Week 1 / Project 1

Photography FRESH START

Week 1 / Project 1

This week is about sharing your favorite photos from 2021. I think this is a really important practice to get in to, and you’ll be amazed at how taking some time to look back at last year’s photos will give you a creative boost going forward.

Click Below to See My Favorite Photos From 2021

Your Action Items for Week 1 / Project 1

  1. Watch the video below for some ideas (some free, some paid) on how to get your photos together in to a place to share them.
  2. Post a comment below (with a link) if you have some photos to share, or want to comment on some one else’s as well.
  3. Finally, also consider posting what you learned from looking through your photos and/or what you’d like to change. 
  4. If you’re interested in the 40% off deal from Slickpic.com please click here to find out more

Enjoy!

NOTE: COMMENT ENTRY FORM IS AT THE BOTTOM… SORRY 🙂

2,104 Comments

  1. Sam

    It looks like I am the last one posting. I made several trips last year and have thousands of images to go through. I’ve been going through small batches of photos and finally have enough photos to showcase. I’ll be adding to this album from time to time.

    Here is the the link to my SlickPic album: https://slickpic.us/2288031MIGj

    Reply
  2. Jamie Hinton

    It’s been a busy January, so I’m just getting to this “course” now. Better late than never 🙂 I have been shooting with my “big girl” camera since June 2020. I have been learning, learning, learning. I have also joined a FANTASTIC group called http://www.52Frames.com, which has weekly challenges. Really provides a reason to pick up my camera regualrly. When going thru my 2021 photos, I was pleased to find some that I really liked. Great exercise! https://lightroom.adobe.com/shares/8fb795ef9f3b426da9bbc6fe370b6ec4?fbclid=IwAR0x1_zgS5ir1Le97RaHCJdqlAmIxtU3IKUGI0ueSNw5o2m6JegUb-QkZbE

    Reply
    • Amylouise

      You made a photo with white flowers in a glass, and it is very nice.

      Reply
    • Amylouise

      Those roadways are beautiful! One is pinks and one has yellow on mist, and they are so nice.

      Reply
  3. rick8g

    Good start … sharing … what a concept!! I see that my shots are all over the place in terms of artistry … still trying to find a niche … or not!

    https://adobe.ly/3fUJ7UL

    Reply
  4. Aram Langhans

    I am late to the party as I have been traveling. My photos are of shadows. I am a sucker for shadows, but I am surprised that last year I hardly took any, or I neglected to keyword them in Lightroom. It has been a rough year and I did not take many shots at all.

    https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjzzyy2

    Hope this link works. I have never shared photos using an account like this.

    Reply
  5. Darshan

    I love to shoot nature and landscape. Being able to get outside and explore takes me to my happy place.

    Through this exercise I have learned:
    1. Culling and initial editing should be done shortly after shooting.
    2. I need to make a plan for shoots I want to complete and places I want to visit. Plan and complete!
    3. I need to share more of my images and nail down printing!

    I hope you enjoy https://adobe.ly/3GQfvUh

    Reply
    • Aram Langhans

      Darshan. While I love landscapes, I am drawn to your urban and black and white shots. The buildings in #2 evoke grandure and power. And I loved the RR track shot. Thanks for sharing.

      Reply
  6. Bente

    Well, I am also waaaayy behind, and if it is not too late, I have added my link here to my best 2021. It has been really interesting to check many of the others’ best out.

    https://adobe.ly/3tMUKFG

    My work is generally quite crisp and photographically clean, but with COVID limiting my ventures out this year I have been inspired to using overlays to play with in order to make some work a bit more of a story.

    Reply
    • Aram Langhans

      Bente. I really like your stuff. Strong graphic composition and great colors on those that are in color.

      Reply
  7. Al Wehrmann

    I got wayyyy behind, but am catching up. I was thrilled to learn something new in Lightroom – creating a collection and then a social media site. Here are my selections from 2021 – I did not cull it down to top 10 or 20, instead picked my favorites, and it came to about 50. Given that I figure I took 11,000 images last year, that seems reasonable.

    https://lightroom.adobe.com/shares/a904d86563e146bfb04d65d9c4109acf

    Reply
    • Paula

      Love the red winged black bird!

      Reply
  8. Virginia Jamieson

    Well, better late than never, as the saying goes. I work full time and this is my link: https://www.naturessoul.net/Best-of-2021 to the portfolio of my shots for 2021. I didn’t realize I had made 252 trips to shoot with 148 being the best I could edit down. I learned I need to do this more often than once a year as well as I need to learn to edit better. I’ve been learning or should I say practising to shoot long exposures and also learning to paint flowers in photoshop. Hope you enjoy them.
    I had spent quite some time looking through the shots presented here by others and must say there are quite a few really good photographers here. Thanks for being good sports and taking part and sharing your art. As you will see, I love nature, the moon and flowers. Something else that came out while doing my review.

