Here are my top 25 shots that I have taken in 2012. They are ordered by date. I thought this would be a good first project to upload to this site since it shows a variety of my best work from the past year.
2012 has been great. I have learned so much about myself and my photography. Many great things happened this year that I am very proud and excited about: I shot my first wedding, bought my dream camera, designed my own website, became apart of a talented group of inspiring photographers, & photographed my favorite band. I cannot wait to see what 2013 will bring.
Thanks for looking and happy new year!
-Jack
2012 has been great. I have learned so much about myself and my photography. Many great things happened this year that I am very proud and excited about: I shot my first wedding, bought my dream camera, designed my own website, became apart of a talented group of inspiring photographers, & photographed my favorite band. I cannot wait to see what 2013 will bring.
Thanks for looking and happy new year!
-Jack
1.11.12 | Chuck
Chuck hit me up for a new facebook profile picture, and I can always use people to shoot so I accepted. I didn’t think I would end up liking his photo as much as I do, but it’s one of my favorite portraits I’ve ever taken (despite the cliché train tracks).
1.13.12 | Endure
I love wave shots, and it has always been a goal of mine to get a shot like this. This picture makes it look like summer, but really, it was the coldest and windiest day of my life. Painful but worth it.
1.19.12 | Catching Snowflakes
This was taken around midnight at my school. I dragged Solinda out in a blizzard to shoot and made her model for me. If you’re my friend, getting your picture taken is not optional.
1.27.12 | Illuminate
This was a strange looking day. As I was driving home from school, I thought I would stop by Seaside Park to take some photos since it was nice and foggy out. Right as I pulled in, the fog started lifting, which really frustrated me. But just as I was about to turn around, the sun started shining through under the fog as it was setting, which made the most beautiful/unique sunset I’ve ever seen. One of the few photos that I barely needed to edit to get what I wanted.
2.1.12 | Evening Delight
After stressing out from school, I forced myself to drive off campus to photograph the sunset. I had no idea where to go, so I just aimlessly drove around and ended up at a farm that overlooked Willimantic. It was a beautiful place.
2.10.12 | Infiltrated
This is the first photo taken with my gas mask, and probably my first real conceptual photo. I fell in love with this mask when I saw it. When it finally came in the mail, I walked around in the woods with really no idea in mind and made this, which marked the beginning of my gas mask series.
3.20.12 | Structure
Here’s another one where I kind of just got lucky with the weather. It was a nice foggy day on the beach, but the sun was still peaking through which lit up these eroded pilings nicely. I love having my black and white seascapes horizon-less, and it’s even better when it happens all in-camera.
3.20.12 | Fog on the Croton River
After seeing photos of this place when I first joined flickr, I knew I wanted to photograph it someday. When I finally looked it up, I was surprised to see it was only a little over an hour from my house. I’m not sure how I actually did it, but I forced myself to wake up around 4:30am and drive here for sunrise. Even though I got fog instead of sun, it was still an amazing sight to see. I will never forget it.
3.23.12 | Green & Pink
This was taken at sunrise three days after the previous photo during my spring break. I’m not sure how I got myself to wake up that early twice in one week, but I did. Sounds stupid, but it’s probably the most motivated I’ve ever been with my photography. Plus, it was my first photo featured on Flickr's explore page.
4.6.12 | Bre
Portraits like this are not something I’m very experienced with, so I wasn’t sure what I was going to get out of this photo shoot. This shot was actually for a local hair salon entering a hair styling contest. I think we spent about 2 months editing this thing, but I’m happy with how it came out. Plus it came in 2nd place which is cool.
5.14.12 | The Harbinger
Here’s the third photo to my gas mask series. After taking this, I wasn’t even sure if it was going to come out as planned. Surprisingly, it ended up being one of my most popular pictures. I've always considered it my strongest photo.
5.15.12 | Stratford Lights
I drove all the way to Stratford beach this day planning to get a shot that didn’t even come out that great. As I was about to drive home, I realized that the real shot I came for was behind me, opposite of the water, the whole time. Here it is.
5.30.12 | Seven
I think this is my favorite black and white photo. It doesn’t look like it, but I actually spent a lot of time in photoshop on this one. Looking at the SOOC version compared to the final version always makes me proud.
6.6.12 | My Lost Letters
I will always consider this one of my most personal pieces. This is an example of a shot that turns out exactly how you had planned. It rarely happens, but it feels good when it does.
7.4.12 | Nature's Fireworks
I am obsessed with lightning, and this was no doubt the craziest lightning I have ever seen. This was taken on July 4th when I was on vacation with my family at Misquamicut Beach. I specifically remember some drunk girl standing over my shoulder talking to me as I took this. I guess she didn’t get the hint that I was more interested in the storm and not her endless rambling.
7.12.12 | Ashes of my Past
This shot wouldn’t be possible without Mike’s help with the fire. The last time I worked with fire by myself, I nearly started a forest fire. This was the first time I blended an expansion manually. And now, it’s the only way I do it.
8.7.12 | Summer Slaughter
This was one of the best concerts I’ve ever been to. Between the Buried & Me has always been one of my favorite bands, and having the chance to photograph them was just awesome. Nothing else to say.
8.19.12 | Kim
I’ve started becoming less interested in studio shots because I feel that they’re so limiting in what I want to do (and a lot more artificial/posed). This is one of my few studio shots that I actually like.
9.2.12 | Lindsay & Andrew
This was the first wedding I’ve ever photographed, and I don’t think I’ve ever been so nervous in my life. By the end of the reception, my nerves had completely eased and I was having the time of my life. I’m hoping I’ll be able to shoot a few more this coming year.
10.9.12 | Autumn Swirls
This was taken at Enders Falls. As autumn approached, I made it a goal for myself to photograph a new waterfall with the foliage. I wasn’t expecting such a nice swirl; I guess I just came on the right day.
10.20.12 | The Essence of Fall
Basically, I’m obsessed with autumn. Everything is so beautiful. Here’s a photo to show my obsession.
10.20.12 | Autumn Light
More autumn. This was taken right after the previous photo. A lot of people only use expansions/brenizers for portraits, but I found that using them for landscapes can give a pretty cool result.
11.24.12 | November Night Skies
I’ve always been obsessed with lonely trees. This one is basically a re-make of an old photo I took a while back in the same location. The original used to be one of my favorite pictures, but after looking at it so much, I found a lot of things I didn’t like about it. I think this one’s a lot better.
12.10.12 | Mirror
Here’s an example of why I love shooting in the fog so much. This scene would have looked overcrowded and boring on any other day, but the fog allowed for a much more minimal and stronger composition. The reflection was just a bonus. It may look like a lake, but that water is just a result of heavy flooding.
12.10.12 | Survivor
Considering 12.21.12 was the most anticipated day of the year, I figured it deserved a photo. This is one of my first photos where the idea and composition were actually sketched beforehand. My brain is weird. I’ll think of the craziest ideas at the most inconvenient times, so drawing them really helps me remember them and execute them more successfully.
