One Great Year.

The year 2011 has already gone, and now that all the booze and all the partying and all the resting (well most of it) is gone we can look back and contemplate how good it was. For me it was really good, from hanging out with new people to meeting new awesome friends.

Health-wise , this past year saw the arrival of Clementine, my mountain bike, who I will come to love in just a few days after her arrival. Riding 11 miles (at least) everyday has made me a little healthier. I lost around 40 lbs because of it. Also, even thought it was almost at the end of the year, I quit smoking for good. November 30, 2011 was and will be the last day I smoked a cigarette, and my body and lungs love me for it.

But most importantly, this year was one of my most creative ones, photography-wise. I kept challenging myself to outdo myself with each shoot. I had to get equal or better images with each subsequent photo shoot, or otherwise I would feel that I was moving backwards and not forwards. There is a saying in spanish that goes like this "Para atras ni para cojer impulso" which roughly translates to "Backwards, not even to create momentum". And so here are my 15 favorite images from the year. It was supposed to be favorite 10 images but I couldn't take any of these out of the list. I will try to explain why they are my favorite under each image. Hope you enjoy.

FAVORITE 15 IMAGES OF THE YEAR 2011

This image was taken in January 2011. This Senior All Star session started it all for me. This shot was taken while getting ready for the actual picture. And it turned out better than the one we were looking for. Spontaneity is always better than poses. 

I sincerely LOVE this image. Her eyes are two windows to her soul. Colors saturate the image but still the eyes draw you in. 

The band Gravity Defied, we were looking for a rough look, and just before we were done with the shoot we found this location. This was the final frame of the shoot.

Powerful, stylish and awesome. One of the best "hair flip" images I've taken. Her stance, the look in her face and  the lighting make this image one of my favorites.

Sometimes planning a shoot or an image helps, but sometimes finding the shot works too. We were in a parking lot and I noticed the rings the light made, so I moved a little and gave her the halo. No flash used, natural light and the artificial light in the parking lot. 

After a short get together to talk business, me and a bunch of photographers went to Aggieville  for a small photo-walk. This is one of the photographers (and an awesome model don't you think). Lisa Marie was so natural and her clothes were so perfect for the location that I could not resist to take this image.

Clementine (my mountain bike) was the first step into my love for the trails. This was taken on an event sponsored by Big Poppi Bicycle Co. at Little Creek. A lot of people went there and I took images of all of them, but this one, with the motion, the passion in her face, the concentration, the colors, well almost everything made it one of my favorites.

Another "last shot", a friend of mine agreed on letting me take images of his family. And just before we called it quits, this little girl was drinking from her bottle and I went for the last shot, and my favorite of the day. 

A really good friend of mine, she agreed on me taking images for his husband who was  deployed at the time. This image makes the cut because of her eyes, two emeralds with hints of orange. Also this image was the one who made me think about doing the Modernizing Fantasy Collection.

First image of my Modernizing Fantasy Collection. I call this one "Talking with the Fairies".  Like I wrote on the last image, after that photo session I knew she would be perfect for this image that has been in my mind for about 4 months, and she was perfect for it.

Another Modernizing Fantasy image. This idea I had it while riding my bike on a 104 degree summer day. I was so tired and hot that all my mind was thinking about was "If only my clothes where made of water" and right there it clicked. With new found strength and determination I got home and started doing water test to see if what I had in my head could be done. And after 5 months the perfect model appeared and this was the end result. 

At the time I was reading one of the "The Secret Life of the Immortal Nicholas Flammel" books and in the chapter I was they started talking about dryads. So naturally I researched the idea, and put it on the back burner. I had so many ideas for the Modernizing Fantasy Collection that I could not pick which one was going to be the next one. So I was making backups of the images I already had from other shoots, saw this image and immediately knew it would be perfect for the dryad. So I started working on this image. Titled "The Dance of the Dryad". 

Sometimes I have a huge explanation as to why an image is my favorite, but for this one, I don't have many words, I just love this image.

