire about a discount or an alternate product to purchase such as notecards, calendars, proof print, etc. Any participation is better than no participation. The goal is to obtain a physical copy of photographs you like.
4. Alternatively if you’re a photographer it is not uncommon to conduct print exchanges, where photographers exchange equivalent prints. Not every photographer may do this so don’t be offended if you approach someone who is not interested in such an exchange.
5. If you’re a photographer consider providing a discount to project participants.
   My discount: All 5 x 7 & 8 x 12 prints are $19.99 & $29.99 respectively.
   For every two people who buy prints and provide you as a reference I’ll give you a free 8 x 12 print of your choice. Search for you photo
6. Spread the word about this project.

The Deadline

Before the conclusion of this project on December 4th December 11th , 2009 write a blog post highlighting the photographs you’ve acquired and share thoughts of your experience in becoming a fine art print owner. Send me a link to your blog post and I’ll post the results the week of December 7th.

How to send in your link to your blog post:

1. Access my Contact page
   
2. In the subject line type “Favorite Photographer Prints”
3. In the message put the name of your site, web address, link to your “Favorite Photographer Print” blog entry.

PLEASE DO NOT SUBMIT YOUR BLOG LINK AS A COMMENT TO THIS ENTRY.

I look forward to seeing your submission!

Technorati Tags: Photography, Fine Art, Prints, Photo Project

The work of Guy Tal is the fifth of five prints to highlight from my Buying Prints from Your Favorite Photographers blog project (see results here).

I’ve been long over due in posting the 5th installment of my print purchase highlight from last years blog project, but in this case I saved the best for last. Guy Tal is a photographer, author and friend whose work I’ve enjoyed for many years. He is one of the few photographers who is as skilled behind the keyboard as he is behind a camera. An eloquent writer and inspiring photographer I knew I had to purchase one of his prints.

Upon approaching Guy as part of this project he was generous enough to offer a print exchange and it took sometime to decide what to order. Guy has no shortage of great photographs to choose from. I ended up gravitating toward “Sheltered” and “Frozen Autumn”.  After an email correspondence or two we exchanged Sheltered for my photo Reflecting Art. What I got in the mail to my surprise was a limited edition print of Frozen Autumn. Seeing as in our email we had agreed to keep the exchange to open prints this was quite a surprise. I called Guy to thank him personally, but only got his voicemail. A week or two later I took my print to be framed and realized upon taking out the print from its clear bag he had also included “Sheltered”.

I was blown away by Guy’s generosity and it speaks volumes to the type of person he is. I have a special thank you lined up for Guy and when he least expects it I’ll spring it on him.

Frozen Autumn

Sheltered

Technorati Tags: Photography, Guy Tal

The work of Mario Zanaria is the fourth of five prints to highlight from my Buying Prints from Your Favorite Photographers blog project.

To be honest I got caught off guard with Mario’s photography. I can’t remember exactly how I stumbled on to Mario’s flickr photostream, but I did and I’m really happy that it happened. I really enjoy Mario’s photography and he never ceases to amaze me. His photograph titled “S.” in his “Naked Truth” series struck a nerve with me. The connection of his model with him and his camera is something that I see very rarely. While it is a nude, there is no nudity, as the pose and framing conceals anything that would be revealing. For those curious to see this photograph click on the “read more” link below, but out of courtesy for those at work and who may not feel the same way about the photo as I do I’ve put it out of view so you can opt out of viewing it or wait to view it while at home.

Earlier in the week I discussed how the photo of Senator Barack Obama struck a nerve with my wife and I. In this instance this photo struck a nerve with my wife in the exact opposite way. My wife is not happy that I picked up this photo, but the experience revolving around our different perceptions of this photo has been an eye opener. As mentioned when I look at this photo I see nothing but a technically fantastic photo with an incredible moment captured. To me I see nothing but artistry and photographic mastery… something to collect. I find the gaze of his model hypnotizing and any sense of nudity is non-existent to me. On the flip-side my wife sees a naked woman and expressed concern that I would purchase a photo such as this.

I still scratch my head over this past situation as I see this photo no differently than any other photo I purchased. This photo, as with the others, are technically excellent and visually engaging. My reaction to this photo is equivalent to the other nature photographs I’ve purchased. I suppose this makes me a photography geek. The best analogy I can make is even geekier. In the movie the Matrix, people could look at a screen of passing code and see what was going on at a deeper level… interpreting the code to picture what someone was doing or what scene was unfolding. For myself I suppose the experience is similar but the reverse. I see a photograph and see not just the magical moment captured, but everything going on behind the scenes. It is this depth of perception to such imagery that adds to my appreciation of the work. With that said my enjoyment of such work is compounded by the essence of a photograph whether it is a magical moment between model and photographer or magic lighting combined with an amazing series of natural events. No photograph is the same between photographers. Each photographer brings their own experience, vision and artistic interpretation to a scene or situation and this is a huge reason why I love photography.

I am really happy to have discovered Mario’s photography and am elated to have added this photograph to my nascent, but growing collection of fine art. While this won’t be going up at home I am looking forward to including it in a larger collection to display at a later time. Read more…