#50. Tina Foxx Whitfield

Both of my young children amaze me with their constant references to their grandparents. Anne and I have both lost our fathers in the recent years and my kids dearly miss them both—even though Teddy was just an infant when my father passed. He really, really misses him. It always sort of stops me in my tracks when he mentions my dad. In reality he barely knew him, but the bond is so tight and, I believe, always will be.

I don’t know how many of you actually give a gift to a beloved elder on this day. It’s often difficult to come up with something for people who have more than they want and are often in the process of simplifying their material world.

Tina's picture so eloquently celebrates this beautiful relationship. Wonderful work. 

#49. Mary Day Burgy

There are still children out there who haven’t headed back yet—the Kelsh boys among them— and it takes a creative, loving parent to come up with something that’s going to make everyone happy.

Photo shoot!

Mary has put a lot of pieces of a puzzle together here (lots of photo shoots are like that) to produce a memorable, show and tell worthy set of pictures. This just had to be in black and white—it was not optional. : )

#48. Melissa Ann

This picture is so profoundly symbolic. They are in the same place holding tight to each other, and yet, they’re in two completely different worlds.

They are looking in exactly opposite directions with perceptions of the world that couldn’t possibly be more different and yet they are bound together by love for family and country.

Beautiful.

#47. Beth Thomander

Beth is a thinking photographer. She pre-conceives images in her mind’s eye and makes them show up in her camera and, fortunately, on our page. It’s an art and not everyone can do it.

You have to ask yourself what it is you want and how to get there. You need to anticipate the problems and deal with them before you even pick up the camera. What lens should I use to put the background out of focus? What color should the leaf be? How big should the heart be?

It goes on and on, just like Beth’s parade of beautiful photographs.

#46. Tammy Thomas

It’s a drone shot. It’s fun but it’s more than fun. It represents a whole new world of perspective possibilities with a camera.

The patterns and textures of a relatively routine farm harvest are transformed by the bird’s eye view. The beauty of drone shots is that you can shoot low altitude shots with almost no risk. Back in the old days, photographers like me would foolishly try to convince hired helicopter pilots to get lower and then lower still for shots that looked like this. They hated that! Low level flying by any vehicle puts it at its most vulnerable—it’s simply dangerous and not worth it for a silly photograph. (I could tell you a couple of stories of photographer friends who are no longer with us.)

But this was fun for me to see here. It’s a new world for a lot of us. This is just great, Tammy.

#45. Kelly Gargac Aldrich

I know that many of you are waiting for me to suggest just how great this would look in black and white (well, it would : ) but that blue denim just looks so good against all those shades of brown, doesn’t it?

Also, this picture is about shape and body language which is so beautifully accentuated by the fact there’s no face in this picture; sometimes it’s better without one.

We do learn something about him by the sunglasses hanging off the pocket however —great story telling detail. Really nice.

#44. Jill Orme

Jill went out to photograph last week's Supermoon, was stymied by the ever-present British cloud cover and pointed her camera in the opposite direction – the sunset. 

Good photographers go with the flow and she did. Castles silhouetted against a dramatic sky are always a good fallback position.  And then having some cooperative actors to complete this little visual theater event makes the whole thing sing. \

Don't worry about the Supermoon, Jill, there's another one next month on December 14^th.  Totally serious.  (I checked the weather forecast in Britain for December 14 and it says cloudy.)

#43. Vicki Winton

It’s been a long, long year for our dear friends, Vicki Winton and her husband, Brian. 

Brian had a stroke at the beginning of this year and has been in recovery ever since.  Vicki has been documenting this with her camera and her talent for putting words to pictures.  Here’s a link to their website. https://stronghold2016.wordpress.com/2016/04/

Thankfully, just recently he was able to get on a custom-built bicycle, get outside, and feel the fresh air rushing into his face. Here are Vicki’s words:

“Here’s a pic of Brian on his trike. This was our first trip to the local trail. It is a delight for me to be able to get him back out enjoying activities from before the stroke. This is a big deal for us; I just might cry ... again.”

#42. Pam Leland Trevathan

It seemed like such a good idea. Don’t you love the way reality is sinking in here and it’s written all over her face.

