Favorite Photos of 2024
At the end of each year, I like to take a quick look back at the photos I’ve taken over the past 12 months. Here are 10 of my favorites and the stories behind them.
On January 21st I ventured out into a snowy pre-dawn morning and found that the roads were not as clear as I hoped. I went as far as Lisbon, MD a little farming community in Howard County about 20 minutes from my house and decided that was as far as I was going to go. I did make one stop near a farm that I have visited before and got this shot of the sunrise from behind the barn. I liked the shot so much I painted it two weeks later.
Later that same day I was contacted by a woman who has a barn on her property in Sykesville, MD and she graciously invited me to come photograph her barn in the snow. I shot it at sunset that afternoon and at dawn the next morning. I got some good shots, but I think this pre-dawn shot was my favorite. It was definitely worth the freezing fingers. It’s always nice to get invited to share in someone’s world.
By February 5th the snow was gone, and I went for a hike with long time friend and fellow photographer Tim Fricker at his favorite morning destination, the Widewater area of the C&O Canal below Great Falls, MD. By 7:53 am the morning sun had risen above the trees between the canal and the Potomac River and lit up this outcropping of rock. The still morning gave us great reflections to work with and left me with numerous compositions, this one being my favorite. Easy hiking, good photos to compose and great conversation make for the best mornings.
April 10, 2024, found me in Brookside Gardens, a favorite spring photo op for me. This Wheaton, MD gem has provided me with numerous blooming shots of color over the years and this year’s favorite of the day was this bed of Daffodils. A few weeks later I painted this scene as part of a garden painting series. In July of 2026, I am scheduled for a painting exhibition in the visitor center at Brookside.
On June 7th I participated in the Frederick County Barnstorming tour, an annual event sponsored by the Frederick County Landmarks Foundation. Featuring 8-10 farms each year, this year’s tour was in the Jefferson area of the county and marked the seventh time I participated in the tour. It gives me the opportunity to walk and photograph on the farm properties. Oddly enough this beautiful farm field was actually not on the tour. I stopped on the side of the road between two of the farms and captured this late morning scene. Sometimes the trip is as much fun as the destination.
Later in the day on the barnstorming tour, while on the Noffsinger Farm in Jefferson, MD, I wondered into their barn and captured this interior scene. I just loved the way the light filtered through the barn opening to light up the odds and ends in the barn.
In the end of July, I was working on a photo essay of south Carroll County. Liberty Lake, which is only a five-minute drive from my front door was on my shot request list. I managed to capture this family of geese as they swam by in the pre-dawn light. For those of you not previously familiar with my work, yes, I do have a thing for early morning light. I spend a lot of my photography time very early in the day.
On Friday, August 23 I had to drive to Cambridge, MD to deliver a painting. Not one to waste an opportunity, I left home around 4:30 so that I could be in the Cambridge Yacht basin in time for the sunrise. I was rewarded for my early departure with this sunrise view of the Choptank River Lighthouse. It was a lovely morning of photography, a happy delivery of a painting for a new vacation home and a nice afternoon tour of the art galleries of Easton.
My last two favorite photos of the year were taken on the same morning, September 9. Hunt Valley, MD is a favorite sunrise photo spot for me, particularly in September when the sun rises up the valley. As the sun rises above the trees and begins to light the fields, the morning dew rises as a ground mist in the cool September air. This friendly horse wondered into the scene for a little morning grazing. I shortened up on my field of focus to soften the foreground and really bring the eye to the mid ground detail. Just a beautiful morning.
Taken just 2 minutes later, the trees at the eastern end of this farm are a must stop for me and this year’s trip provided me with what may be my favorite shot from 13 years of sunrises there. Usually, I am not one for symmetrical compositions but when it’s right you just have to go with it.
So ends my 10 favorite photos of 2024. I am looking forward to 2025 and the new places I may find to photograph.