    Reply
    • Teresa

      Hey Virginia, I would love to have a peek at your pics but the link doesn’t seem to work.

      Reply
  9. Paula

    So, I’m a little late but this was a good exercise. I share other’s sentiments that it highlighted that I need to shoot more!

    https://adobe.ly/3tF0Lny

    Reply
    • Teresa

      Very nice Paula….and I think there isn’t one of us who doesn’t need to shoot more!

      Reply
  10. Sheila Mumpton

    Looking back thru 2021 photos leads me to the fact that I don’t photograph enough !

    I typically like to photograph birds. landscapes and my dogs. I have volunteered a couple years at a local music festival taking photos, that is where the portraits come in – not my typical comfort zone though.

    https://www.flickr.com/photos/smumpton/albums/72177720296053260/with/50482375818/

    Reply
  11. Teresa

    I am way late to the game – so sorry. I had good intentions but you know, life gets in the way sometimes.
    Here are my top 12 for 2021. In all honesty, not all were shot in 2021 but most were and the others were edited in 2021.
    My passion lies with Landscapes and Nature and I especially love IR.
    https://adobe.ly/3qA2OY9

    Reply
    • Moira Ashleigh

      Gorgeous dreamy images 🙂

      Reply
      • Teresa

        Thanks so much, Moira

        Reply
    • Paula

      Great shots! Really love that interior B & W.

      Reply
  12. Barbara Hlavka

    I never knew LR/Adobe had ways to share photos within it. From looking through my photos from this year, I realized that I don’t move around enough to get the best angle or the best light and that I really have to delete and simplify what I have saved in my library. Only just catching up to this now after watching the 3rd week’s 1st lesson. Thank you, Matt! I learn more every time I watch one of your videos.

    Reply
  13. Kevin Batterbury

    Well fellow photographers, Have certainly paid the price for being late in setting up my group of photos. I didn’t get to do much during 2021 and my collection of past photos. I have seen some marvellous images that have been submitted.

    https://onlybatts.myportfolio.com

    Reply
  14. Dan Proskauer

    Sorry for being super late with this. Had some family things that took priority and just getting into Fresh Start 2022 now – thank you, Matt for doing this every year and for not making it too time-based! Would love any feedback, appreciative, opportunities for improvement, whatever!

    2021 collection spans landscape, travel, wildlife, humorous commentary, and generally what 2021 threw at us all.

    https://photos.app.goo.gl/HSdausFLnRP3X67c6

    Reply
  15. Mark Newman

    Posting a bit late, sorry. I’m a truck driver and spend most of my time on the road. These are a few from this year. the tiger is from many years ago taken with a Pentax 35mm film camera

    Reply
  16. Stephanie Smetana

    It took me a few weeks to cull through 2021 since I’ve never taken time to identify what I thought were my best shots before. Mostly I do nature photography and, when able to do so, travel.

    https://adobe.ly/3KkIkua

    Reply
  17. Nancy

    Just getting at project number 1 and learned about syncing my LR images. I lean towards nature and landscape pics with a real soft spot for sunsets (particularly on Lake Huron), as well as macro. I haven’t really done much to “make” images as opposed to “taking” images. Goals for 2022 include amping up my motivation and learning more about developing in PS and integrating it with LR. Thanks for having a look. https://adobe.ly/33prsC6

    Reply
  18. Ken Warning

    This has been a good project. I ended up reworking many of the images. https://adobe.ly/3tvFU62

    Reply
  19. Nancy Board

    I’m glad to see I’m not the only one that is late to the party. I never synced a Lightroom collection to the cloud before, so I’ve already learned something new. Some of my photos were taken in 2021, some just reworked in 2021. I’m also learning to use the new masking feature of Lightroom. My goal for 2022 is to continue learning and to get out there – even if it’s right here in my home town. https://adobe.ly/3qugyno

    Reply
  20. Sharon Barnard

    Wow, talk about being late to the party!! I didn’t have a lot of photos from 2021, so I went through several of my folders in LR and came up with a few I really liked. Some aren’t as good as I’d like (hence, joining in this fresh start community) and some have been edited in LR and/or PS. This year, I’m trying to challenge myself to go out at least once a week (weather permitting) to photograph. I find I do like to do landscapes, macro and sunrise/set. However, I do enjoy astro and night time photography as well.
    Anyway, I chose to do the Adobe platform for now, but am thinking of setting something up in SlickPic in the future. Thanks Matt, for the challenge and encouragement. Here’s my link: https://adobe.ly/33kxIel
    (One pic is of a glacial “ice cube” (for lack of any other word)and it was a closer shot).