The REALLY good idea here was pulling out the camera while the getting was still good. I’ll bet she can still taste it…she’ll probably be able to tap into that taste for decades.

What do you wash a mouthful of chalk down with? Motor oil?

#41. Gloria Boyne

Gloria did  exactly what I would’ve done under the circumstances. She found some nice soft light (Let’s just say it out loud.—she lucked out. It was a cloudy day. 🙂  

And she found a nice simple background and put it out of focus. Then, she didn’t put her subject’s face smack dab in the middle of the picture.

Photograph someone you love close-up and beautiful light, I always say—extra credit for not putting your subject in the middle of the frame. This simple formula is the quickest route to photographic satisfaction. 

I don’t even have to ask you what your reaction is to this photograph. I know it works for you just as it works for me—very powerfully.  There are profound photographic lessons to be picked up here. Isn’t it wonderful to keep things simple and produce something that will give everyone involved pleasure forever.

#40. Margaret M. Davaz

Margaret began this series years ago on our site and now it’s complete. Sometimes the Four Seasons project takes more than a year. You are and inspiration to us all, Margaret. Thank you. Here are her words:

“This tree stump stands at the edge of the Spokane River and has become a favorite of mine over the years. It maintains a dignity in every season as the years pass, as the river rolls by.

I've photographed this stump from many angles ... when the water level is low, I climb down the short cliff and photograph the stump from below ... in the early Autumn when the kids are back in school, I've found balled up socks left to dry on the stump."

#39. Hallie Von Hagen McDavid

It's the shallow focus that makes this work so well as Hallie mentions. I'll let her tell the story:

"This is my niece at a recent family trip to the beach. It was only her second time to ever go to the beach and she loved everything about it, from riding waves and building sandcastles to catching critters in the ocean. We had a smaller hermit crab that she held onto with no problem, but she was terrified this little crab was going to bite her hand! I got this shot off right before she dropped it, and was thrilled that crab was so sharply in focus because there was going to be no retake! It just makes me laugh every time I look at it."

#38. Nicole Ethridge Brown

The message is so important here I just had to share this using Nicole’s own voice:

“Monday would've been my mom's 62nd birthday. On days like that (and lots of other days, too) I love looking at pictures of her and of pictures of me and her together. She didn't really like having her picture taken a lot but I cherish the photos I have more than anything.... they are all I have left to go with my memories. Stupid cancer.

I don't particularly like being in front of the camera, either. As much as I ADORE taking photos of others, I don't like having my picture taken. I, like other women, see every flaw; my uneven, less than perfect skin, my arms that need toning, the dark circles under my eyes. But you know what? I've never noticed ANY of those things in any photo I've ever looked at of my mom. I've noticed the way I can see her smile in her eyes. How happy she looked to just be with her kids, her grandkids, her family.

I want my kids to have photos of me with them. Whether I'm here another 60 years or if I'm gone tomorrow, I never want them to miss out on seeing how happy I am just to be with them.”

#37. Kristina Thompson

Kristina posted this in my Going Manual course last week and I was thrilled to see the sophisticated composition and cropping. I loved the way she used all the negative space on the left to practically push her son’s head off the right edge of the frame. 

And I mentioned in my comment to her that the space in the bottom right-hand corner she left between the boy’s shoulder and the edge of the frame really made it for me. She wrote back with a true confession and all I could do was laugh.  She had accidentally cropped a little piece of the boy’s head off on the right when she shot the picture and to deal with it she cropped a little more often make it look intentional. Hence, the beautiful composition you see here.

Truly a photographic example of making lemonade out of lemons or whatever the saying is.  But let’s hear it for Kristina! What a fantastic use of space and lines and shapes.  She got raves from the other students on this one.

#36. Bob Johnston

Every once in a while it feels good to let a big gust of Bob Johnston macho wind blow through this site. There’s always an expressive thoughtful control behind his photographs of motorcycle and bronco bull riders that even the most feminine of ballet photographers can learn from.

That’s because many of Bob’s photographs ARE ballets—regardless of their rough and tumble subject matter. Believe me, Bob is a master at making something that’s very difficult look easy. I always appreciate the artistry behind the action.