Sometimes you work with someone and you know they would be perfect for an image. So I convinced my good friend into modeling for what was going to be an image of her but with wings and a spear. After I was almost done with that image I took a break from it. I put in The Rocketeer and immediately thought "steam-punk the Valkyrie" so I went back to the image and started from scratch, and this was my favorite image of the year, well almost.

While checking if my backups still work I found this image of my cousin (which is a ballet dancer) from her Senior session about 2 years ago. The crow princess idea was the first one I had for the "Modernizing Fantasy" collection. But did the others first because for this one every had to be perfect. I thought it would be my hardest image to make, and maybe it was because I had this exact replica in my mind's eye,  but it was the easiest image I have done. From start to finish it didn't take me a lot to finish. The idea of having a princess and her soul leaving her body in the form of crows because she was shot down with an arrow was in my head for probably 8 months. But after filtering the image from my head into this image I am so happy that I could do it. 

So these are my favorite 15 images of the year 2011. I already have shoots planned for 2 more collections (as soon as I finish the Modernizing Fantasy one). And I will keep on pushing myself forward....Backwards, not even to gain momentum.

Did you know that photographers have a life outside photography?

Is a doctor, a doctor 24 hours a day of his life? Is a dentist a dentist 24 hours of his life? Is a mechanic a mechanic 24 hours of his life? I surely hope (for their sakes) that they answer with a profound "NO!". We photographers have a life outside photography. Not everything we do revolves around photography (well most of the time it does but still). Some have other jobs, others like to have different hobbies, and others just lay around and play video games and watch movies like regular people. I know of some that even go out on dates and go out to dinner.

My personal life outside photography involves being with my wife, and two cats. I like to play video games (cant wait for Gears of War 3), but most of the time I do something that I treat as much of a passion as I do when I am out photographing. And that is bike riding. I love it with a passion, and can't get enough of it.

This is Clementine. She was born on April 26, 2011 at Big Poppi Bycicle Co. hospital, and I love her to death. (picture taken with my phone)

 I usually ride every day, at least 11 miles around the beautiful linear trail around Manhattan, KS. And a couple of days ago I had the courage to go in the mountain bike trail near the Linear Trail, and my love for this bike went up 10 fold. She loved it too, even tho I had to give her a bath afterwards. But there is nothing more soothing than the sound of your tires on dirt. There is a great saying by Louis J. Helle, Jr. and it says "Bicycling is the nearest approximation I know to the flight of birds. The airplane simply carries a man on its back like an obedient Pegasus; it gives him no wings of his own.", and I cant be more in agreement to that statement. It relaxes the mind, it soothes the soul, it is heaven in vehicle form. I have even gotten some great ideas for photo sessions (which I have not done yet) while riding Clementine. And there is nothing better than conquering a mountain or the elements and finishing up a ride with that accomplished feeling.

But with the coming of winter I will be riding my bike less and less everyday around Manhattan. But to my surprise (and Google's awesome engine) I found out about indoor trainers, so no need to stop cycling even if the snow is 4 feet high outside. The only difference will be that I won't have the beautiful scenery. So I'll be going to the bike store and get me one of these things, so now not even the weather can get between me, my bike, and the awesomeness of the ride (even if it is in my garage). After all, I spend less money on gas, about $65 a month, so the bike actually payed for itself. Also I am losing weight since I got it, around 65 lbs, since April 26, 2011, so that is a big plus. The least I could do is keep on enjoying it, right?

But like I said, photographers are not photographers 24 hours of the day (well at least we try not to be), and we are just like regular people. I happen to be the kind that loves riding his bike. I have yet to mix both, well I did it once and loved it (click here for the images). But I want to mix it a little more, but I am kind of scared of riding in my back with a 5D Mark II on a backpack. So untill I buy a point and shoot I might have to pospone that mixture.

If you like bike riding, and/or are interested in it you should definetely check out Big Poppi Bycicle Co. in Aggieville, Manhattan, KS. They are awesome.