    Reply
    • Steppeland

      Well done, Sharon!

      Reply
  21. Gloria

    I finally muddled thru Lightroom Gallery. My goal for the year is to get my favorite photos out of the grey box where they can be seen. Including printing and displaying them. Still Life https://adobe.ly3FspkGB and Black & White https://adobe.ly/33finqx

    Reply
    • Steppeland

      Good goal, Gloria! Sadly I couldn’t open your links 🙁 – maybe try again?

      Reply
  22. Ian Winter

    Some of my favorite Nature & Wildlife Photographs from 2021, With COVID I was not able to travel very much. So these are from my local ares around eastern Newfoundland. https://adobe.ly/3rnwxTt

    Reply
    • Steppeland

      wow, you’ve got some great bird-shots there, Ian! Faved some 🙂

      Reply
  23. Kevin La Rue

    Great idea Matt to give everyone a “fresh start” and perspective to kick off the new year! Hello fellow photo fans – I took a few minutes this morning to carve out my top 50 favorites of 2021. Luckily, I had taken a couple of photo classes at the local community college – Composition and Studio Lighting – which gave me way more photos than I’d normally shoot. (highly recommend checking out local colleges – I met a lot of fun and talented people!).

    Without further ado, my submissions: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjzyB5c

    Have fun and cheers!

    Reply
  24. Moira Ashleigh

    Yeah late to the game but trying to catch up – are these my best of last year – maybe some of the better ones. I try to walk and shoot almost every day luckily I currently live right off a pond – still very much an amateur, but I love it 🙂
    https://www.behance.net/gallery/135111813/2021-Photos-for-Matts-Class

    Reply
    • Maryann

      WOW, excellent work. Thanks for showing this.

      Reply
    • AJ Losavio

      Looks solid! love your images, how long did it take you to build it?

      Reply
    • Mary

      Beautiful work!

      Reply
    • Teresa

      Beautifully done and excellent work!

      Reply
  25. contextus.pablofeliperezg

    Matt, best regards. I signed up for The Fresh Start 2022, but I have been infected with Covid19-Ómicron for several days. I have been able to watch the videos a bit… Excellent and masterly advice. I apologize and we continue in contact. Thanks

    Pablo Felipe Perez Goyry

    https://bit.ly/3qpLcy2
    .

    Reply
  26. Zee

    Sorry team – I am a week or so being but just got around to pulling what I think are my best shots last few years – many thanks to matt for setting this up but being so gracious to get us to putt in the effort and share our material. In the process I even learned how to share my pictures using Lightroom’s provided storage and share option – cant thank you enough

    I also spend considerable time looking at everyone else picture and while novice at this art, I left my comments as a drive for each one of to do better. My focus in20222 will be to learn more from Master Matts about PS but also composition and if I can twist Matt’s hand, to teach us about using higher ASA and noise reduction as most of us don’t get to use tripod. Equally hyper focus and color match between shots or another picture

    Oh my best shots – please enjoy and comment and lets help each other in the process. your valuable time highly and again many thanks to Matt for teaching me many tricks I use daily in clastic Lightroom – hope my link to LR collection works as per Matt’s teachings

    https://lightroom.adobe.com/shares/227c2a249bac46b4a4f49b967e341f6d

    Reply
    • Teresa

      Excellent work! I love the zebras and the night shot at the end is absolutely stunning!!!

      Reply
  27. Al Musur

    I apologize for being late to the party, but I have been traveling for the last 10 days and did not have access to my computer. The following link leads to a portfolio of some of my favorite photos. My stored photos are fairly well organized by date and subject matter, but I have never gone through them to pick out my favorites. I’m talking about going through thousands of photos and trying to pick out ones that I am proud to share. I discovered that I have a lot of favorite photos, not that they are particularly good photos, but because I am emotionally connected to the subject or the circumstances surrounding the taking of that photo. Selecting these is just a first attempt at finding good photos that stand on their own.

    I now have a plan to spend some serious time going through old photos and selecting the best of the best. I think that 20 photos is a manageable number and my plan is to keep this portfolio updated so that it is always the best I have. Over time I hope to replace marginal photos with better ones. I can also see me challenging myself to shoot photos that are better than the ones in the portfolio. I can also see making sub-portfolios for different kinds of subject matter like portraits or travel, or landscapes, etc.