#35. Kellie Pribbernow

You're tired when you put your head down on a cold, hardwood floor and fall asleep. (There are not many adults that wouldn’t end up on the sofa behind him.) But he had just had enough and he had to recharge the batteries.

The black and white is gorgeous and keeps all of the colored objects in the room from competing with his little face. The chaos of the photograph is organized and the composition is beautiful. That’s a phrase a photo director of National Geographic shared with me — organized chaos. It’s really important that photographers know how to control it and take advantage of it like Kellie has so beautifully done here.

#34. Philip Charles Griffith II

The faith and trust here are palpable, aren’t they? What a spectacular portrait of a grandfather and grandson!

I know this comment sounds like a broken record, but can you imagine how valuable this photograph is going to be in not so many years? Amazing. There are only a couple of photographs existing of me with either of my grandfathers and let’s be frank, faith and trust are not exactly bubbling over on my three-year-old face. 🙂 

There’s a piece of me that wants to put this one up for a caption contest, but I honestly don’t want to reduce it to that—it’s just too sweet. The peace and calm and, yes, faith and trust on their faces dismiss the need for any more words. Love it.

#33. Kelli Watson Gowdy

It’s a little difficult to not think of Nipper, the RCA dog, here… His Master’s Voice…you know the one. But Kelli  kept her eyes open and her feet on the ground and included a feline, too.  It’s totally a relationship picture. It’s worth studying this composition; notice how she’s used all the rectangles in this photograph to bind the image together. The way she’s cropped the window and the ottoman and the picture frame— all of those horizontal and vertical lines completely work with the diagonal of the dog’s body which directs us to our pianist. The more you study this picture, I think, the more lessons you will learn about composition. 

This is the kind of visual organization you just can’t teach. You have to feel it. It’s what makes teaching composition so difficult. Yes, there is the rule of thirds and this photograph applies it, but composition is something that happens in your mind’s eye and your gut. Totally lovely photograph, Kelli. Their Master’s Notes? There’s a great title here someplace.

#32. Tom Reese

This is photo magic for sure and it’s not THAT complicated. (OK, it’s a LITTLE complicated.)

Picture this:

The camera is on a tripod.

You are going to shoot one photograph with your subject in each of the different location. In this case, Tom shot five pictures. In other word, the pictures are all the same except that the subject moved.

You then pile them on top of each other in layers…probably in Photoshop or PS Elements. You CAN’T do this in Lightroom. There are no layers in Lightroom, alas.

You then erase holes in each descending layer to reveal your subject in the lower layers. That’s the part you need to wrap your head around. If you want to conquer the concept of layers this is a great way to do it.

And voila! This is a ton of fun—mostly for the person in the picture. It’s quite incredible really.

Tom Reese just keeps adding to his incredible body of family photography. HIs sister-in-law in Nebraska was making a dress for his granddaughter Amazing.

#31. Linda Kennington

Linda came to our fall weekend workshop where I kept hammering home the idea of:

Don’t overexpose the sky! Don’t overexpose the sky!

She didn’t. She brightened the darker areas of the picture in Lightroom and the rest is masterpiece. Christmas seems to bring out the best in photographers. Thank you for this beautiful Christmas greeting, Linda. Merry Christmas from all of the Kelsh family. We loved meeting you this year.

#30. Beth Dove

The very best pictures of sunsets, flowers, forests, rainbows, and moons all have a little something extra. 

Any time there’s something more the standard fare the picture moves up a class. That can certainly be said for Beth’s shot of last week’s Supermoon. It actually feels super! 

That little tiny manmade shape makes the universe look so big and us look so small.  Sure, there’s plenty of luck involved to capture an airplane as it passes in front of the moon, but lucky Beth was and jealous I am.   

#29. Tricia Miller

Is there anything I could tell you about that day that you don’t already know? Of course not, it’s all there in the photograph.

Look at all of that information so beautifully and simply conveyed. It’s a portrait, it’s a relationship, it’s a storytelling image, it’s a wonderful moment in time, it’s a memory that will live forever but you and I both got it in seconds.

Photography is one seriously amazing medium. This is a beautiful family photograph, Tricia.

