Going back and reviewing your photos for the year is a good idea.  It gives you a chance to reflect on what  you’v accomplished photographically during the year.  Also, after you’ve done it for a few years, it gives you the ability to compare your Top 10 against previous Top 10s and see how you are growing (or possibly regressing) in your photography.

That being said, here are my Top 10, in chronological order:

1. Florida Sunrise

Florida sunrise, taken from Lake Worth, FL

I was in Florida in March, visiting my father and stepmother.  While I was there, I went to Lake Worth to capture some sunrise photos over the ocean.  I took a number of exposures that day that I am quite proud of, but if I had to narrow it down to one, I’d say that this is it.  I’m a color junkie (as you’ll see from the shots that follow) and this shot simply had both great color and the leading line of the pier leading the eye to the sunrise.

Canon 7D, 41mm, f/14, 1/13, ISO 100

2. Lake Mendota

Lake Mendota

In May, I had to travel to Madison, Wisconsin for business.  While there, I brought my camera gear along, figuring that I could do some photography after the day’s work was done.  One of the places I visited was Tenney Park.  I went there, hoping to catch the sun setting over Lake Mendota, one of the two lakes bordering Madison.  Alas, the sky did not agree with my plans, as cloud cover prevented me from getting that sunset shot.  However, rather than give up, I decided to just work with what I had.  I pulled out my wide angle lens, found some rocks that a tree that jutted out past the shoreline and snapped away.  This shot is the result.  No, it’s not the sunset I wanted, but it still worked quite well for me.

Canon 7D, 13mm, f/5, 1/80, ISO 100

3. Green

Central Park, NYC

I’m a photographer who loves to shoot nature and happens to live in New York City… one of the most unnatural places in the country.  Fortunately, New York has a good number of parks where one can go to forget the hustle and bustle of the urban jungle for a time.  The most famous of these places is Central Park.  Located smack dab in the middle of the busiest island in the country, it’s an oasis of green in the midst of concrete, glass and steel.

I’ve taken quite a few shots in Central Park over the years, but this is my favorite from this year.  I just love how the green explodes out of the image, surrounding the bridge and making you believe that this is located in some far away remote jungle, rather than in Manhattan.

Canon 7D, 70mm, f/4, 1/20, ISO 100

4. Schoodic Sunset

Schoodic Peninsula, Acadia National Park, Maine

In August, Lisa and I took a trip up to Maine to visit Acadia National Park.  If you’ve never been there before, I highly recommend that you go there.  It is one of the most beautiful places on the East Coast.

There are two main parts to the park.  Most of the Park is located on Mount Desert Island.  There is another part of the park, about an hour away on the mainland.  This is the Schoodic Peninsula portion of the park – and only about 10% of visitors to Acadia make it to Schoodic Peninsula.  Lisa and I took a trip out there one day and waited by the southern end of the peninsula for sunset.  We were not disappointed.  When I saw it, I took out my new wide angle lens (Sigma Art 14-24mm) and began snapping away.  This shot was the result.  I personally like how the sunset is sandwiched between the rocks and cloud layer above.

Canon 6D Mark II, 18,mm, f/22 (I wanted those star burst rays), 1/20, ISO 100

5. Bass Harbor Sunset

Bass Harbor, Maine

On our last night in Maine, we visited the Bass Harbor Lighthouse in Southwest Harbor, Maine.  Officially a part of Acadia National Park, it’s not connected to the rest of the park.  We got there shortly before sunset and were treated to the most amazing colors as the sun went down for the night.  This shot was taken just after sunset, while the colors were still in the sky.  As I said above, I’m a color junkie, and this sky was just full of the entire range of colors.

Canon 6D Mark II, 38mm, f/8, 1/50, ISO 100

6. The Brook

Near Kaaterskill Falls, NY

In October, I went upstate to photograph Kaaterskill Falls, one of the larger falls in the Hudson Valley.  Even though I went to shoot the falls, my favorite shot of the day turned out to be this one, a small brook near the falls.  The autumn color just beginning to show up and I had to try to capture it.

Canon 6D Mark II, 24mm, f/5.6, 1/20, ISO 100

7. Dark Hallows Falls

Dark Hallows Falls, Shenandoah National Park, Virginia

The last four shots all come from my trip to Shenandoah National Park in October.