    One more thing that I noticed is that I have very few portraits in this collection. I have deep love of portraiture and do a lot of study in that arena, but I have not been very good about putting any of that knowledge into practice. Seems I have something else to work on.

    https://almusurimages.smugmug.com/portfolio

    Reply
  28. Giselle Valdes

    Better late than never. Took a lot of pictures last year. The only thing that kept me sane through 2021….. Chose from those already edited. So many more to work on!

    https://adobe.ly/3qkQ5IA

    Reply
    • Teresa

      Very peaceful, Joy – thanks for sharing

      Reply
  29. Steven Rubin

    At first I didn’t think was a good exercise, but after it did make a big difference. Lately I’ve been kind of frustrated about my wildlife photography (I really prefer to get wildlife in action vs portraits of birds etc..). After going through this effort I realized that I really did have some good results in 2021 which has totally changed my “current mental attitude”. Thanks Matt for that push!

    https://adobe.ly/3HU77DA

    Reply
    • Sarah

      Steve- I love your images and see lots of winners in your collection.

      Reply
  30. Charles Masters

    It made me realise how my style has changed over the years, but more importantly how enjoyable photography is to me no matter what the genre. It’s a bonus if others enjoy what I see and have loved photographing.

    https://charlesmasters.myportfolio.com/work

    Reply
    • Sergey

      Charles, you images are breathtaking! Thank you for sharing

      Reply
  31. Robert Zurfluh

    I am trying to keep up with things, and now I am considering breaking up the website to sort things a bit more by year. Still mulling it over. 🙂
    https://outdoortravelphotography.com/

    Reply
  32. Michael

    Well this one sure took a while for me with respect to setting up a website. I wound up using Adobe Portfolio, which I think will be the best option for now.
    https://capth00t.myportfolio.com

    Reply
  33. Judith Fisher

    I was on a tour in Kenya with a woman who never missed a shot. When the cheetahs took down the wildebeest, she got the shots. And the reason – she shot every day, all year no matter what the weather. She knew everything about her camera. Matt has it right. Practice, practice, practice. Thanks for the nudge Matt.

    Reply
    • Joy

      really enjoyed your photos

      Reply
    • Joy

      Enjoyed the photos and people actively living life.

      Reply
  34. Brian Ruppel

    I mostly do landscape and macro photography, but have started dabbling in compositional photography. The following shows a little of each.

    https://bruppel.myportfolio.com/

    Reply
    • Chris P.

      Really like your stacking technique. The sunsets are amazing. Nice capture of a crab flower spider.

      Reply
  35. Don Wehmann

    Matt, I am little late to the party but thought I would get my photos out there, I shoot almost 100% landscape. This year I didn’t do much shooting at all, the plan is to do more in 2022, with inspiration from this course.

    https://adobe.ly/33m9EHE

    Reply
  36. Donna Owens

    Realized I have never synced before and it took me a lot longer to figure it out. I was determined and it has paid off even though we are now in week 2. I do not have on genre but take photos of subjects that speak to me. I lean more to those smaller moments than the grand sweeping ones. 2021 brought me a new camera and lens and I have spent late summer into fall learning all the new functions.

    https://adobe.ly/3K5iLgT

    Reply
    • Teresa

      Very nice work Donna. My fave is the window and the ladder.

      Reply
  37. Ray Low

    Well, I hope this works. I’m leveraging the photo album functionality of my Synology NAS device to present my selection of photos. I’m basically a travel photographer but have dabbled with portraits as well. During the pandemic, traveling isn’t much of an option but I do hope to try something new (perhaps, Astrophotography?) and work more on my composition. http://raymolow.quickconnect.to/mo/sharing/43OL1CRbc

    Reply
  38. Jennifer

    Better late than never…for the most part I shoot travel photography/architecture/architecture details. In compiling the photos below, I noticed I preferred some of my shots that appeared less cluttered and think I remember some expert extoling the virtues of simpler photos. I am still very much a novice photographer so am wondering if my “simpler shots” have done a better job of highlighting my intended subject and hence produced a perceived stronger composition. Perhaps this is a lightbulb turning on…
    https://adobe.ly/3K4UJmb

    Reply
  39. Bob Woodfin

    OK, so I’m a little late with this. Got really busy but wanted to follow through. I am primarily a compositor and portrait photographer, but in 2021 some of my favorites are of landscapes. Hope you enjoy them.