#28. Marcia Richardson

I don’t think any photographer who’s ever graced our Facebook page or website has contributed more to the tone of our ever friendly and helpful Facebook page than Marcia Richardson—and that’s saying a lot, there are so many contenders and so many thoughtful contributors. Marcia embodies the spirit of Christmas all year long with her photos and comments and willingness to help other photographers.

So it’s such a thrill for all of us on this site to watch her grow and mature into the photographer she’s always wanted to be. We love you, Marcia.

If you’d like to give something  back to her, go to HER website that’s part of her college photography course and critique it for her. If you see anything that’s out of place or doesn’t quite work she wants to hear about it. The more eyeballs that touch this site the better. And I guarantee you’re going to learn something. I did.

http://www.faces-places-photography.com/

#27. Bianca Zarybnisky

Who would’ve ever thought that when she put those tights/pajama bottoms on that morning they would somehow color coordinate with a copy of Zombie Magazine at the comic book store?

I’m thinking that Bianca did not see that one coming, but she still had her camera ready and she still captured a wonderful, quirky, fun moment.  Put it all together with that facial expression and it’s practically a comic book image unto itself. Really sweet.

#26. Kathy Murray

This is Kathy’s mother—all three of the beautiful women in this photograph are, actually.

She’s about to turn 99 years old; Kathy asked her what age she felt and she said “young not old” and that is so clearly communicated in this photograph, isn’t it?   (She’s 18 years old in the photograph in the middle.) 

I hate to reduce this photograph to a simple lesson about composition, but isn’t it terrific the way our eyes are being directed to that picture in the middle by where our subject is looking herself?  Kathy has wisely removed any other visual stumbling blocks by converting the picture to black and white. I can’t even imagine that the color version of this could possibly be better.

This picture works on about a thousand levels and one of them is simple fun. Another, of course, is simply love.

#25. Jeanine James

If that pillar of wall on the right weren’t there I don’t believe we would know that she’s hiding. It took me a minute to figure out HOW I knew and I came to that conclusion.

She’s just enough behind the wall to communicate the storyline. We don’t know who she’s waiting for and we don’t know what she’s going to do when she gets found out but it makes no difference. She’s hiding and she’s asking Jeanine to keep it a secret.

It’s a photo story in one photograph. This is what photographs do at their very best. Really nice.

#24. Aaron Redman

He calls it “Rocket Girl.” It’s a conceptual photograph—Aaron MADE this happen—he didn’t just stumble onto this.

Subject matter aside, notice how skillfully Aaron has considered every curve and wrinkle in the story-telling cloud background. He has found exactly the right place to put his camera so everything lines up.

And then there’s the way he has grabbed the bull by the horns and carefully posed her. He directed this picture. No, you don’t want to hyper-control every situation you photograph, but there’s an art to knowing when to get involved and knowing when not to. As Aaron has proved so many time over the course of this young girl’s life that he completely understand the distinction.

(As an old Estes Model Rockets man myself, I salute you, Aaron. My very first camera was the rubber band powered shutter, single-exposure Estes “Camroc” that was attached to the top of a rocket that looked a lot like this. The Camroc was the great great granddaddy of the Go-Pro. If you wanted to use a faster shutter speed you had to double-loop the rubber band. Incredible fun!)

#23. Molly Hover

A girl covered with mud, a simple, appropriate, slightly out-of-focus background, a little bit of acting, and a little bit of directing and its poster ready.  

But all of these wonderful elements would have been trashed by some bright, overhead, midday sunshine. The quality of light here is letting everything else do its job.  I can understand why some of you might think there is NO quality of light— it is, after all, a cloudy day. Just how much quality does a cloudy day bring to the party, you might ask? 

Well, the answer is a lot. A cloudy day often lets the storytelling elements tell the story without any conflict or restriction.  It took me many years, if not decades, to really understand the profound and beautiful quality of light found on a cloudy day.  It’s why people like me can look at a picture like this and say “beautiful light!” 

Another monster hit from Molly. Does anyone have a number for the Nike advertising department?

