My Top 10 Images of 2019

Every year I compile my favorite ten images of the year.  They aren’t necessarily my best or most technical images, but they are my personal favorites.  It is quite the process.  I started with 60 images I had marked throughout the year as potential favorites.  Most of my images this year come from just two trips-Portland and New Orleans-both incredibly beautiful locations.  This is also probably the first year in a while where there aren’t any international locations as traveling with a one-year old calls for shorter plane rides, but we will probably get overseas again this year as the bug is biting pretty hard.

I am cheating a little and including one honorable mention this year.  I usually shoot a few sports tournaments every year and feature one or two sports images in my top ten every year, but in 2019, I only shot one game, the Kentucky vs. Utah basketball game, and none of my images from that game made it onto my favorite.  With that, I thought I would share my favorite image from that game as my nod to sports photography.

With that, lets get onto the list.  I kind of ordered these, but I was pretty burned out by that point so it is pretty loosely ranked.  To see some of my past top 10 images of previous years, check out these links: 2018 2017  2016  2015  2014  2013  2012.

10. Jean Lafitte Boardwalk

Jean Lafitte National Park was one of our highlights in New Orleans.  We decided to stop by there quickly before it closed after our Swamp Boat tour and it was one of the best decisions ever.  While we didn’t have a lot of time, we explored the beautiful boardwalk in great evening light and saw all kinds of wildlife, including an alligator, snakes, frogs and lizards.

9. Oak Alley Plantation

Oak Alley Plantation was a short drive outside of New Orleans and it was another highlight of our trip.  We spend several hours there just exploring the grounds and letting our girls play in the trees.  I was lucky that we got hit with some rain.  Although, it wasn’t the best lighting, the rain cleared out the crowds and I was left to myself to shoot the magnificent Oak Alley in the rain.  I had so many images from the Alley, it was hard to choose my favorite, and Mallory and I disagreed quite a bit, but this one stuck out to me for some reason.

8. Palouse Country Barn

We made it up to visit family in Pullman, Washington this season, and that is always one of my favorite places to shoot. I forced myself out of bed early to catch the sunrise at Dahmen Barn (will make an appearance later) and after I finished there, I drove a few miles down the highway to catch some of the golden light hitting this red barn, famous for its “Palouse County” sign.

7. Hole-in-the-Wall Falls

Over Thanksgiving week, we visited family in Portland.  On Thanksgiving morning, I got up super early with my brother in law and made the drive out to Starvation Creek State Park.  It was my first time there and it did not disappoint! My second favorite waterfall was the Hole-in-the-Wall Falls, which actually came out of a hole in the middle of the rock cliff.  This ended up being my favorite composition at this waterfall.

6. Dahmen Barn Sunrise

My favorite shot from the Palouse this year was my sunrise shot at Dahmen Barn featuring the golden light hitting the unique fence that surrounds the barn.  I wish the sky had a couple clouds in it, but that always seems to be the way it goes.

5. Jackson Square

Number five brings in my final image from New Orleans. This image from Jackson Square of the sunstar and the St. Louis Cathedral didn’t start very high on my list.  I thought for sure one of my night time images with light trails in front of Jackson Square would make the list, but I just kept moving this one up the list. 

4. Intimate Starvation Creek Falls

On our Thanksgiving morning hike, Starvation Creek Falls was definitely my favorite of the four waterfalls we hiked to.  This one is a more intimate shot of just a small portion near the the top of where I could hike up to.

3. Red Stone Milky Way

I made this image during a workshop with my good friends at Photog Adventures and Milky Way Photographers.  I love shooting astrophotography, but it is definitely not my specialty.  Mostly, I just don’t do well without sleep and the season of shooting the Milky Way at a decent hour is pretty short.  Almost every decent milky way shot I get is when I am out with Aaron from Photog Adventures!  This one was conveniently close to my home in Las Vegas and was on a workshop Photog Adventures was leading in Red Stone.

2. Chicago Architecture

Shortly after our trip to New Orleans, we headed out to Chicago to visit cousins.  The highlight of the trip (other than family) was an architectural tour we did on the river.  After the tour, our Cousin took our kids back to her house and let Mallory and I enjoy a date night, which ended watching the sunset along the river.  Since I had no kids and plenty of time, I was able to break out the ND filters and capture some movement in the clouds while smoothing out the water.

1. Starvation Creek Falls

For my favorite image of the year, we head back to Starvation Creek Falls.  I am kind of surprised this ended up number one as I was pretty confident it wasn’t even my favorite shot at Starvation Creek Falls.  The one I fell in love with ended up not even making the list somehow.  Anyways, this is a view capturing much more of the scene.  I liked the oranges and greens in this image, the sharp details in the foreground, the water flowing over the log and the funky tree on in the top right of the image.

Thanks for enjoying these images with me, or at least humoring me by making it to the end. Here is to a great 2020 and much improved images for my next top 10!