Landscape, Nature And Travel Photography

Photography By Jim M. Goldstein

Best Photos of 2009 by JMG-Galleries Blog Reader’s

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 PicturesJon 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 2009Tony Rath Photography
  16. Top 10 of 2009Steve Cole Photography Blog
  17. my top ten shots of 2009Tom Varden
  18. Best of 2009 – Mario Batalla
  19. My Top 10 Photos from 2009Justin 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 2009Janis 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 LensMarcin 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 2009Photographic 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 2009Jim 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 2009Uschi Gerschner Photography
  46. Top Five Images from 2009 and Keeping It NewMike Cavaroc
  47. Wrapping up 2009Ivan 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 2009Dave 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 scenesAlexia 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 2009William Neill Photography
  69. Top 10 Photos of 2009Digital Kloc Photography
  70. Best Photos of 2009Dave 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 2009Chris 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 2009Rick Goldwasser
  79. Best of 2009 – Jeremy Brooks
  80. My best from 2009Massimo Belloni
  81. Favorites of 2009Pat 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 2009Peter 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 2009Ken 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 2009Sean Willis Photography
  97. Best Photos of 2009 – Andre Maltais | Maltphoto
  98. Top 9 of 2009! – Jenna Stirling
  99. 2009 in review, the photo versionSam 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 2009Neil 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 2009Gavriel Jecan Photography
  124. My Top 10 Photos for 2009 – Neil Creek Photography

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Blog Project: Your Best Photos From 2009

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.

Blog Project Results: Buying Prints from Your Favorite Photographers 2009

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 MarcelliniPaul 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.

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Buying Prints Project: Joseph Rossbach and Aaron Johnson

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!

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Buying Prints Blog Project Deadline Update

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

Photo Project: Buying Prints from Your Favorite Photographers 2009

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!

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Print Purchase Highlight: Guy Tal

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

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Print Purchase Highlight: Mario Zanaria

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…

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