20120104

Best of 2011

I have read with interest how other bloggers have picked out their best of 2011 shots, so – a little belatedly – I thought I would do the same. I scanned the files and, after much deliberation, settled on this shot of a pair of puffins on the Farne Islands in Northumberland. It gets my vote not because it's technically a decent shot (it's not – the light was bad, the image is noisy and, too far away, I was stretching the limitations of the lens) but because the symmetry of the birds' pose is just one of those moments which, when spotted and captured on the memory card/film, gives you a tingle all over and makes it all worthwhile.




























In second place is this abstract shot of a dandelion, chosen because it's not a studio shot and technically it's tricky to capture in focus the seed heads and their delicate umbrellas as they are jettisoned by the plant.



















And finally, I went for this simple shot of a Greenfinch, chosen because it was one of those moments when the light was perfect, allowing me to capture in all their glory the myriad colours that make up the bird's surprisingly complex patchwork quilt plumage.

9 comments:

  1. I agree with the Puffin shot Tim, you wont get a pose like that again :-)

    Thanks for putting up the subjects distance in previous post too :-)

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  2. Ooh no - I can't choose - they are all favourites!

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  3. greenfinch 1st dandelion 2nd puffin 3rd. but thats just me, love the detail on the finch & dandelion.

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  4. Puffin shot is a stunner, nice how its not cropped too much and sets a quality scene.

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  5. the greenfinch is gorgeous! and yes, the puffins are adorable!

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  6. Yes, I agree with your first choice. It's a stunning one-off.

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  7. These are excellent Tim. I agree there is just something about that first shot. The second shot, this is amazing, I am not sure how you acheived this. The Greenfich is brilliant it shows all the plumage colours.
    Great stuff.

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  8. Superb Tim. I think you have the right order there as well.
    However, the dandelion is a very close second.

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  9. I hadn't seen the Puffin shot before but was blown away by the Dandelion when I first found your blog! Basically 3 fantastic pics, I'd be over the moon if had managed any one of them :-)

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