    https://adobe.ly/3tgAQCD

    Reply
  40. Marti

    Ha! I’m also late to the game, but I do have a good reason … a catalog(s) merge that went badly and the terrifying 2 weeks that ensued. But I’m happy today and catching up. Picking my favorites or best was not difficult as I tag and rate everything so my challenge was learning how to perform the “share” function. This didn’t go smoothly for me since there were a couple of steps that were missing (for me). But this type of thing becomes more ingrained when you have to repeat & repeat .So here is a few of my picks.
    https://adobe.ly/3K1DjXt

    Reply
    • Jennifer

      Love the image of the 2 penguins Marti

      Reply
  41. Jennifer Ferris

    I have looked at so many of these albums and what an inspiration! I finally finished going through my photos for the year and putting together what I consider my best. Getting it down to 28 was the best I could do 🙂

    https://adobe.ly/3GkMfVC

    Reply
    • Joy

      Great colors and images

      Reply
  42. Cliff Kimura

    Hello Everyone

    I thought I would be the only one late, but I see I’m part of the “late” gang. 🙂

    2021 was an interesting year for me with most of it not being able to travel, which I love to do. I tried to take advantage of whatever photo opportunities became available. In hind sight I might have been able to do more, but it has come and gone.

    When I wasn’t taking photos, I was watching videos and practicing what I learned in post editing.

    I hope in 2022, I can get out and travel more. It would be nice if I could travel internationally!

    Take care
    Cliff

    https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjzydgz

    Reply
  43. Tom Kallsen

    Here we are in week 2 and I finally finish week 1. Life and obligations always seem to get in the way. This was a great boost to get me re fired up. I started building my LR website about a year ago and then it never went any further. This exercise was the prompt (kick in butt) that I needed. In 2021 it turns out I didn’t have much variety and most of my pics are family shots. That’s also OK though since family is first and foremost. Thanks Matt for the kick and sharing so much inspiration and knowledge.
    https://tomkallsen.myportfolio.com/best-of-2021

    Reply
    • Joy

      Flowers are my favorites, truly beautiful.

      Reply
    • Teresa

      Beautiful!

      Reply
  44. Wayne Chase

    My wife gets after me for taking lots of pictures and doing lots of lessons, but never doing anything with them. So I am posting a few. Now my goal is to keep doing something. Not being an always learning but never doing kind of person.
    https://adobe.ly/3zI2fi5

    Reply
  45. Libby Morse

    Thank you so much for setting this up Matt. It has been a very interesting process. I am fairly new to photography and editing so it made me have a look at what I had and get a bit organised. My web presence is minimal and I struggled with getting images up but finally got there. Web page needs a lot more work.

    https://wordpress.com/post/libbyspictures.wordpress.com/64

    Reply
  46. Alice Cooperman

    Sorry to be so late posting but I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to look at some of my older photos with a “new eye”. Photographing people is always a challenge. These are PEOPLE at WORK.

    https://aliceleec.smugmug.com/FRESH-START/

    Reply
  47. Peter Sidell

    I tried posting on Lightroom using its synch service.
    This is the link for my favorite 2021 images:

    https://adobe.ly/3JW8Xpk

    Sorry to be tardy posting

    Reply
    • Teresa

      Very nice work Peter

      Reply
  48. Jay Schmitt

    This first course gave me an introduction to Adobe Portfolio. This also gave me the opportunity to publish using my domain which I’ve never used…until now.

    The photos are just a few of my favorites.

    See them at: http://www.jayhschmitt.com

    Reply
  49. Leila Sullivan

    Hi, all: I’m running a bit behind due to a bout with COVID. Have gathered some 20 of my favorite 2021 photos into a collection in LRcc. I still don’t have a portfolio set up but will try to do so soon. Some observations re my chosen photos. First, I love traveling and have not been able to do that for more than a year; many of my best photos are from trips abroad and I hope to start again later this year. My chosen photos tend to be flowers, macros and beach scenes (since I live on the New Jersey shore). I’m looking forward to reading some of your comments and checking out your portfolios.

    Reply
  50. Claire Jones

    I am a pro sports photographer – I’ve actually included the 10 non-sports photos from last year. It was fun wandering through what I took last year.

    https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjzy6iG

    Reply
    • Jennifer

      Claire I really like your shot LRCC_AldeburghHoliday_Apr2021_12.jpg

      Reply
  51. Belinda H

    I’m late submitting my photos for Week One but better late than never. I have checked out other links and I must admit I feel a bit intimidated by the fabulous quality of photos that others have shared. I chose to submit photos of birds that I took in Africa in 2012 (Nikon D60 and Canon EOS 550D) and 2013 (Nikon 7000). It was very interesting for me to look back on my photos and find so many of poor quality and a lot of duplicates that I deleted. Fortunately, I found plenty of savers too. I’m now inspired to continue on through the years and tidy up my LR albums.
    https://adobe.ly/3f9Y70E

    Reply
    • Chris Broshar

      Beautiful catchlight in the eye of the black and white bird – looks like some kind of Kingfisher?

