Images of 2011 — My Year in Photographs

It’s December 31st, New Year’s Eve, and it seems traditional to do a little retrospective of the year.  I could rehash my 10 favorite blog posts, I could talk about my 10 most embarrassing moments or I could talk about 10 goals that I achieved.

I don’t actually have a list of my 10 favorite blog posts, I really don’t want to relive my 10 most embarrassing moments and you’d be bored to death by my 10 goals.

So, instead, I’m doing the photographer thing today and sharing with you today 10 of my favorite images of 2011.  And, in no particular order, here they are.

1.  Hanging Lake.  Hanging Lake has long been on my list of places to visit. We first attempted this hike nearly 20 years ago, but our kids were too small for the short but steep hike, so it got put on the bucket list. In August, we were returning from a trip to Utah and Hanging Lake just happened to be on our route. It was well worth the stop.

2.  Cool Green Butterfly.  A family outing to the Butterfly Pavilion in Broomfield, Colorado, yielded this gorgeous specimen.  I love photographing butterflies, flowers and other small creations.

3.  There’s just nothing quite like the first really good sledding outing of the winter season.  No sleds were harmed in the taking of this photograph.

4.  Another family outing, this one to the top of Mt. Evans, yielded a bonus surprise for me.  There’s a reason I drag my family out of bed before dawn for our adventures.  This was taken not long after sunrise and just before we headed up the mountain.

5. A rare date day with my sweetheart included a trip to an old cemetery near Georgetown, Colorado.  Yes, I probably am the only person I know who thinks tramping around old cemeteries at sunrise is a really cool date.  Good thing I have a long-suffering spouse.

6. One of the definite photographic highlights of my year was a roadtrip my son and I made to Florida in late September.  The miles and miles and miles of Kansas sorghum were just too much for this photographer to pass up.

7.  From the same trip, this Tallahasee sidewalk was almost otherwordly.  We don’t get a lot of Spanish Moss here in Colorado.

8. No roadtrip to Florida would be complete without at least one picture from DisneyWorld.  Here’s a shot of the famous Epcot icon at dusk from Around the World.

9.  Coming back from Florida I spent a delightful afternoon on the beach at Pascagoula, Mississippi, making friends with this little critter.  It took some patience but he eventually decided to favor me with an appearance.

10.  Another image from our adventuring on Mt. Evans. This one is the lake nearest the top. Summit Lake.  Even in August, it was still icy, but icy waters make for the most beautiful reflections.

11.  Yes, I know it says 10 up there and this is #11.  Call it a bonus image.  I think it speaks for itself.

So, what was your most memorable part of 2011?  Was it a photograph you took, a trip you made, a goal you accomplished, something you learned?  Share with me in the comment section below.

And if you’d like to see more images of 2011, stop by Marie Leslie Media’s Facebook page and check out my photo albums.