I love waterfalls and one of the hopes I had for my Shenandoah trip was to capture some of the waterfalls of the region.  One of the hikes I took led me to Dark Hallows Falls, a 70 foot cascade  I got there at mid-morning and when I saw the sun positioned over the falls, I knew I had to get that shot.

Canon 6D Mark II, 24mm, f/18 (again, I wanted that starburst), 1/2 second, ISO 100.

8. Tunnel Overlook

Tunnel Overlook, Shenandoah National Park, Virginia

There is one major road that runs through Shenandoah National Park, and it runs north-south.  There are many places along this road where you can pull over and be treated to a spectacular view.  One of the most popular is the Tunnel Overlook, in the northern part of the park.  I made sure to get to this east-facing overlook before sunrise.  I was treated to a wonderfully colorful sunrise.  It would have been nicer had there been some great clouds in the sky, but, as with the sunset by Lake Mendota above, you have to work with what you have.  Even so, I just love how this shot came out.

Canon 6D Mark II, 15mm, f/11, 1/50, ISO 100

9.  Point Overlook

Point Overlook, Shenandoah National Park, Virginia

One of the most popular sunset locations in Shenandoah National Park is Point Overlook.  I spent quite a bit of time here, from about an hour before sunset to about thirty minutes afterwards.  Of the shots I took at this location, this one is my favorite.  I love how the distant mountains fade away in a line and how the sun gives the entire scene a magical glow.

Canon 6D Mark II, 70mm, f/5.6, 1/800, ISO 100

10. Great Falls

Great Falls, McLean, VA

On my way back home from Shenandoah, I made a stop at Great Falls in McLean VA.  I had never heard of it before I began planning the trip, but once I found out about it, I knew I had to visit.  The place did not disappoint.  The Potomac River rushing through the gorge makes for some wonderful waterfalls.  After trying several compositions, including some close ups of some of the falls, I decided that my favorite was this shot, showing how the river tumbles through.

Canon 6D Mark II, 47mm, f/4.5, 1/2 second, ISO 100

And, that’s it.  Those are my Top 10 for the year.   However, I do have three more shots that I wanted to share — not because they were particularly great photographs, but because they have special meaning.

Manhattan Bridge

I took this shot of the Manhattan Bridge back in July.  It’s not a perfect picture — the horizon is uneven for starters.  But I really like this shot, as it was a moment of inspiration that caused me to take this shot.  I’ve shot this bridge many times before, but for some reason, it never occurred to me to take it from this angle before.

Milky Way

Milky Way, taken at Seawall Campground, Maine

As I mentioned above, I live in New York City, the most light-polluted place in the country.  As a result, I don’t get to see too many star filled skies, and especially not the Milky Way.  So when we took our trip out to Acadia (timed to coincide with the new moon), I made sure to bring my tripod and wide angle lens to shoot the Milky Way.  This was my first attempt.

Rainbow Snort

This picture is the result of sheer luck.  Lisa and I went whale watching while we were in Maine and I just happened to catch a rainbow refracting through the water droplets snorted out by a whale on the trip.  It’s not a great photo, but it’s a reminder to myself to just keep shooting no matter what — you never know what’s going to happen.

And so, that’s it.  How do you think I did compared to last year’s Top 10.  Please feel free to reach out and let me know.

Zev

One of the places I wanted to go to was a small park called Tenney Park. It sits right on the shore of Lake Mendota and I scheduled my last night there to shoot the sun setting over the park.

I arrived at the park about two hours before sunset and began looking around for locations to shoot from. All was fine and well, until I realized that a bunch of low lying clouds were going to soon obscure the sun. Sure enough, within a few minutes of my arrival, the sun was hidden behind a thick blanket of clouds — never to be seen again that day. Needless to say, my sunset shot over the lake was completely ruined.

I suppose I could have just turned around and went back to my hotel room. But had I done that, I would not have gotten this shot:

I don’t know that this shot is better than a nice colorful sunset would have been, but it is certainly better than no shot at all. And that, I suppose, is my point.

Not every shot you take is going to be a success. But every shot you don’t take is, by definition, not a success. Yes, I’d have loved to get a nice sunset, but, for reasons that were beyond my control, that was just not going to happen. So instead, I made due with what I had — and in the end, I think I did fine.

