Top 12 Photos of 2017

Where to start?  

I took 14,555 photos last year.

I don't know how many I posted on the blog, but I would guess it's somewhere near 1000.

Looking back over 2017 photos and 2016 photos, I found that I definitely got a higher percentage of "5 Star" photos as I educated myself on what to look for in camera before taking the photo.  My "Picture of the Day" series with mostly one lens gave me a greater appreciation for composition than I had before.

I culled it down to my favorite 12.  I may not have published some of these photos in 2017, but they come with a story.  Those stories are what keep it interesting for me.

Of course, we start it off with Miss Molly.  She came along right when we needed her most, although we didn't know it yet.

My Mom and Dad visited us at Easter time and we went to the NYBG for the day.  We had a fun day (with a lot of walking).

This is my buddy Dom Uliano shooting FITASC at the Northeast Regional.  I like to bust Dom's chops a lot and he gets in a few jabs every now and then as well.  This was a perfect moment where the sun was just right and I got him and his gun in the frame perfectly.  I am sorry it's not a better looking person, but it is what it is.

Bees and I don't get along at all.  But when we were at Robert Treat Farm in Milford, CT, I caught these bees doing there thing on a cone flower.  A second later they were gone.

You heartbreaker Otis.  We were playing around in the yard in July with the dogs.  Otis got tired and laid down in front of the Cherry tree.  I had good light and I laid down in the grass so I could shoot on his level and got this picture.  Two weeks later, he was gone.

On a very hot Saturday in July, I accompanied Valerie to her hair appointment in Seymour.  While waiting for her, I stopped by the local skate park and asked the guys there if I could take their picture.  This was one of the better skaters there.

Back at the NYBG for the Chihuly exhibit.  What I really liked about this one was you can see the colorful reflection in the water and there is a slight stardust effect on the orange ball on the right side.

Although I had my first photo published in a magazine from the New York State Shoot, it was not my favorite.  Coming off a station, I asked Kristin and Mike Canale (Daughter and Dad) for a picture.  I love Kristin's positive energy and I think it comes through in this photo.

At the Plainville Balloon festival, we got talking with this balloon owner as they were blowing it up.

It was hard choosing only one photo from the 2017 Lighthouse Adventure.  But if there's only going to be one photo, it's going to be Cape Lookout.  By far, our most favorite spot.

I chose this photo from a Quinnipiac Women's Hockey game because I think it represents the next generation looking out on the current generation.  Perhaps the girl in the picture will not have to endure what the girls today, or the girls berore them had to endure.

My "Artsy Fartsy" photo (as my wife likes to call them) from the Georgetown Glow.

So those are my top 12 photos of 2017.  I probably have more technically better photos, but these are what brought back memories.