Monthly Favorites 2013

Last year's Monthly Favorites 2012 post generated lots of good feedback, so here I go again (just for fun) with monthly favorites for 2013.  

January. Heard Museum in Phoenix.  I spent a Saturday with ArizonaHighways Photo Workshops, Leroy DeJolie, and Jeff Kida and some fabulous hoop dancers.  5-year-old Kailayn Jensen comes from a hoop dancing family.  She makes me think of youth and promise, and I love the movement in this image.

February. La Hoya NUFED School, Guatemala.  I could write so much about this young lady and her community, but I’ll just say that the education of kids like her is what my beloved Guatemala Literacy Project is all about.  This image was used for international promotion of the work we’re doing in Guate.

 March. A late winter storm on Watson Lake, Prescott AZ.  Watson is unique and inspiring, and I love the sunlight and dark clouds here.

April. I had the pleasure of working in the I-395 corridor with Jerry Dodrill.  Here the moon sets over a bend in the Owens River and Sierra Nevada.  The tranquility of this image takes me right back to the river bank.

May. West Fork of Oak Creek, Sedona AZ.  I made a second trip to get this in the right light. unfortunately my only option was to fight the traffic on Memorial Day Sunday evening.  The limited color palette and juxtaposition of shapes are memorable to me here.

June. Kerrick James showed me Kanarra Canyon in Southern Utah.  There’s nothing like the warm light – cold light contrasts of a slot canyon.

 July. This image is not the most artistic image of the month, but it is the most emotional for me.  I waited at the side of the Lake Pleasant Highway (it was 104F) to pay tribute to the 19 firefighters who lost their lives fighting the Yarnell Hill Fire.  This one went viral on Facebook.  On a lighter note, the image was rejected by a stock agency in the UK because it was “out of focus.”  I’m thinking they don’t have heat mirages there.

August. Back to Guatemala, this time in the photogenic rainy season.  I loved the reflections and the elegance of an everyday moment as these girls walked to school under the arches of the Palace of the Captains General in Antigua, completed in 1764.

September. Joshua Tree National Park, California.  We were on the maiden voyage with the Four Wheel Camper.  

October. Watkins Glen, New York.  Somebody said that this looked like something from Middle Earth;  Moody, wet, and Autumnal.

November. Oak Creek near Sedona AZ.  I’ve been to this spot several times before, but was blown away by the autumn morning light. I like to call this spot the Japanese Garden.

December. Eureka Dunes, Death Valley National Park.  Solitude and the cold light of a winter sunrise. This one brings back the stark beauty of the Park.

I’d like to extend a heartfelt thank-you for all of your support this year.  I look forward to what the new year brings.  

As always, more images are on the website.