So, don’t let adversity prevent you from shooting. So what if the sun doesn’t cooperate? So what if you left a filter at home (I’ve done that). So what if you suddenly find you have your tripod, but not the mount (I’ve done that too!)? Just shoot! Yes, it may not get the shot you originally wanted, but at least you’ll have something and, who knows? You might even get something better than you expected.

Zev

Of the 20 or so bridges connecting to Manhattan, all but one are on the east side of the island, connecting the island to either Brooklyn, Queens or the Bronx.  There is only one bridge on the west side of the island, and that bridge is the George Washington Bridge, connecting the island to Fort Lee, NJ.

Built in 1931, the bridge is 4760 feet in length and is the most-traveled bridge in the world on a daily basis, carrying an average of 300,000 people every day.  It’s also one of the most photographed bridges in the city.

I’ve photographed the bridge in the past, taking these shots from various points:

Nightfall on the Hudson

The George Washington Bridge at Sunset.

The George Washington Bridge as seen from the top of the Billings Arches at Fort Tryon Park

Recently, I had the opportunity to go back to Fort Washington Park and shoot the bridge again, catching just as the sun set behind the Palisades, casting a beautiful orange glow across the clouds and sky.  And, of course, I had to get a shot of the famous Little Red Lighthouse at the foot of the bridge.

It’s often been said that half the battle is won by simply showing up, and in photography, that’s no different.  Half the battle of making a photograph is simply showing up and putting yourself in the position to be able to take the shot.  Sometimes that means getting up at some miserable hour of the night to drive several hours to get to a site before sunrise and the golden hour.  Sometimes it means hiking a distance  you’d rather you didn’t have to.  Sometimes it means just putting in the hard work to make sure all the elements of a shoot at home are in place and ready to go.

I’m not going to tell you that great shots can’t be had by happenstance and without preparation.  We all have an example of a “lucky shot” that we got simply by accident.  But those are few and far between, and you cannot count on chance to provide you with great shot opportunities on a regular basis.  To rise above, to be able to take better shots on a consistent basis, you have to put in the work and plan towards those shots.

As for my beach shoot — well, I worked towards it, planned it and did what I had to do to get the best shots possible.  How’d it turn out?  Well… you tell me.  Here’s what I shot that cold, January morning at Brighton Beach:

I was in the city on the morning of September 11, 2001.  Not only was I in the city, I was about a block and a half from the towers when they fell.  I saw, heard and felt them fall.  It is something that I will not forget for the rest of my life.

Every year, the city pays tribute to the fallen of the day with the Tribute In Light and I try, whenever possible, to photograph them.  Some of my favorite shots come from those shoots, and this year was no different.  I try to find different locations to shoot from each year, and this year I stationed myself in Brooklyn Bridge Park on the evening of September 11.

Of course, I arrived there before sunset and the lights, and my arriving early paid off with some very nice shots.  One of my favorites from then is this shot:

The Manhattan Skyline at Sunset

The setting sun off and clouds were putting on a spectacular show and I could not resist shooting them.  I came away with a few images before the lights came on, but this one was my favorite.

Once the lights were turned on, I (and the hundreds of other photographers that were there) began shooting.  My favorite from that set is this one:

The annual Tribute In Light memorial to the victims of the September 11 attacks, taken from Brooklyn Bridge Park.

As you can see, it was taken from the same vantage point as the previous shot.  However, the difference in lighting and clouds from just a few minutes (the sun had just set only a few minutes previously — you can still see the sun glare to the left of Manhattan) makes this shot very different from the previous one.  The previous shot (to me, anyway) has a certain energy to it.  The bottom picture, however, is very calming.  Perhaps it’s the smoother water (largely due to the longer shutter speed necessary due to the reduced light), perhaps it’s the coloring (purple is a much cooler color than blue), perhaps it’s the dispersal of the crazy clouds in the first shot — whatever it is, the two shots, taken from the same vantage point only minutes apart, are very different.

Of course, once I was there in the park, I spent some time shooting from different vantage points.  As I walked around the park, I found a spot where the lights were set against one of the arches of the Brooklyn Bridge and could not resist setting up my tripod to take the shot.  This was the result:

The Brooklyn Bridge with the Tribute In Light memorial to the victims of the September 11 attacks in the background. Taken in Brooklyn Bridge Park.

