Welcome back and happy 2012! I hope all of your holidays were wonderful.
Every year I love looking at all of the “best of” the previous year montages that every news organization and photo blogger produces, but I have to admit that when it comes to producing a montage of my own, I tend to drag my feet. I’m going to give this a shot, but it may take me a while, so I apologize in advance for the length and the late time that this may be posted.
Here goes…
Well, 2011 was a pretty good year for me. I saw some amazing things and continued to grow as a photojournalist, business owner and general ponderer and observer of people. I am constantly reminded that this path I’m on is not just a thrill, but a calling. I’m extremely blessed to visually record the moments that make up other people’s lives, and I am so grateful for that.
I’ll stop my commentary there and get to the pictures. Some of these are my favorite photos of 2011, and some just represent meaningful moments. This is just a small selection of the thousands of images that I’ve shot over the past year.
New Braunfels High School’s Chris Soechting clears the high jump bar during the Texas Relays in Austin on Friday.
Keith Kennedy of Austin (center) starts the swimming portion of the 2011 Avia Austin Triathlon in Town Lake on Monday, Sept. 5, 2011.
Texas’ Malcolm Brown (28) and Mason Walter (72) celebrate after Brown scored a touchdown against Kansas on Sat., Oct. 29, 2011 in Austin.
Lake Travis’ Griffin Gilbert (7) catches a pass in the end zone for a touchdown against Smithson Valley on Fri., Nov. 18, 2011 at the Alamodome in San Antonio. Smithson Valley’s Danio Quinones (24) also reaches for the ball.
Coppell’s Kaleb Richardson (right) takes on Lake Highlands’ Thayer Atkins in the first round of state wrestling finals on Friday in Austin.
Canada’s Kyle Polsfut (6) and the U.S.’s Andre Sanborn (10) fight to reach the ball during the 2011 Pan American Canoe Polo Championships at Rio Vista Falls in San Marcos on Fri., Dec. 9, 2011. The Canadian men won 5-4 over the U.S.
Desiree Ficker (right) crosses the finish line of the women’s 2011 Austin Marathon with Paul Terranova on Sunday morning. Ficker was the first woman to finish. The finish line banner was held by Rep. Lloyd Doggett (left) and Austin Mayor Lee Leffingwell (right).
A firefighter wipes away sweat while fighting a fire that destroyed a Hays County home on Tues., Sept. 27, 2011.
Juanita Soto fills a 500-gallon tank with water at a distribution point off of Hwy 183 that may be shut down by Travis county. Her home does not connect to the city water system.
Attendant Andrew Marek (left) helps Joseph Getschow eat his favorite meal – Kashi cereal with chocolate soy milk – on Tuesday in Getschow’s San Marcos home. Getschow suffers from cerebral palsy and uses medicaid funded attendants to help him live in his own home.
Kent Finlay, song writer and owner of Cheatham Street Warehouse in San Marcos.
Robbie Moore, 100, of Dallas reflects on her days working in the handkerchief department at the original Neiman Marcus.
Sandy Pollock (left) and Crystal Cook (right), aka The Casserole Queens, pose in Cook’s kitchen in Austin before launching their cook book tour.
Photojournalists Alicia and Billy Calzada of San Antonio are lit by three cell-phones and lights on the rim of a pair of glasses during an impromptu creative lighting workshop outside of the 2011 Southwestern Photojournalism Conference in Ft. Worth.
PWSHS alumnus Nick Landis, who sits on the Texas board of governors for the Recording Academy, presents the 2011 Grammy Signature School Gold Award to Plano West Senior High School Band Director James Hannah.
Zack Landis (left) helps his mother, Gayle Landis, with her hat before taking a portrait on the SMU campus. Zack graduated with a masters degree in divinity in the same ceremony that Gayle graduated with a doctorate degree in ministry.
Grandma Landis looks out over what used to be her farm in Wooster, Ohio.
Melodie Acosta, 7, of Luling takes a big bite of watermelon during the 7-year-old and under watermelon eating contest on Saturday at the 2011 Luling Watermelon Thump.
A family takes an early morning stroll along the coast of St. Joseph’s Island, TX.
Jessica Maher of Dai Due serves grilled almaco jack with green beans and parsley sauce at the Dai Due Supper Club dinner featuring bycatch, relatively unknown fish that aren’t usually prized at the dinner table. The dinner was at Springdale Farm in east Austin.
An old radio with flood damage sits in a storage shed owned by Lonnie Edwards of Temple, TX.
I was talking to a friend of mine during the final days of 2011, and we were both thinking about the time over the past year that wasn’t well-spent. We both said something to the effect of “I felt like I should have done so much more this year.” I don’t really make resolutions, but perhaps that’s a good goal for 2012 – to make the most of every minute.
Here’s to giving it our best and enjoying it along the way. Cheers!