At the end of a year I like going back and review the photos I made during the year. My goal is to pick my ten personal favorites; which can be is a hard thing to do - at least for me. I started this back in 2009 and with now three annual favorite sets it becomes an intriguing tool for documenting how my photography has changed. When I compare this year’s selection to my ten favorites of 2010 or to my ten favorites of 2009 it is obvious that my interest and therefore photography has changed rather significantly. 2011 was mostly dominated by monochrome architecture or landscape photography with only a few color photos in between. A fair amount of long exposure shots made it on the list too. I started to appreciate monochrome photography as it allows me to better focus on composition, light, patterns and structures without the (often) distracting colors.

Anyway, here are my ten personal favorites of 2011. You can also view them in a very nice lightbox gallery on my Google+ account.

1. Tree in Winter Fog, January 14, 2011
I made this photo during one of the many hikes in Almaden Quicksilver County Park.

 
2. Welcome to Mare Island, April 16, 2011
Night shot on Mare Island in Vallejo, CA which is a fantastic place to explore.

3. Hintere Gerbergasse 5, April 26, 2011
A shot from my hometown Nördlingen in Bavaria. 

4. A Sense of Integrity, September 1, 2011
Inside Heart Memorial Mining building at UC Berkeley, CA.

5. I Know my Way, September 10, 2011
I made this during a fantastic camping trip to Memorial County Park, CA.

6. Emma, September 10, 2011
No favorite set with at least one photo of my wonderful daughter.

7. Bold, October 1, 2011
A long exposure shot from HP Pavilion in San Jose, CA. 

8. Endless Time, November 6, 2011
Another long exposure shot from Natural Bridges State Park in Santa Cruz, CA.

 
9. Good Times, November 19, 2011
This shot of the Daylight Pass road towards Beatty, NV will always remember me of the fantastic Google+ photo trip to Death Valley National Park.

10. A New Morning, November 20, 2011
A new day starts at Zabriskie Point in Death Valley National Park.

Foreign Territory.

Death Valley National Park, California.

Badwater Basin in Death Valley National Park is a very strange place - in a highly intriguing sort of way. It is also the lowest point in North America with an elevation of 86 meters (282 feet) below sea level.

Salt Desert.

The top of the Black Mountains in Death Valley National Park offers a majestic view of the Badwater Basin below.

Dante’s View.

Daylight Pass Road in Death Valley towards Beatty, NV

Good Times.

I posted already a photo from this spot in Death Valley earlier. However, the light was changing so fast that I was able to make quite a few shots that all have different feeling to them. This one is towards the end of the blue hour just before the was starting to rise.

Blue Hour at Zabriskie Point.

While visiting Death Valley I also made stop at the ghost town of Rhyolite. It is located near the eastern edge of the national park. At its heyday Rhyolite had by some estimates a population of up to 5,000 during the gold rush in the early 20th century. However, once the ores were exhausted the population quickly dropped to zero again by 1920.

This photo is a long exposure shot of the John S. Cook & Company Bank building. It was completed and opened for business in January 1908. The reported cost of the building is $90,000. The safe’s inside vault weighed 6,600 pounds and could hold a million dollars in coin.

John S. Cook & Co. Bank.

Rhyolite is an intriguing place and I would highly recommend a stop if you’re in the vicinity.

This is a different shot from the Mesquite Dunes in Death Valley National Park.

Forever.

I am slowly working through all the photos from the recent G+ trip to Death Valley. This shot from the Mesquite Dunes was made very early in morning. It is quite an experience walking into these dunes for about an hour in the night to find a good spot for the sun to rise. The title is inspired by the fact that I walked into a desert and forgot to take any water with me (greenhorn!). As you can imagine I was quite dried out towards the end of this shoot and very happy to be back at my car where several bottles of water waited.

Heat.