      Reply
  52. Peter de Hallé

    Hi Matt

    Your images are great and the restart 22 had me looking for the images I took at Fort Myers beach & Ding Darling National wildlife a few years ago. I have re edited the images using latest Lightroom and your lessons. Would appreciate you thoughts. Cheers Peter
    Link – https://adobe.ly/3HMGuQQ

    Reply
  53. Ulf Lundquist

    Thanks Matt for pushing us a bit 😉 I share to few photos so this is a good thing, rapping up the year.
    https://adobe.ly/31IgSp1

    Reply
  54. Hamed Bank

    Hi Matt, thanks a lot for this project and this video. I didn’t know about the Adobe portfolio. It was great. I did set up a page there and shared my best of 2021 (landscape and nature photos). They are about 20 pictures.
    I am behind this week project I hope you and others would have time to look at my pictures on the following page:

    https://bank3d.myportfolio.com/best-of-2021

    Bests,

    Reply
    • Richard Browne

      Excellent photos!

      Reply
    • Derek Graham

      Beautiful images Hamed. Inspiring

      Reply
    • Debora

      Absolutely beautiful!,,

      Reply
  55. Pete

    Just got round to doing a quick selection of some of my favourites. Needed the push from Matt to give it a go as most of the time my photos just sit on the computer for me to look at occasionally. Bit scary putting them out to the public.

    https://adobe.ly/3G4wvWz

    Reply
  56. Ian Braithwaite

    Hi Matt, thanks for getting me off my butt and looking through my photos and using new things in Lightroom. Certainly feeling like getting back out there. Here are just a few from 2021 not as many as some but I think they are some nice shots.

    My link is here https://adobe.ly/3F5eiqE

    Reply
  57. Snappygirl

    Thanks. Good reminders. I spent quite a bit of time lately going thru and organizing my photos from the year in files and editing and selecting photos for albums. Then I sent a big batch out to be printed.

    Reply
  58. Barbara Hulac

    I enjoy nature photography including flowers and sunsets. Each year I choose 12 photos and make a calendar as gifts for family. That has been a good exercise in identifying my favorites. I will post a link to this year’s photos when I have more time to figure out how to do that.

    Reply
  59. Eleanor Zets

    Thank you Matt for keeping me motivated. Last year I focused on learning ICM and hope to refine further this year, plus improving my PS skills.
    https://adobe.ly/31w2MH2

    Reply
    • Kathy Apicelli

      Love your work!

      Reply
  60. Diane Rychlinski

    I did a 365 day sunrise project starting in September 2020 with a couple of friends to combat Covid isolation. As we progressed through the year, we found our images improve. I did however find that I took a limited number of other photos during that period. The remaining images were taken after September 2021. We are nw working on creating a book and getting into a gallery.
    https://adobe.ly/3GgJqov

    Reply
    • Bill Mittendorff

      Thank you for your photos. It must have been bone-chilling to take them, but as a viewer I am well-rewarded.

      Reply
    • Kevin Rodger

      Wow! I really enjoyed your photos, especially the one of the bridge at night with the ship slightly in the background. Your compositions are well thought out.

      Reply
  61. Doug Bardwell

    Wow – long way to the bottom. Hope that isn’t a bad omen. Work just got in the way – which happens every so often. Nevertheless, here are mine – a smattering of mostly architectural and drone shots I do for both pleasure and work. Also, stuck in some from the National Air Show, which was a dreary day but the Thunderbirds lit up the sky.

    https://dougbardwell.com/db/fav-photos-from-2021/

    Reply
  62. Pam Perkins

    I took over 7000 photos this year and more than half of those were while on a cross country road trip from California to Maine and back. My passion is photographing people in some way or other. I generally approach people first, strike up a conversation to make them comfortable, develop trust and to show my respect. For me photography is a process, and I love all aspects of it from taking the photo to processing it in Lightroom. I use Sony equipment and love my workhorse 24-70 f2.8 lens for most of my work.

    https://www.flickr.com/photos/31431024@N02/albums/72177720295847455

    Reply
    • Gerard Whelan

      Hi Pam, Nice work. The Lighthouse is my favourite.

