2014 was a great year and as it passes by I took some time to reflect on my favorite images form the past year.  It seems like the years go by faster each year.  I will try to give some description on why I picked these images as my favorite.  Enjoy!

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This photograph was taken in Winona, MN, in February after they just received a nice fresh snowfall.  The whole week leading up to this day was cloudy and overcast but this morning it was bright blue skies.  I drove around the countryside stopping and taking pictures and also took some out of the sunroof.  This photograph was my favorite from the day.  Here is the link to the blog write up with more photos.  

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The reason for this photograph making the list is this was my first crack at shooting with a new Canon 100mm 2.8 macro lens. It has been fun learning to shoot with a macro lens and I really like the starburst in the lower lefthand corner.  Here is a blog post with more macro shots. 

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This shot was taken at the Ram track meet in early spring as Roman Phillips broke the school record for the 100mm dash. Here is a link for the rest of the photos. 

2014 PItching

I like making montages when I can and a pitcher's throwing motion is an ideal one.  This one was taken of Marissa Promes during a game against Nevada.  The Ram girls' softball team had their best finish in school history by placing 3rd at state.  It was a great season for them and fun to follw.  Here is the photo album with the rest of the pictures.  

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In June we went to Mexico for a friend's wedding and this was my favorite image from our trip.  The dock provided a great spot for a lot of great photos.  Here is the blog post describing our trip.  

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These two photographs were taken during the 4th of July in Waterloo, IA.  The following picture was taken using a flash and sparklers.  It took us awhile to get the timing right but I think it turned out pretty cool.  Here is a link to the other firework shots. 

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This is the first time I got this image up on my website or Facebook page but it was incredible.  We were actually coming back from Waterloo after the 4th of July and some really bad storms were going through the state of Iowa.  We actually had to go a different way home because of an accident and so we came into Jefferson from the north and it was perfect timing as the sun was setting.  This was a huge storm and later produced tornadoes around the Des Moines area.  Timing is everything!

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I was lucky enough to make it up to Alaska this year to go fishing.  We went to Elfin Cove which is roughly a 30 minute float plane ride west of Juneau.  We had a day in Juneau to spend and this photo was taken on the hiking trails near the Mendenhall Glacier.  The bottom image of a whale was taken while we were fishing.  It was quite the sight watching the whales spash around in the water.  Very powerful animals. 

Whales

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In August my favorite band 311, came to Des Moines for a concert.  I have been lucky to have a great relationship with 311 and have received press passes to photograph their concerts.  These two are my favorite from that night.  The top one was of Chad Sexton their drummer.  Usually it is really hard to get good photographs of him as he is in the back.  The bottom image I like because of the guy crowd surfing.  Here is the blog post with more images from the concert.  

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In September I had a conference in San Francisco so I took my camera with me.  San Francisco is one of my favorite cities in the US.  I got up early in the morning to take pictures and this was my favorite one with a slow shutter speed causing the waves to be blurry and the bird standing still.  Here is the blog post with more images.  

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In October I went on a fishing trip with my father on the Rogue River in Oregon.  I took my GoPro camera with me to get some great shots but one of the places we stayed at had this old truck.  I walked by it and I stopped in my tracks with the reflection of the truck on the pond.  I knew I had to go back and grab my camera and this was the result. 

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Also in October my cousin got married at a wonderful outdoor garden in Texas.  As the sun was starting to set I set up my camera and had a slow shutter speed and captured a great scene with the waterfall and I especially liked the color in the sky. 

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Fall is my favorite time of year because the leaves start to turn colors.  I always try to get out and get some fall color shots.  This one was my favorite from 2014.  

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Over Christmas we went to the La Crosse Rotary lights in La Crosse, WI.  This was the first time I went and was really impressed with all of the hard work that went into creating these really cool light displays.  It was fun to try and capture some of the displays.  This one was my favorite and here is my blog post describing the lights.  

2014 was a great year that went by all too quickly.  A lot of great things happened and I look forward to the new year ahead!  I wish everyone a happy new year!