This Year’s Best

As the year draws to a close and seemingly every magazine, newspaper, and blog roll out a best of the year section, I thought I’d do the same.  A quick look back is always a good place to start when the calendar nears the beginning of a new year.

It’s been an up and down year, to be expected with the current “economic climate”, but a year in which big things were accomplished, dreams realized, and many many photos taken.

I guess starting at the beginning of the year is probably the best idea.  I rang in the New Year as I had for the last few years, on the rooftop of The Warehouse Bar, having returned hours earlier, with my good friend Alan, from an epic Cambodian motorcycle adventure, which included getting lost and breaking down in the middle of nowhere.  That story is one for the ages, but alas it seems to have happened in 2009.

Just as we had finished the year with a crazy adventure, the first few days of 2010 were spent rehashing our trip until we reached the point of needing another trip.  We set off south this time, towards the Cambodian coast on the Gulf of Thailand.

Two weeks later I was back in snowy Vermont, playing in the snow!

The spring included a fantastic trip to the Turks and Caicos to shoot Shana and Chris’ wedding, and hiking Camel’s Hump in the deep snow.

Summer’s highlight was documenting the BP Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico.  An international disaster seen first hand was an amazing experience, that really made me think about the way we live our lives.

The rest of the summer was spent planning for my childhood dream of taking the Trans-Siberian Railroad across Russia, punctuated with the terrible loss of my feline friend Rama, with whom I felt a bond and understanding that I’ve never experienced. His is missed.

Riding the rails through Russia allowed me to check off one of my big life list goals. With long time friend and travel companion Adam, we met great people, saw amazing sites, and experienced a slice of life that was as surreal as it was normal.

Fall came to a close with another rocking Halloween party.

Winter took a firm grip soon after Thanksgiving and will hopefully provide an extra snowy 2011.

Being a professional photographer involves being visually overloaded day in and day out.  Of the 100,000 or so photos I took this year, a few stand out in my mind. Here are some of my favorite photographs from the past year.

Sun light is filtered through the dust and leaves at Ta Prom Temple.

Trees grow from the temple walls.

One of the thousands of orchids at Singapore's National Orchid Museum.

Another amazing flower in Singapore