#22. Terryl Hicks

Sometimes a body of work makes itself happen. Terryl has been photographing these eight siblings for years now, but in all honesty, Terryl, you're going to have trouble topping this one. (That’s one of the problems with an "annual" photograph, you just keep trying to outdo yourself. I’m not sure you can here.)

I don’t know what the aperture was here, but thankfully it was small. (A small aperture means a big number. It increases the depth of field and make all eight of them sharp, near and far.) I’m guessing this was 105mm lens at f11. That’s a medium telephoto lens with a relatively small aperture.

Regardless of how wrong I am on the settings, this is a beautiful portrait. Good luck next year, Terryl. You may have painted yourself into a corner this time.

#21. Janice Phillips‎

Imagine if that eye had somehow been hidden behind one of those sticks. We might not even be talking about this picture right now. It’s so important.

That little tiny spot of yellow gives OUR eyes a place to go and tells us what’s going on.  If you’ve been reading the FPOTD for any time now I really don’t need to tell you how I feel about this photograph. Unbelievable!

The color and the composition produced by the tangle of sticks and brambles is simply stunning.  But, like I said, without that eye it would’ve been close but no cigar.  (Unrelated to photography:  just take a moment to appreciate what mother nature can put together when she decides to weave her web of camouflage. I mean, seriously.)

#20. Sandra Bouwman

I know I love a photograph if I didn’t take it and I still spend ten minutes editing it.

I took the liberty of brightening his face and darkening everything around him. For some of you, it’s a subtle shift but for people who love great sports photographs—and this is one—it makes a huge difference. Look at his eyes! Look at the hand trying to make him fumble! This is a story!

This is also one of the best sports photos we’ve ever had here. Sandra pointed out that it’s a little out of focus and it is, but it could be argued—and this is how photographers justify things—that the soft focus adds to the feeling of living on the edge. I believe!  This is a Viking!

#19. Gail Schaible Kreiser

It’s a different photograph without the dice, isn’t it? Little details tell us so much about people.

We can’t really see their faces but we know what kind of cars they like and a little bit about their politics—or at least the passenger’s politics. 🙂  The backseat has proven to be quite a good vantage point for family photographers; we’ve had several nice photographs posted on this page taken by a photographer who has let someone else do the driving. It’s a good way to go…especially at sunset.

Gail must have been so proud of her decision to sit back there when they rounded the curb and the sun was right in front of them. She properly exposed in a potentially tricky exposure situation and now we have a memory and a wonderful mood. As always, a very thoughtful and carefully executed photograph from Gail.

#18. Leonie Mcdonald

Leonie has found a very special point in space to place her camera. It’s call P.O.V—point of view. The result is an incredibly and carefully composed image. Notice how she has juxtaposed just about everything in the picture so that it doesn’t conflict with what’s behind it. This is a skill that’s practically unteachable. The best way to learn it is to study the work of someone who does it so naturally—like Leonie. Feast your eyes.

She used HDR_high dynamic range. That means that there were several photos taken in one burst with different exposures. Then they were piled on top of each other in Photoshop. That's where all the detail came from.

For many of you with newer cameras this can be done right in camera. And if you do it in editing it's actually quite simple. The trick is to recognize a situation that will benefit from the process and remember to use it.

Look in your manual. HDR. High Dynamic Range. It's an amazing tool as you can see here.

Thank you to our dear friend in Tasmania.

#17. Liz Sharp Griffin

I’ve taken pictures of this like my own children. By that, I mean that I keep coming back to them and fall in love with them all over again just like Liz does with this picture. 

Her heart skips a beat every time she looks at it, she says. And she continues, this picture had to be in black and white. She now has a new appreciation for the timelessness and elegance of a black and white photo. At the risk of sounding arrogant, I’m hoping I had a little something to do with that. 🙂 

Fantastic portrait!  That face fall someplace between movie star, Joan of arc, great novelist, and it goes without saying, heartbreaker. Wow. Those eyes.

#16. Sue Creager

It’s all in the execution— it doesn’t matter how good the original idea is and this is a darn good one.

(I just hope I can execute this as well as Sue did when I steal/borrow this idea.  How spectacular! How much fun is it for every single kid in this photograph to show this picture around. Wow!  A truly 100% fun photograph! That’s tough to beat, isn’t it? 

