My top ten favorites from 2011

   For me, compiling a gallery of my favorite images I shot this year is a ridiculously hard thing to do. I love them all. I pour my heart and soul and imagination into everything i shoot. Sure some things allow more creativity than others but i try to give them all as much thought as i can and do whatever i can to make them the best i can. It was tough, obviously. I stopped at 88 images although there were countless more I could have included. When i decided my long-overdue blog post would be an even smaller culling from those favorites it was a bit easier believe it or not.

   My choices for this top ten list are almost all for personal reasons, which i will try to explain along with each image. If you don't have the attention span to look through the whole gallery (which i will link to at the end of this) then this post should be a pretty good representation. It was easier to make this list because of the impact each one had on me, my work in terms of growth, and the new direction some of them have taken me, namely in a more journalistic role than i honestly ever saw myself moving.

   A few words on what i look forward to in 2012: first off this past year has been one of my most successful ever. Not entirely in a way of business growth as much as a reaffirmation of where i want to go and where i do not want to go. I shot my 100th wedding this year and i have a renewed love for them. I'm slowly figuring out that I really can put my own touches on them and impart some style into them. Sounds like it should be a no-brainer but it's a fine balance. Secondly this year has taken me in a photojournalistic direction that i had really never explored before. Working with the great people at the Hype Weekly, Manhattan magazine, and a surprise front-page for the collegian has hooked me. I look forward to doing much more of this kind of work, as well as a few more opportunities along these lines and branching further out into commercial work. No worries for all of my non-commercial clients present and future, you all still come first.

   Ok on to my top ten images of 2011... (they are in chronologic order, i couldn't prioritize them!)

This is one of my favorite families. One of my first shoots of 2011 and they were so fun and full of life this image will be one of my favorites for a very long time.

One of my favorite things is to combine visions with someone. This is my good friend Jill. She and I talked about doing these and both our ideas were nearly identical.This image was featured in a gallery show this year at the Manhattan Arts Center, as well as being used (to my surprise!) to represent the whole show!

These are three of my four kids. Enough said, almost. The thing that makes this image stand out to me is that it was entirely the idea of my oldest daughter Emma. My badasses.

When photographers go out to play together magic happens. I wish I could take full credit for this but it was actually the idea of my good friend Cat who was also shooting and the beautiful model Melisha, who is also an extremely accomplished photographer in her own right. She just also happens to be a stellar model!

As i said above, this year really renewed my love for wedding photography. This couple was elemental in that.  Theirs was a very unconventional ceremony and it was surrounded by love. 

Featured in an earlier blog post, this image is the end result of the cooperation of  several of my fellow photographers with help from a few models and extras. Another one that will be in my favorites list for a very long time.

This image pretty much propelled me into photojournalism. I was asked  by the staff of the Hype Weekly to shoot for a story on the Zeandale Art Project. In the process, along with making a great friend this was my first cover image. Truly addicting to see your work in print, let alone on a cover.

Alex caught me on one of my least creative days i can remember. I very rarely go into a shoot totally blank but i did this one. We walked, we talked... and by the time we called it a night we made some great images. Again maybe the thing that makes this image appear in this list is the fact that out of it we became good friends. A spectacular image with a little secret.

I am always willing to go outside of my comfort level. I will never forget the night we made this image, mainly because it was a big creative boost. 

Everyone that knows me and my philosophies toward photography  are aware that to me technical perfection  is not high on my list of priorities. While i don't intentionally try to break the rules, i do it quite often. This is a terrible image technically. there is almost nothing perfect about it, except that it perfectly describes and portrays Jess. 

There you have it. My labours of love and the pursuits of a passion that is nearly all-consuming. I have so many people to thank for this year that i cannot possibly try to list them for fear of forgetting someone. I think that's a subject for another post. These images all made it here for very personal reasons. I hope i didn't miss any here or in the complete list that any of my long time followers think should have been included. I encourage you all to comment and tell me if i did. As with nearly everything i do, these lists are a work in progress. Thank you all and I love every one of you. I wish you all a fantastic new year and hope you do the one thing that is most important in life, whatever it is that makes you truly happy.

Terry.

if you'd like to see the entire gallery, just go here:

http://szelphotography.com/site/#/galleries/my-favorites-from-2011/1/ 

and take a look around while you're there!