#1. Kim MacDonald Cameron Manning the pipes? Is that Canadian for playing goal? It doesn’t make any difference. There’s so much heart in this photograph—on both sides of the camera. This is a glorious image. Here are Kim’s words: “While visiting the beautiful Lake...

2. Anna Shockley Many of you will be traveling today or tomorrow. The Thanksgiving journey is often as much a tradition as the meal. I realize that this little girl is probably not walking to Grandma’s house for Thanksgiving, but Anna and her daughter are both...

3. Kimberly Rickard Black First of all, you have to give it to the fun loving uncle, that’s one serious vertical leap. Very Impressive. But I think most of the story telling credit goes to our photographer, Kimberly. Her timing and composition are exquisite. That...

4. Terri Viola Terri came home with the goods. She’s got an incredible moment with an amazing facial expression on her beautiful granddaughter. That face is what it’s all about and that’s why I wanted to make it pop. I made it black and white, increased the contrast...

5. Mindy Kruhm Herrmann The little guy is so comfortable here that the vibe is that the big heavy monster is just making a new friend. The big guy is being so careful the boy doesn’t even need to use his hands to get on board. I guess maybe they’ve known each other...

6.  Abbie Winter I’m not sure what kind of underwater technology Abbie used here (underwater cameras come in all kinds of pay grades) but the most important thing was that she positioned every one and every thing relative to the light to create an water world...

7. Rose Hinman Her words are enough. What could I possibly add? “Saying goodbye to grandpa. May God be with you today and until eternity.” Leave feedback on this photo below then click "next" below to continue the photo countdown... p.s. If photographs are the heart...

8. Lisa Sigurslid It’s true. I do love a good baseball photograph. And there is a soft spot at my house for a good picture of a catcher. In our experience catchers seem to have big hearts. The way these two have been isolated with a telephoto lens makes this so much...

9.  Liz Sharp Griffin I don’t know these children. (Although sometimes I almost feel like I do.) But if you are lucky enough to be related to them, let’s say, this still photograph brings them alive in the way nothing else can—not even a video. There is so...

10. Janet Woodson Richardson Here’s what Janet had to say: “Traveled through Italy for two weeks. We would frequently see 3-4 men on a bench in the little towns. These guys were amused by my friend’s antics.” So here’s the way I read this: All over Italy there...

11.  Tiffanie Villalovos The best photos need very few words. They do all of the heavy lifting themselves. I would put this back to school shot in that category. I will say, however, that in a situation like this, standing back and letting something happen often pays...

12. Kelly Ault I’m guessing that all of the lighting in this photograph is from windows, based on that direct sunlight that’s hitting the curtain on the right. There’s probably another window behind Kelly and her camera. It’s so simple and so...

13. Mindy Chew Reese This picture should be on the cover of a book about family photography. I can just imagine myself in a bookstore looking at that book and thinking that was such a great picture choice. ( Actually, I’d be wishing I’d thought of it.) Look at how...

​ 14. Jannie Van Der Haar “Opa” himself serves as a perfect background for Parker’s blondness. Separating subjects from backgrounds is one of the key ingredients of good visual storytelling. The body language now has a place to works its magic without any stumbling or...

15. Audrey Duguid This is Pyramid Lake in the Alberta Rocky Mountains. Under any circumstances it’s difficult to compete with the reflection of a mountain in a lake. It almost feels comical to try. But without the modest little canoe the mountain and the lake take a...

16. Ellen Kruger Normally I warn people not to have their subjects bang up against the edges of the frame – like their feet or heads, for example. When stuff gets too close it can feel forced and create unwanted tension. But in this case, he’s been stuffed into...

17. Annabelle Hardwick It does my heart good to type the words Annabelle Hardwick. She was one of favorite aunts and died WAY too young. I think she may have been the first person I ever knew that actually died. She always called me on my birthday because it was her...

18. Maddie Clark A proud aunt submitted this to the page for Maddie. Although I have to assume Maddie is a relative newcomer to photography (she’s 13) you would never guess it by this image. Let’s make a list of the stuff she did right, shall we? She took a risk and...

19.  Vicki Winton There are lots of nice things to say about this photograph. I’m not going to say them. I know this is very seventh grade of me, but the thing I most love MOST about this photo is the perfectly aligned accidental gaseous emission rocket blast 20...

20. Tammy Thomas There are some interesting things to notice about Tammy’s beautiful architectural landscape. The building is “backlit” which means the light is coming from behind the building. That means the light is passing THROUGH a couple of windows. In other...

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