Another year has passed us by. 2011 was a busy but good year for me. I had the opportunity to visit various locations across the Eastern US allowing me to photograph a wide variety of subjects ranging from drift cars to mountain landscapes. Below are my 11 favorite shots from 2011. I hope you enjoying viewing them as much as I enjoyed capturing them.
#11 – Path of Light – Cook Forest State Park, PA
Taken during my summer vacation at Cook Forest State Park.
#10 – KABOOM! – Warriors and Warbirds Airshow – Concord, NC
This shot from Warriors and Warbirds wasn’t technically one of my best photos, but it was one of my favorites simply due to the experience. It took me most of the day to find a good shooting location among 1000s of other airshow spectators. When the final blast was unleashed I could feel the heat on my face several hundred feet away. Explosions are always cool.
#9 – Crack the Sky – My Front Yard – Fort Mill, SC
Weather and storm photography became one of my hobbies in 2011. During the year I invested a good amount of money in rain equipment, weather radios, and research material. Despite all this the photo you see above was taken with equipment I already owned in my own front yard. It just goes to show that sometimes the best photos don’t require you to travel far or spend a ton of money.
#8 – Rallymoto! – Sandblast Rally – Patrick, SC
Every year I travel down the SC sand hills to capture photos of the yearly NASA Rally held there. Normally I’m there to shoot cars but this year my best photo was a bike. This is Sarah Roth and she kicks ass on a bike. She came in 8th overall if my memory serves me correct and I’m sure she humbled a lot of her male counterparts along the way. She was also the only person from the event to purchase a photo. Thanks Sara!
# 7 – Champion – Formula Drift - Road Atlanta, GA
This was my first year shooting a Formula Drift event as ‘official media’. While the whole press application process was kind of a pain the photos I got here were worth the trouble. Seen here is 2011 Formula Drift Champion Daijiro Yoshihara or otherwise simply known as Dai.
#6 – Sunset after the Rain – Private Camp – Middle on Nowhere, PA
This photo was taken near my father in law’s hunting camp near Cook Forest State Park in very rural western PA. DOF isn’t what I expected, but I still like the results. A reflection of the setting sun can be seen in the background shortly after it stopped raining most of the day. I had almost given up for the day but decided to snap this one last shot. It ended up being on of my favorites.
#5 – Charlotte Night – Uptown Charlotte, NC
One of my favorite stitched panorama shots of the year. Pretty self explanatory.
#4 – Angry Nature – Linville Falls – Pisgah National Forest
Angry skies, cliffs, waterfalls, and the wild. Natures reminder that she can take you out any way she wants while being beautiful at the same time.
#3 – Falls Forever – Blue Ridge Parkway, NC
Nothing better than spending a day while cruising the BRP in the fall, except maybe photographing it.
#2 – Pier to the Mist – Wateree State Park, SC
Just about everyone has a shot looking down the length of a pier in their portfolio. This one is mine.
#1 – Misty Pier – Wateree State Park, SC
My most recognizable photo from 2011 and Photo of the Day winner on MyShutterSpace.com. Same pier as above. Completely different view.
