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.

Not just one season....

I lived most of my life in Puerto Rico. And even thought most people think it is a paradise and it is way too beautiful (which is both) I still moved away from the island to the States. And where in the States? Basically to the exact middle of the U.S., Manhattan, KS. Yes I know that Puerto Rico is beautiful and that there are a lot of beautiful images to be taken there. Yes it has great beaches all around, and a lot of vegetation, and yes even thought it has the occasional Hurricane coming in, or it rains almost 50% of the time, it is still a Paradise. But I still moved away from it. After 30 years of living in the island (with the occasional stint away from it because of the ARMY) I think that it was time and I keep on thinking that I made the right decision.

Cabo Rojo Lighthouse, Cabo Rojo, PR

As I said before there are a lot of beautiful scenery around Puerto Rico, from the lighthouses, to ruins, to Old San Juan and it's streets. Really beautiful stuff. but living in the island for 30 some years I was so used to it that I don't see the beauty as much as people who visit it once in a while. And I think I know how it feels since I moved to Kansas. Beautiful sunrises and sunsets, the Flint Hills, the parks, the lakes, Pillsbury Crossing, and I can go on and on and on.

Sunrise at manhattan, KS.

But the thing that makes me smile the most is that I actually can see the seasons go by. In Puerto Rico it is always hot (of course if you live there you are used to it), but it is hot every day of the year. In summer is extra hot, and on winter the coldest it gets is like 73 degrees at the most. Here in Manhattan, KS I got to see snow for the very first time in my life (it is magical), spring is not that bad with the occasional rain or thunderstorm but everything growing back looks amazingly beautiful. Summer is not that hot (even at 114 degrees) but Fall is the most colorful season with all the different colors on the trees and the leaves and the grass, simply beautiful.

Four Seasons, Manhattan KS

Do I miss the island paradise that is Puerto Rico? Yes, I do. Do I regret coming here to Manhattan, KS? A definite NO! I love it here, and hopefully I will stay as long as I can, so mother nature bring everything you got, and let the seasons show themselves throughout the whole year.