Sue, you must of been tingling inside as you were shooting knowing how good this was going to look when you finally got it together. I only have one question.

Where did you get all those cardboard boxes?

#15, Rochelle Hepworth

It’s really quite extraordinary – the doors and windows of people’s lives we get to peer through as all of you share these incredible family moments with us. It’s easy to take for granted. 

I honestly can’t think of an emotion we haven’t seen on display here. There are the quiet moments and sad moments and the loving moments and the exquisite moments of real life like the one Rochelle has shared here. Composition and lighting all come into play as we exchange notes about the little things going on in our lives.

Thank you for this, Rochelle. You're a great photographer. 

#14. Kim MacDonald Cameron

It would be interesting to study the data from some serious photographic statistician and watch the ups and downs of WHEN good photographs are taken.

I’m thinking that in these summer months the very best photographs any of us will shoot are taken between 5 PM and 8 PM. (I’ll throw 5 AM to 8 AM in there, too, but I know there’s going to be a huge statistical drop-off. The photographs will be just as good, however. There will just be more coffee involved.) 

Anyway, regardless of when the sun sets or rises where you live I can guarantee that you are going to be a better photographer if you happen to have your camera ready when it does.  Just about everything looks better in the early morning or late evening.  The strip mall in your neighborhood will actually have a moody look about it as sunlight rakes across the storefronts, trust me. ( I’m not sure why I have meandered off to a strip mall when we had this beautiful pastoral scene in front of us. I’m just trying to make a point. 🙂 

Obviously, I don’t need to explain the power of the lighting here. But here’s something that Kim did right here— and I must say that she does it right almost all the time. She has nailed the exposure. She has held detail in that sky and by whatever method held some detail in the dark areas of the grass and the dog. (Pictures like this start with not overexposing the sky and then  brightening up the shadows in editing. That is a powerful formula.)

Whether you know it or not, that is one of the reasons you love this photograph.

#13. Lyndie Pavier

To celebrate her sister's 6th pregnancy they broke out the flour and colored lights and made one big mess of the studio. (It will never be 100% flour-free says Lyndie, but that’s ok; it was all worth it.) The ritualistic nature of the photo touches on fertility, passion, joy—and even a little fear—all in one totally memorable image.

I’d been thinking we just don’t see enough ritualistic fertility imagery on this site and then this photo showed up just in time. : ) Really beautifully conceived—no pun intended.

#12. Kristine Bauer

It was 0° on this Wyoming day. It’s a pioneer town maintained as an historical site.

Next time I have to scrape frost off my windshield I’m not going to get quite so whiny. This is one seriously wonderful picture of cold. It’s not as easy as you would think to communicate cold in a still image and this one screams it from the mountain top. 

Being there is one thing—and don’t get me wrong, it’s often the most important thing—but knowing what to do when you are fortunate enough to be there is quite another. Take a moment to admire this wonderful composition. And then take another moment to marvel at the effects of cold weather on buildings and people. This is a blockbuster, my friends. 

I am seriously jealous I didn’t take this photograph. Applause applause applause. Oh, my goodness.

#11. Karen Daugherity Rice

Do I even need to put words with this photograph? Seriously, what can I say that will make it better? The answer is nothing—this picture does everything  that any other great photograph does.

It draws you in, takes your breath away, makes you smile, makes you cry, makes you love planet, makes you insanely jealous by wishing you had taken it, it goes on and on.  Honestly,  this photograph would make any National Geographic photographers month for sure.

Just a stunner. And it goes without saying, but I will say it anyway, this is absolutely one of the best animal photographs we’ve ever had in our page we have had a lot of great ones.

#10. Jennifer Love-Pruitt

Just because it’s a public aquarium—or zoo for that matter—doesn’t mean that you can’t shoot absolutely world class nature photographs there as has been proven so many times on this page. This picture, taken at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, is straight out of the pages of National Geographic’s greatest hits. The lighting, the break in the action, the alignment of creatures, and the color are breathtaking.

The success of this pictures lies in the fact that in looks like it was completely taken in the wild. (I wonder if zoo and aquarium architects consider photographic angles when they’re designing these amazing spaces. They deserve more credit than they get, I think.)

