2024 Image of the Year

I'm running a little late this year. No idea why. Normally by Christmas I'm down to a dozen or so finalists. As I start to write this on New Year's Day, I'm looking at 110 images that made the top of the list across the year. That's out of almost 1837 images edited for me, and not for a race or the community. If I believe Lightroom, there are 17851 images over all, but there are a bunch of virtual copies. Lightroom counts an image with a virtual copy as two images. There's probably an easy way of finding out how many virtual copies there are, and doing some math to find the actual number of images, but I don't know it.

It doesn't matter. Onwards. I don't think anyone really cares how many are colour or black and white, or were converted from one to the other. Or how many are film vs digital. Or how many are long exposures vs a normal exposure. (Just in case someone actually does care, I happen to know that exposure ranges from a very, very fast 1/3200 of a second, to just over two minutes.) Or how many are documentary for some reason, or are aspirations to art. Just at this very moment I'm looking at image file number 8137 from early April, of my white Sorel snow boots. I don't have the slightest idea why I would have taken the photo of them, let alone edited it, and have no memory of doing it. The ones before and after are no help in deciphering the mystery.

I went back and reread the 2023 Image of the Year post. I started the year wanting to think about images and books, and I did several books. People tend to gush a bit as they look at them, so I think that part has worked out well. I'll be doing more. (In a later thought I just had an idea for a book, and if I hustle, I get a Blurb discount.)  In past years I provided links to previous Image of the Year posts, but not this year. Call me lazy, if you must, but they're easy enough to find. Look in the blog roll over there on the right and open the dates, looking for January. The Image of the Year post will reveal itself.

The new thing in 2024 was to start printing my work in a dark room. Old school, enlarger, chemicals, and all. This is an entirely different experience, and leads to looking at photos in an entirely different way. Images look different in print than on a computer screen. Some are significantly better. Some turn out to be disappointments for one reason or another. Dust, hairs, or an image that isn't as good as I thought it was. Or maybe I haven't figured out how to make the print look good. It's more complicated than it first appears.

In fact, that kind of complicated my process for selecting image of the year. While reviewing the 3 star images wondering if any should be bumped up to 4 stars, I was also thinking if any of the film images should be printed. I'm not terribly good at doing two things at once, and no better at thinking about two things at once. Let's just say there was some backing and forthing.

Several of my finalists (I'm down to 20 at the moment) have been printed, and I'm thinking about printing several more. I need to keep in mind if I'm thinking of the print, or the digital version. One of the photos I printed looks amazing on paper (it's framed and on our mantlepiece) but the digital version isn't quite as nice. That's been true of several photos. 

Print images, either in a book or from a darkroom are likely to be the focus of my photography in the coming year. I've already been asking myself if I would print that scene if I press the shutter button. That leads to fewer photos being taken. Which might lead to fewer blogs, or fewer photos in the blogs. One of my readers asked a question about my photos and he is right. Watch for that change in photos edited from now going forward. Those who live in Calgary and want to see what I'm up to need only make a coffee date and ask me to bring along books or prints.

So what's the best from 2024, you ask? Out of the short list, there are all sorts of reasons to pick one or another. The one where I was all set up for a waterfall long exposure and I got mooned by a woman oblivious to my standing there. The most colourful with the fastest shutter speed doing interesting things to the texture of water, or the texture of water with a long exposure. A beautiful model who suggested such a fun photo session. The most amazing clear reflections in several years, or maybe the foggy reflection. Mist rising from the ocean to the tasteful seagull chorus. The awesome textures of black and white film. The one that smacked me upside the head with the sense of place and allusions to greater things. How can a close up photo of a polar bear not be wonderful. I could tell a story about any of theses.

Decisions, decisions. I think I'll go enjoy this glass of wine and carry out my fuzzy blanket substrate obligations to the demanding mammal.

2nd Runner Up

The photo most unlike anything I've ever done. One of the most technically difficult photos I've ever done, one where I had to think through exactly how the camera sees things, and how to use the settings to get what I wanted, and get the timing exactly right. Good thing there were lots of opportunities.

1st Runner Up

Who doesn't love polar bears? I have a bunch of nice photos of them, but I keep coming back to this one. I'm not likely to ever see another polar bear in the wild again.

Image of the Year

I know some of you are asking yourself if I've lost my grip. But no, I don't think so. The instant I saw this scene a whole bunch of things flashed through my mind, since we had just walked up a boardwalk where many of the slats were painted with memorials to people that had passed away.

If I'm working on photos of the idea of something, rather than just of something, then this one is the best I did all year.