My favorite pictures from 2008. Quite honestly, not as many favorites as in years past ... but I didn't spend as much time with my camera as I would have liked. 2009 will be different. I miss it.
In the meantime, enjoy these 20 shots.
In the meantime, enjoy these 20 shots.
Just a simple snapshot ... but it reminds me of a great trip with great friends in January ... perfect way to start 2008. Love this one for the sentiment, and not the artistic value.
An action shot of Sasha destroying a snowball back in January. Love the determination on her face and the shrapnel exploding away.
Another one on sentiment. In January, Q100 moved to 99.7FM and 100,000 watts. We moved down the hall into the old 99X studio, and I finally had a seat with a view. I was humbled to be sitting where my friend and former co-worker Jimmy Baron sat during the Morning X and all of it's latter-day incarnations.
Back in February, all of us on the show agreed to take a self-pic within 3 minutes of getting out of bed. This is mine. Then I had the great idea to make our pics into billboards, with some creative tagline that would convince people that we sound better than we look. Because of a few reasons, these billboards never came to fruition. I stand behind the idea, and hope that we can someday do them.
Inadvertently sepia. I had a gradient filter and a polarizing filter on at sunset. This is looking across Hilo Bay. I printed this one 10X13 and put it on a black mat with a black frame and it's really beautiful.
A humpback whale showing off in Hawaii. Pure luck ... camera was up and pointed in that general direction. I hit the shutter like a machine gun before it was even to my eye. A few came out in focus, this was the best. Magnificent.
These rocks and stairs are in an area of Coconut Beach, in Hillo. Jessica's father used to swim here when he was younger. The image looked fine in color, but a quick adjustment to the photo-negative of the original makes it more exciting, me thinks.
Jessica on a plane, flying out of Hilo, Hawaii. That is where she spent many years growing up. Black, white, simple. I like it.
I was riding in a friends boat, in the front. I got on the floor to avoid the wind, and Sasha stayed tall because she loves wind. I snapped this from below. Accidental great shot. I printed it 6X6 and mounted it with a big white mat in a thin black frame. It hangs proudly in our bathroom. Sasha's proud of the picture, disappointed in the gallery placement.
This shot was an accident. I was trying to get advice about something on my boat from a message board, and needed to take a picture of this part. I just stuck the camera in the engine and took this shot. I like the sharp focus on the 6 (or is it a 9?) and the blurred other parts. I was going to crop out the blurred thing in the lower left, but it loses something when I do. I haven't yet, but will print this one.
OK, so there was a goat on our porch. Seriously. And his best friend was a dog. One morning we heard some noises and looked outside and a goat and dog were walking by. Then later we went to get on the boat, and the goat and dog came down to the dock to watch us leave. They waited for each other and just hung out with us for a few minutes. In some spiritual, bizarre way, it was really an honor that the goat and dog, who were best friends, decided to hang out with some humans, too. Can't we all just somehow get along? (By the way ... aren't goat eyes freaky?)
I love this shot of my Mom and Dad at the lake. It was fun having them visit this summer and I hope they spend more time with us in 2009.
From a church in Montreal. Jessica lit one for her Dad, I lit one for my Grandmother. Peaceful.
I couldn't decide if I wanted to make this a favorite. But I chose to because it represents perfection. This hotel we stayed in (Quebec) was absolutely perfect. And this little note card, in the exact center of the pillow, in the perfectly dimmed room, with the perfectly drawn words, numbers, and shapes needed to be documented. If, for no other reason, than to remind people that perfection is attainable if it's really important.
This was taken at our brainstorming retreat in September. I love this snapshot of Bert and Lyndel getting overly competitive with the Wii, while Tracey just sits nonchalantly in the background, oblivious to their silly antics. A PERFECT representation of our show.
I took this with the camera on my Blackberry Curve. I included it because it reminded me of a GREAT day at the lake. I went out alone, tied up to some random island, and sat by myself all afternoon doing (and thinking about) nothing.
I took my parents to the Atlanta Motor Speedway race in October. Between my Dad and I, we took over 200 pictures. I like this one because the rear tire is actually in motion. Cool.
Blackberry shot. I imagine Sasha is saying to Goo-Goo "stop talking! Can't we just make this ride in silence? Just ONCE?"
Another Blackberry shot ... a self portrait. (I swear I am a safe driver.) I love how attentive Goo is to the road. "Oh, I see we are crossing Hartwell. Won't be long now, I shall grab my toiletries and be ready for our arrival. Mmmmyes. Meow."
It's easy to take a great picture when you have a great subject. Despite the absence of any color, it is still a magnificent shot. I especially like the way the top of the tower just seems to fade away into the clouds.
The bar at the Grace Bay Club.
Our private plane's cockpit. They wouldn't let me fly.