What a thrill it must have been to push the button on this one. 

#9. Angela Taylor George

Yes, it’s frozen bubbles, and right off the top I need to tell you that in order for you to do this you are going to have to be really lucky and really ready and then a little more lucky.

Temperature and atmospheric stuff and a bunch of weather things need to align for you to pull this off so maybe the best way to go here is just a step back and give Angela a standing ovation and appreciate THIS photograph. 🙂  

Actually, I don’t mean to discourage anyone from trying this but it is a serious accomplishment.  At the very least, it needs to be really cold outside. ( I remember a middle school science teacher friend of mine in Grand Forks, North Dakota tell me he used to take his kids outside and blow frozen bubbles when it was 25 below or colder and even then it was tricky.) Angela, if you’d like to jump in and give us the specifics I know everybody would love to hear.)  In the meantime, standing ovation. WOW!

#8. Leila Thompson Flavell

This is not the first FPOTD  aurora borealis photograph for Leila,  but I thought this one was so clever and extraordinary that it just had to be featured.  I will let her tell you how she did it, but I was rather proud of myself when she verified that the way I would have done it myself was pretty much what she did.

The lighting is simple. It’s done with a flashlight. A small, dim flashlight worked in this situation because the exposure was 30 seconds— There was no need for a lot of light here. A flashlight was also the preferred lighting instrument of choice because it is what we call a “point light source”.  A point light source is very small and creates hard edged shadows. (It’s the opposite of a lighting umbrella or a soft box.) 

Also, hats off to her lighting technician for exact placement of the flashlight to direct that shadow onto the church. I’ve included a second photograph just so you can see how they did it. What fun this is and beautiful to boot!  Extraordinary.

#7. Jo Ann Sinclair

I could never bring myself to put into writing that this is the most beautiful bird photograph we’ve ever had on our site, but I must admit, the thought crossed my mind.  (And for those of you who have been around for a while you know that is saying A LOT. We have had so many stunners here.)  This is even better than the Cedar Waxwing portrait Jo Ann posted last year that also dropped my jaw. 

The Cedar Waxwing is probably my most favorite North American bird. One of my all-time favorite moments in nature was spending 30 minutes looking at a flock of nearby Waxwings in Maine. The red and yellow highlights at the tips of those feathers look like they are literally made of a shiny waxy substance. It was actually transcendent. 

The Cedar Waxwing is also one of my earliest bird memories. I remember my mother calling me to a second floor window in Fargo as a flock happened to stop by our backyard when I was about four or five years old. They were her favorite bird, she told me. I’ve actually told my mother that memory recently and I even mentioned Jo Ann’s bird photographs.  (She had no memory of ever telling me how she felt about Cedar Waxwings and was surprised that I could get that far back into the memory banks. 🙂 

But I must tell you, Jo Ann,  your masterpiece here takes me back to a wonderful moment with my mother and a wonderful moment alone in the woods in Maine. Standing ovation.  (The first words out of my mouth when I saw this photograph were “Are you kidding me?”)

#5. Jennifer Kruhm Hurst

The anonymity of the subjects—there are no faces—and the angularity of the shoulders and arms and fingers just screams sculpture (in black and white, I might add). 

Amazing! Right there in the bedroom! A piece of sculpture!  It’s impossible to imagine that the great sculptors would not be inspired by this family photograph.

I use the words “family photograph” in the most loving way, but it almost feels a little demeaning. This is a human photograph. It’s a mankind photograph. It’s a family of man photograph.  No faces—just shapes. Just love.  Do yourself a favor and study this photograph for a few minutes. It is actually something that needs to be savored. Spectacular.

#6. Trudy McWilliams Johnson

Take a moment and ask yourself why this photograph blows you away so much. (I mean, seriously, seen one fireworks photo seen them all, right? At least that’s what the night desk picture editor at The Philadelphia Inquirer told me one Fourth of July night. And for the most part, he was right.)