The Brooklyn Bridge is, of course, one of the quintessential symbols of New York City, and photographing the lights together with it seemed very appropriate.  Aside from the bridge arches and the lights, I also happen to like how the lines go in various directions all over the picture, giving the picture some dynamic energy.

Until a few weeks ago, I worked in the Empire State Building and, as such, had the opportunity to go up to the Observation Deck and take some shots.  I went one day towards sunset and spent some time shooting.  I came away with a few shots that I really liked:

A sunset over Manhattan, south of 34th Street

The sun setting over the island of Manhattan and New Jersey

These shots make me realize that one of these days, I have to take a helicopter ride over the city and get some shots from really high up.  

Next time, I’m going to present my Top 10 Shots from 2016.   See  you then.  

Zev

In past years, in the fall, I’ve gone away in the fall to take pictures of the fall foliage.  This year, because I was working as a contract employee in my main job (and did not have any paid time off), I could not take the time off to spend a day or two shooting upstate as I like to do.  However, that does not mean that I didn’t shoot — I just had to change a few things.  Instead, I ended up shooting in two different places on Sunday mornings and afternoons – Hacklebarney State Park in New Jersey and Wave Hill in the Bronx.

Hacklebarney State Park is a beautiful park in North-Central New Jersey.  There are lots of great hiking trails and great scenic beauty.  There were also lots of waterfalls, which, for me is always a treat as I’m a big sucker for waterfall shots.  However, after reviewing the shots I took, I found that I wasn’t truly impressed with any of them.  They were okay, I suppose, but they lacked that special… spark that I like to find in my shots.  Perhaps I’ll go back and revisit them in a month or so and see if my feelings have changed.  But let me be up front in saying that the park is a beautiful place — the fact that I didn’t come away with any great shots is not the fault of the park.  That lies with me.

In any event, that’s also not to say that every shot I took was bad.  There were a few that I took that I thought were decent.  Here are some of them.

The other place I went to for fall foliage shots was Wave Hill, in the Bronx.   Wave Hill is a public botanic garden with a great view of the Hudson River and the Palisades.   I had heard about the park before and had wanted to go there, but every time I planned it, something interfered with those plans.  Finally, I managed to get there – and I was not disappointed.

Wave Hill is a small park – you can easily cover it in half a day – but packed in that small area is an incredible amount of scenic beauty.  The fact that I was there at the height of the fall foliage season only  made it even better.  I took a lot of shots that day and here are some of my favorites.

Autumn Color at Wave Hill, Bronx NY

The sun over a tree at Wave Hill in Bronx, NY

The Reading Bench

I love this last shot.  I saw this little bench sitting under this big ancient tree, with the fall color and the Hudson and Palisades in the background and could not resist taking this shot.  This is just the type of shot where a person could easily while away the afternoon with a good book and cool drink on that bench.  I think that I’ll eventually blow that one up and hang it on a wall somewhere in my home.

That’s all for the nature portion of the update.  Afterwards, I’ll catch you up with the shots I’ve taken around New York City in the last few months.  There are some really nice ones in that bunch, so please check back.

What do you think?  Let me know.

This was my picture from the last time this occurred, on July 11.  I was standing on the corner of 42nd Street and 2nd Avenue when this shot was taken.  So far, this photo has become my most popular photo ever.

Manhattanhenge is a truly wonderful time to take a picture in New York for several reasons.  First of all, by definition, it’s in the golden hour, that wonderful time of day when photographs have that warm glow from the low-hanging sun.  In addition, it’s very unusual for New Yorkers to see the sun at the horizon.  Usually, during the rest of the year, Manhattanites cannot see the sunset because it’s blocked by the buildings and skyscrapers.  However, on these days, we can actually see the sun go down from most of the island.  Lastly, it’s a great opportunity to photograph crowds of people, as I did above.

The next sunset Manhattanhenge will be in late May 2017.  In the meantime, if you want to purchase prints of this shot (starting at $28), please visit my sales site.

Zev

The park happens to be a great place for photography.  It’s blessed with a great view of the George Washington Bridge, a commanding view of the Hudson River and the Palisades, beautiful flower gardens and the grounds of The Cloisters.  I made my third trip to the park two weeks ago, leading a group of fellow photographers around the park.

Here are some of the shots that I took there.

If you’re in Manhattan and you are looking for an alternative to Central Park, you can’t do wrong by going to Fort Tryon.