I’ve spent some time over the last few days reminiscing about the photos I took in 2008. I wanted to pick my favorite image for 2008. Instead of picking a single image, I decided to put together a few of my favorites from different categories.

OVERALL FAVORITE IMAGE

When I think of the thousands of images I took in 2008, one image stands alone in my mind as my favorite. It was taken on a rainy/snowy day in May when everything came together perfectly for me to capture what I envisioned in my mind. The shot was made at the Salt Lake LDS Temple at the wedding of a young woman who grew up in my neighborhood.

The Kiss
Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens – 1/640 second, f/4, ISO 100

FAVORITE PHOTOWALKING IMAGE

My next favorite is an image that was taken on a Photowalking Utah event in March. The group was riding the light rail system through downtown Salt Lake City and getting off at each stop to photograph. At one of the stops we met this gentleman who kindly let us photograph him. I opted to get in very close and to position him in the light so there wouldn’t be catch-lights in his eyes. I wanted to portray the harshness that is reality when living on the streets.

Street Life
Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens – 1/80 second, f/4, ISO 250

FAVORITE STOCK IMAGE

It was difficult to pick a favorite in this category. I added over 2,800 images to my stock portfolios in 2008 so there were plenty to choose from. My pick is one I shot back in the spring titled Scary Movie. I love how the girls were each able to portray spontaneous fear as if they were actually watching a scary movie. The fact that the image features my two daughters doesn’t hurt either.

Scary Movie
Canon 5D, Canon 70-200 f/4L lens – 1/160 second, f/7.1, ISO 100

FAVORITE PORTRAIT

My favorite portrait is of a member of my church named Leon. What makes this image special is that Leon passed away on January 23rd, a relatively short time after this image was made. Even though the image was actually taken a few days after Christmas ’07, I consider it a 2008 image because that’s when I did the editing. I remember talking to Michelle on the way home after photographing Leon and telling her that I had a strange feeling while shooting that this would be Leon’s last portrait. I’m grateful to have been able to capture his warm smile one last time.

Leon
Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens – 1/125 second, f/10, ISO 100

FAVORITE PHOTO SHOOT

My favorite photo shoot of the year took place nearly a year ago in January. Through a pilot friend, I was granted access to a private jet for an afternoon to do a stock photo session. My goal was to create a series of images that portrayed passengers inside an airplane in flight.

Private Jet Photo Shoot
Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens – 1/60 second, f/8, ISO 100

Even though the temperature was in the teens (inside of the airplane and out), the models all braved it to help me create a nice set of stock images that have sold relatively well all year. Of the dozens of shoots I did this one is probably my favorite because of just how cool it was to play around photographically in a multi-million dollar jet.

Executive
Canon 5D, Canon 24-105 f/4L lens – 1/160 second, f/6.3, ISO 100

2008 will go down in my memory as the year that my photography business took a front seat to my other endeavors and became my nearly-sole source of income. This would have never happened without the support of my family, the willingness of people to open up locations for me to photograph in and the dozens of great models that worked with me throughout the year.

To each an every one of you I issue a heartfelt Thank You!

Now it’s time to quit looking back and to focus on the future. 2009 here I come!