Friday, December 30, 2011

My 2011 Flickr Favorites

Every year at this time I like to go through my "Best Of" set on flickr, weed out some of the lesser photos, and finalize it into something reasonably succinct.  I'm still going to do that, but I also thought it would be fun to look through all the photos that I faved during the course of the year, to shed light on some of the fantastic photographers who inspired me in 2011.

A couple of notes: 1) This list is in no way conclusive, as I'm sure there are plenty of photos and photographers that I've missed.  This merely represents a selection of shots that popped up on my radar long enough for me to hit the "favorite" button, and all of them are by people whom I interact with on flickr.  I'm not someone who spends much time looking at the explore photos.  2) All photographs here are copyright their respective authors as indicated below the photo.  In instances where the "share" button was active, I'm including the photo here, linked back to flickr.  Otherwise, just a link.

  • Ralph (aka IHP) is one of my oldest flickr contacts.  He occasionally visits Chicago, and I'm always happy when he does because it results in photos such as this one:

    bridging
    Copyright 2011 IHP. All Rights Reserved.
     
  • Pauldub's photos make me want to visit New York, and this shot is no exception.  I especially like how this combines elements of the bridge, skyline, and neighborhood:

    Brooklyn/East River/Manhattan
    Copyright 2011 PaulW. All Rights Reserved.
     
  • Sombreros made a comeback in 2011.  At least that's what it seemed like in my flickr stream.  An excellent shot by Heather Phillips:

    chicago- west town
    Copyright 2011 Heather Phillips. Some Rights Reserved.
     
  • Mike Innocenzi (aka: Pantagrapher) writes that "everyone needs at least one ferris wheel shot in their photostream", and I couldn't agree more:

    Spun
    Copyright 2011 Mike Innocenzi. Some Rights Reserved.
     
  • There were a lot of photos from Occupy Chicago (and the Occupy movement in general) that I could have chosen, but I really like this one from John Iwanski (aka: Chicago Man):

    And Now a Biblical Perspective at the Protest
    Copyright 2011 John W. Iwanski. Some Rights Reserved.
     
  • I took a ton of photos of the Chicago Pride Parade this year, but none were as cool as this shot by TheeErin:

    Reach for it
    Copyright 2011 Erin! Nekervis. All Rights Reserved.
     
  • The Aqua Building is great for architectural abstracts.  This photo, by Bob Segal, has the added benefit of being in the fog:

    Aqua Fog 4917
    Copyright 2011 Bob Segal. All Rights Reserved.
     
  • If you're not paying attention to the street photography of Jason Martini, then you're not paying attention to street photography in Chicago:

    see in you
    Copyright 2011 Jason Martini. All Rights Reserved.
     
  • I love the expression that Tommy6unz captured in this street portrait, and the colors are simply fantastic:

    Rainbow Brite
    Copyright 2011 TommyTeePhotography. All Rights Reserved.
     
  • The Walking Dude is a mysterious and somewhat famous figure in Chicago.  I've seen him a couple of times but have never taken a photo that I liked.  This one, by Dean Golemis, really captures him well:

    Ascension
    Copyright 2011 Dean Golemis. All Rights Reserved.
     
  • A simple, yet effective composition by Otto Plunkett, this shot evokes a sense of time and place and is just a pleasure to look at:

    4728
    Copyright 2011 Otto Plunkett. All Rights Reserved.
     
  • Adi (aka Naida Fabi) is the master of square format urban abstracts.  This year she did a series of early morning long exposure photos which I really enjoyed.  This shot is one of my favorites.
     
  • Posted on January 1st, 2011, this photo of a rail junction by John Crouch (aka: The New #2), was one of the first photos that I saw in 2011, and still one of the best.
     
  • For my money, this photo by Katherine of Chicago is my favorite of the year.  How often do you get to see a car sticking out of a building?  Not very often.
     
Is there a photo in this set that you particularly like?  Or maybe you'd like to point out something that I missed.  Feel free to leave a comment.

4 comments:

k of c said...

Thank you so much for the mention! It was one of my favorite shots in 2011, too. Glad to be in such great company here, and when I do my long-overdue updating of my blogroll, I definitely need to add you.

TheeErin said...

Hi Andy,
It's an honor to be featured on your blog. Shooting during the 2011 Pride Parade was the most out-of-control crazy crowd experience I've ever endured; I was surprised to have come out of it with any usable photos at all. Thank you so much for including me, and Happy New Year to you and yours.
-Erin

Andy Marfia said...

@Katherine: Thanks for stopping by! I'm hoping we get to see your photo in the Reader this week as well.

@Erin: The parade seemed particularly chaotic last year. I blame it on the nice weather. I've heard the city plans to extend the route in 2012 to try and alleviate some of the crowding, but I'm not sure that will do any good between Addison and Belmont.

Happy New Year to you too!

John W. Iwanski said...

Thanks for including my shot in the collection!