      Reply
  63. Terry

    I like landscape and wildlife photography. This year we went to Yellowstone and the Tetons. Hard to choose Top 10 given the abundant photo opportunities in these amazing parks. Never shared my pics before.

    https://adobe.ly/3zG70Zm

    Reply
    • Sabine

      I did this trip in 2005. Great memories showed up! A beautiful and remarkable place for photographers. Your photos are really good, Terry. Thanks for sharing.

      Reply
  64. Nancy

    I never show my photos to anyone. I haven’t picked up a camera much in the past few years. Some of these are fairly old. If anyone knows why the one photo is red, I’d like to know. I can’t get the red out. I can’t remember if I had a polarizer on the lens or not. Thanks. https://adobe.ly/3F4RmYJ

    Reply
    • Karen Vohs

      Your photos are very nice. I particularly like the more abstract images.

      Reply
  65. Gwen Connors

    I was determined to sort this out before Week 2. I generally enjoyed travel photography and recording special and everyday moments in family life. These have been so limited over the past months that favourites from 2021 are very rare. Instead I am showing flower photos, which I enjoy taking everywhere, birds from around my home and one being sky from 2021. https://gwenconnors.smugmug.com/Fresh-Start-2022-Wk1-P1/n-rSCML9

    Reply
  66. Molly Malkus

    /Users/marymalkus/Desktop/my galery5

    Reply
  67. Andrew Aitken

    Thanks Matt for setting up this project and the chance to sharing our photos. I’m a little late getting organized but better late than never. These shots were mostly taken around my home in Quebec City, Canada.

    https://adobe.ly/3pSTjTN

    Reply
    • Bill Mittendorff

      You have a good eye for the abstract in the commonplace.

      Reply
    • Sabine

      Love your gallery!

      Reply
  68. computeach34

    First off, thank you Matt for the info on posting via LRc. I now have a new way of sharing images. I have chosen 10 images that reflect my passion for photography, that is Landscapes, Nature and Flowers. The lions share of my photos are taken when hiking, connecting with nature and the great outdoors. Because of various life happenings and the holidays, I haven’t done much shooting since October. Similar to Matt, it will be good to get out there again. Please feel free to browse my posted images and I look forward to viewing yours as well.

    https://adobe.ly/3zGzSAz

    Reply
  69. Gwen Berthiez

    A great opportunity to learn more. Thanks!! I received this 1st edition, but have not seen any others come through the email to access. Any suggestions? Txs, GB

    Reply
    • Gavin

      Hi Gwen,
      I have not received any emails since I signed up for this so I am just using the following link.
      https://mattk.com/fresh-start-2022/
      I hope that will work for you too.

      Reply
  70. Susan Andrews

    Thank you Matt, for the needed kick in the pants getting me off my duff and motivated to move forward. As I looked through last year’s photos I thought about the ‘why’. Why I was inspired to make the photo and why I consider each one a favorite. My answer…I am most motivated to photograph that which brings me joy not only in a photographic sense but in life. What I realized is I have not been engaging in one of those joys as often as I would like. I need to get back to photographing my friends’ and families’ dogs. Like with landscape and nature photography, the journey is a joy and the product produces joy. (BTW, my camera is named Joy) Cheers.
    https://susanandrews.smugmug.com/Wild-Air-Photography/2021-Favorites

    Reply
  71. trwe99

    This project spurred me to do 2 things, both really helpful. 1. Review last year’s images and consider why I really liked the ones I chose and 2. Try to put together a wed page. I’m actually making progress ( slowly) using Adobe Portfolio which is free with LR. It’s a work in progress but suggestions welcome! See http://trwe999ded.myportfolio.com/

    Reply
  72. David Walker

    Herewith a few of my images. I take photos on the basis of turning them into PhotoArt on my iMac. A slightly different approach, but still need good images to start with!
    https://adobe.ly/33iT4sg

    Reply
  73. Sherri

    @Matt When you load photos on the web what resolution and size do you use?

    Reply
    • Darshan

      Sherri, I would love to view your images. But the link is not working.

      Reply
      • Sherri

        Sorry, I moved them out of drop box and into a lightroom album. Here is the link to my album https://adobe.ly/31G2mOx

        Reply
        • Teresa

          Very beautiful images, Sherri

          Reply
  74. Bec

    I am probably last to do this project, but better late than never! I have had a very quiet photography year – with no holidays and so many lockdowns, the only subject matter I have had is urban landscapes and the odd beach/forest scene. In the photos I have taken, there is a strong theme of ‘reflections’ – something I really like, but my ambition for 2022 is to get out and take a broader range of photos.

    https://lightroom.adobe.com/shares/74919fd3083547c3972981faad083cdb

    Reply
    • Debbie

      Great shots…I love your perspective!

