At the end of each year I am faced with a decision about whether to do a review of the year and/or select my favorite photos. Some years I have done a selection based on the number of views received; some years I have chosen my personal favorites; and some years I have opted to do no yearly retrospective whatsoever.
This year I went through my postings month by month and selected two photos for each month. Rather than give an explanation for each selection, I have provided links to the postings themselves to make it easier for interested readers to see the images in the context of the original postings that often include additional photos and explanatory information.
This has been a rewarding year for me in so many ways and I have had a lot of wonderful experiences capturing images. Thanks so much to all of you for your support and encouragement. Stay tuned for part two, which should appear in the next few days.
January 12, 2019 Kissing Eagles (https://michaelqpowell.com/2019/01/12/kissing-eagles/)
January 16, 2019 Cardinal in the snow (https://michaelqpowell.com/2019/01/16/cardinal-in-the-snow-3/)
February 4, 2019 Reflected sunrise colors (https://michaelqpowell.com/2019/02/04/reflected-sunrise-colors/)
February 22, 2019 Mountain views in Germany (https://michaelqpowell.com/2019/02/22/mountain-views-in-germany/)
March 14, 2019 Male bluebird in March (https://michaelqpowell.com/2019/03/14/male-bluebird-in-march/)
March 30, 2019 Mockingbird seeking seeds (https://michaelqpowell.com/2019/03/30/mockingbird-seeking-seeds/)
April 9, 2019 Visible sound (https://michaelqpowell.com/2019/04/09/visible-sound/)
April 12, 2019 Uhler’s Sundragon dragonfly (https://michaelqpowell.com/2019/04/12/uhlers-sundragon-dragonfly/)
May 6, 2019 Brown Spiketail dragonflies (https://michaelqpowell.com/2019/05/06/brown-spiketail-dragonflies/)
May 23, 2019 White squirrel (https://michaelqpowell.com/2019/05/23/white-squirrel/)
June 21, 2019 Tale of two butterflies (https://michaelqpowell.com/2019/06/21/tale-of-two-butterflies/)
June 24, 2019 Hummingbird Moth (the posting was on 2 July, but the photo was taken on June 24) (https://michaelqpowell.com/2019/07/02/hummingbird-moth/)
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Stunning photos, Mike, especially the Eagles. Hoping some from Paris are in your next installment. Happy New Year to you and yours. Best, Babsje
Paris will definitely make the next installment for sure. My decision to select two for each month makes it hard to choose for many of the months and I know it will be especially tough for November when I was in Paris for three weeks.
Great, looking forward. Just a suggestion: make a part 3 solely about Paris and let part 2 do other November nature captures. Problem solved! Best, Babsje
I like the suggestion and may well do just that. It would certainly make my selection process easier. 🙂
😎
Such a grand display of beauty and talent in Part One here, Mike, thanks so much for taking the time to highlight some of your favorites, and for sharing so many incredible images throughout the year. I didn’t see some of these, so was glad for today’s retrospective. Although I really like every one, and studied each of them, the one that knocked my socks off was Visible Sound on April 9. Truly a celebration of the senses.
Thanks so much for your kind words, Jet. Visible Sound is a companion to my posting Visible Song from 2016, which has one of my favorite photos that I have ever taken. (https://michaelqpowell.com/2016/03/08/visible-song/).
Nice job choosing from such a rich collection, Mike.
Happy new year! Thanks for sharing your pics and experiences!
Beautiful series of images Mike! Enjoyed seeing them! Happy New Year!
Impressive collection. Happy New Year
A wonderful retrospective. May the new year bring even more.
Eagles = No. 1 in my heart, although the white squirrel is a close second.
Thanks for your feedback, Walter. It’s hard for me to make a choice. The white squirrel sighting was one of the most memorable encounters of the year, though I am not sure that the photos of it are quite as good as some others that I shot.
What a wonderful series. I hadn’t seen several of these, and I was especially taken with the mockingbird. Your photo’s proof that even the most “common” bird can be elegant and worthy of admiration.
Thanks so much for your feedback–it helps reinforce the idea that it was worthwhile for me to do this kind of retrospective. As I looked over my images from my postings this year, I realized that many of my favorite shots are of common subjects. One of my absolute favorite photos ever was one I took of a Red-winged Blackbird, a common bird where I live. I was fortunate to capture it in an unusual way, as you can see in a posting from 2016 called Visible Song. (https://michaelqpowell.com/2016/03/08/visible-song/)
What a lovely and enjoyable way to end the year. Dare I say, this is a scathingly brilliant idea! I am saving this for Benjamin. I loved that white squirrel and so did Benjamin. I have seen black squirrels in Massachusetts, they frequent my Son’s bird feeders. He has a red squirrel there this year, but I have not had the good fortune to be there when it is around. In late summer an odd looking Eastern Gray Squirrel became a regular visitor to my backyard. The tail has a small space of the usual coloring at the beginning and then the rest is pure white down to the tip. Had I even a smidge of your talent I might have captured a nice photograph…all I ever captured was a blur! Thank-you, Mr. Mike! Happy New Year!
Beautiful photos, Mike!
Happy New Year!! 😀
Great shots. Happy New Year.
A great collection highlighting some wonderful experiences, Mike! I look forward to seeing your photography adventures unfold in 2020. HNY!
Nice group, Mike. As a lover of frogs and frog photographs I’m quite taken with “Visible Sound”.
Wishing you a new year filled with many inspiring walks in nature!
Beautiful photos! The croaking bullfrog is terrific!
[…] week ago I did a retrospective posting on some of my favorite photos from the first half of 2019 and alerted readers that a second posting […]
Such wonderful images. I was happy to see a few of my favourites among your selection.
Thanks, Laura. I think we both are drawn to my images that have an artsy feel to them in addition to capturing the personality of the subject.