But even that grizzled old newspaper man would have flipped over this one. He would have loved what you love about this picture and here’s what I think that is:

The fact that there’s anything more than streaks of light against a black sky puts it in the top 10% right out of the blocks. Add a human being and you’re in the top 1% of all fireworks pictures. Think about it, you’ve seen very few fireworks pictures with this much detail…or this much story.

The bottom line is that this is an unusual situation and the very best photographers know what to do when they are faced—should I say blessed?—with one. Trudy did EVERYTHING right here and I know all of you are going to go gahgah over this one.

Trudy, I know someone is going to ask. What were your camera settings? There, I’ve saved someone the trouble. Thanks for shooting this and thanks for sharing this. WOW!

#4. Christy Wade

I have nothing to add. Here are Christy's words:

"October is Infant Loss Awareness Month. This time last year I was gearing up take maternity & newborn pictures for some sweet friends of mine. They were so excited to grow their little family & I was so excited to get the opportunity to photograph them growing. On November 23, 2015, Michael Titus Hohfeld entered into this world sleeping. This photo is one of many I took that night & shows how much love and sorrow was in the room that night. This picture holds three generations and the love shared between father, son and grandfather.

As a photographer, this was both the most difficult & most rewarding event I've ever had to photograph. I am so honored and blessed that I was chosen to be a part of their world that night. And I am honored that I was able to give them the gift of such treasured memories of their sweet Titus."

#3. Mary Keyworth Rather

He’s coming and nothing you can say or do is going to stop him. He’s a force of generosity and thoughtfulness that takes the world by storm. Ask anyone who’s ever been on the receiving end of kindness from strangers. Ask any child who’s come around the hallway corner to see a living room transformed. Ask any parent who’s ever fumbled with a point-and-shoot in the frustrating dim light of a Christmas tree only to give up, sit back, and enjoy. We welcome him and cherish him and believe in him because he represents the very  best in us all. He lives in you and me and you just can’t get around it.

Of course, on a personal note, I love that his name is Nicholas. (I'm not sure about the Saint part.) As a kid it was a source of embarrassment, I remember all of the other third-graders staring at me when we sang Jolly Old St. Nicholas. Now I wear his moniker proudly in a spirit of fun, mischief, and love.

I could go on and on about this picture. Actual photographs of him don’t get much better than this and we’ve seen a lot of them. Mary, I hope you got his business card or email address, he really needs to see this one. I’m sure he can put it to good use—not that he needs any more promotion. Mrs. Claus will love you for this, coming out of the blue from a photographer she’s never met could be the nicest gift she gets this year.

#2. Kathy Runnalls

Every year I sit on a great picture of a baby, saving it for Christmas day. I love my little tradition if I do say so myself. Think about it. Christmas is sort of International “A Beautiful Baby is Born Day!” Merry Christmas everyone! A baby is born!

My wife, Anne, broke into tears when she saw this photograph on my screen and said that this is the most wonderful newborn baby photograph she’s ever seen. Admittedly, my wife’s a bit of a Nancy pants but I understood the reaction completely, the more I looked at it the bigger the lump in my throat got.  There’s only one person looking into the camera, that’s Kathy’s son.  I don’t even need to describe to you what he’s feeling.  On one level, it’s a picture of one person, the one making eye contact with you.  On another, it’s one of the most beautiful family portraits you are ever going to see and I do not say that lightly. Look at the two different reactions of the oldest girls. On one level, this picture is all about the girl on the right. I’m trying not to use the word evil here.

Look at mom and you will completely understand why the only man in the picture feels like a man.

As Kathy said, now there are five.

What a moment of joy preserved! Everyone at HTPYL and all of the Kelsh family sends their very best for a wonderful new year. Thank you for being in our lives. It means a lot to us.

And what a picture! A baby is born!

#1. Janice Doyle Cooper

His people are train people; his family actually OWNS the train.

Janice took her grandson for a ride on this boy’s train and there he was. She posted a color version, too. For me, it was a no-brainer…of course. There are so many great things to appreciate here that make it all come together—his Casey Jones body language, the darkness of the train behind him, his face, the DIRT on his face.

This is a portrait that any photographer would be proud to call their own. Janice, it’s practically mandatory that you do what ever you need to do to get this boy and his family a copy of this picture. Wow!