2019

Break out the sparklers, it’s the last day of the last year of the decade, and it’s time for a whole lot of us photographers to pull out our best and favorite shots of the year to stick on the refrigerator. If you’ll indulge me, I’ll keep it brief: what a year. I didn’t post as much on here because I wanted to focus on good opportunities, and I think I found them. In fact, I think I pushed my photography the furthest it’s ever gone — in nature, on the street and at work. I’ve gotten to know Minnesota in all of its seasons. I got married and visited three national parks. I made plans and hopes for the next year and the next decade. What a year!

A rally for and protest against President Donald Trump during his visit to Burnsville, Minnesota

A restored prairie in southern Scott County, Minnesota

Wacipi with the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community, Minnesota

Minneapolis Open Streets on Lyndale Avenue (same for the next photo)

Crown-tipped coral fungus, Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge

Grizzly Falls, Kings Canyon National Park

Thanks, as always, for looking. A happy new year to you.

2017 2017 eclipse Arkansas Fayetteville Mount Rushmore national parks nature nature photography Northwest Arkansas outdoors photography seasons solar eclipse street photography year in review

2017

It’s just about time to close out the year. 2017 has taken me across more than 3,000 miles to an solar eclipse, two national parks, five hikes at Devil’s Den and other sights new and old. I hope I always remember daylight falling behind the moon as my manic excitement reached ever higher in the middle of Nebraska back in August. Not a bad year for photos.

(From Through the Wall, taken Aug. 23)

(The center of the world, Aug. 22)

(The eclipse, Aug. 21)

(Nebraska, Aug. 19)

The year was eventful in other ways simply as a guy who takes pictures and wants to share them. I made a Facebook page, went to one of Fayetteville’s First Thursdays and took a shot at doing some family portraits this fall. I dream about doing what I do on this blog for a career and creating photo books and traveling the world, and I agonize with insecurities about whether I’m actually any good. Maybe I’ll get a little further with all of those things next year, too.

(In the wind, Sept. 16)

(Devil’s Den in white, Jan. 7)

(The forest floor, June 19)

(Mushrooming III, May 29)

As it happens, this post is #200 since I officially made this WordPress into a photo blog a little more than four years ago. This place been a lot of things for me: a photo diary for friends, family and exploring my home; a travel blog; an extension of work; an experiment in storytelling and new ways to shoot. Basically all of my fear and joy in photography goes here. I’ve tried to learn and deliver at least a touch of art. Some of my shots, especially early on, are embarrassing, really, and I needed to learn a lot about editing down to the best images. Other early pictures aren’t bad. I’ll probably feel the same about my recent shots in another four years.

If there’s anyone from the earliest days who still visits, bless you. For everyone else, thanks for joining me. I look forward to another year.

(The Hawksbill, Dec. 3)

(Twin Cities, Aug. 26)

(Fools’ parade, Feb. 25)

(One day, two cities, June 24)

(June in February, Feb. 11)

(Fall’s first days, Sept. 24)

(Belly of the beast, March 9)

If you’d like to see my past year-in-review posts, they’re just a click away: 2014, 2015 and 2016.

Dan

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2016

Another trip around the sun is over. I’ve been trying to think of some kind of theme to bring it all together in this post, but mainly it’s been another year of change, working a new beat at work and walking some new trails. It’s been full of contrasts, too, both out in the big world and in my small one. We got tiny mushrooms and 300-foot sequoias, moments of quiet and blasting fireworks, shots in natural and artificial spaces. And I hope I caught some nice moments in the middle of some major trouble and upheaval these past 12 months.

Thanks for tagging along as I explore and keep trying to get better images; your attention’s always a privilege. Here’s to a happy and full new year.

Dan

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2015

Well, dear readers, it’s been a year. Over the past 12 months this little blog has gone to dune fields, flooded forests, music-filled streets and crazy festivals. I traveled more than 6,000 miles through nine states, and I stayed put right here in my neighborhood, all of it trying to catch just a fraction of the frames that come together every moment. I hope it’s been worth tagging along.

That mix of far away and right outside the door has been a sort of theme throughout 2015, I suppose. Northwest Arkansas has plenty of its own sights and happenings, but this whole country is home, too, and there is a ton to see. I hiked two national parks and plan to (slowly) keep making my way through all 59 of them — looks like Yosemite might be coming up in a few months. I’ll see more parades, more people and more cities. More vaguely, I’ll keep pushing myself to get better. I try to do something new every time I head out with a camera – a different perspective, a slicker composition, a novel play on light or color. I’ll keep trying in 2016. There’s always more to learn.