      Reply
    • Teresa

      These are really great shots! And you were definitely not the last to post as I just posted mine yesterday…..waaaay late.

      Reply
  75. Laura Pratt

    Thanks for the encouragement to do this. I finally got it put together. I realized that I have been doing far too little photography lately. I need to be more intentional – even if it means setting up a portable studio in my living room more often. https://laurapratt115d534.myportfolio.com/2021-favorites

    Reply
    • Marcia Zeigler

      Laura, your photographs are beautiful and inspiring. I really enjoyed seeing them. Motivated me to go out tomorrow with camera in hand and restart 2022.

      Reply
    • computeach34

      Laura: Your images are just outstanding! I love the variety of landscapes chosen and the 1st three photos just really grab your attention.

      Reply
  76. Margaret Nicosia

    Hi all and Happy New Year! Thanks Matt for this 2022 Challenge. https://adobe.ly/3r3tO15
    My passion is photographing my Veterans from Honor Flight. Included are photos from WA, DC as well as the B-52 Memorial in Seattle, with a few pet and bird photos included. My goal from this exercise and for 2022 is to recapture a passion for photography, keep learning and capture more authentic images with expression.

    Reply
    • Margaret Nicosia

      sorry I posted twice! I didn’t realize it would move from the bottom to the top of the stack. It is a duplicate 🙂

      Reply
  77. Margaret Nicosia

    Late, but I have arrived! https://adobe.ly/3r3tO15 not sure why I could not embed as a hotlink but you can highlight and go!
    Photos are from my Veteran’s Trips to DC with Honor Flight, the B-52 Memorial at Boeing Field as well as a few bird and pet photos. My portfolio is at imaginetheworld.smugmug.com Been taking non-profit photos as well as street, and definitely Veteran photos, which have been my honor and my focus. My goal in 2022 is to re-kindle creativity and joy in photography.
    Glad I am here and glad you all are here as well. Thank you Matt!

    Reply
  78. Cindy

    This was a great assignment. Many of my favorites for the year, I had forgotten. My gallery is all over the place as far as genre. This is my lifelong dilemma, choosing and sticking to a genre. Anyway, here you go: https://www.cindylphotography.com/p402574653

    Reply
    • Debbie

      Great shots Cindy! IMHO, I don’t think you need to pick a genre…you have a good eye.

      Reply
    • Marcia Zeigler

      Your photographs are beautiful and inspiring. I need motivation to get out and shoot consistently and your photos helped me realize how much I’ve missed these last 2 years. Thank you for sharing your wonderful collection

      Reply
    • Bill Mittendorff

      I don’t know how you would find anyone having as much fine with her images as you are. Keep it up.

      Reply
    • Campie

      wow very unusual photography I love it!

      Reply
  79. Michele Holden

    I am finally posting! This was a great exercise as it really highlighted the need to jump start my organization (actually develop some sort of workflow ) for getting photos out of the camera! This took me many more hours than I would have thought. I’m not going to agonize over my picks at this point and I am just happy to have completed a 2021 cleanup as I was challenged last year with a new camera, new laptop, new Mac, and new home office, so I ran into some issues with all of these things that are now thankfully resolved. All good progress!

    In 2021, I started with some night & macro photography, so am exited to do more on both and have some planned outings lined up for 2022 for milky way explorations to begin with. I would also like to explore some bird photography. What I would like to improve or focus on, is capturing more of a “story” in each shot, whatever I am focusing on. I need to develop more unexpected perspectives and creativity as I get beyond the rough mechanics. I take a TON of photos, but I want to see more than just another pretty pic!

    Thanks for putting this class together. This is really what I needed to get my act together to begin the new year! 🙂
    https://adobe.ly/31CxlLc

    Reply
    • Kasandra Mathieson

      These look beautiful!

      Reply
  80. Vince

    I haven’t gone through a years worth of photos to pick up my favorites. Very interesting exercise. One thing I noted – I definitely returned to a particular style over and over again throughout the year, but my favorites tended to lean toward ones that stepped outside of that style. And it’s much more a mixture of phone and camera photos than I expected.

    And….I appear to be running a few days late…

    https://adobe.ly/3qeC4fT

    Reply
    • Bill Mittendorff

      There is a tranquility to these that I like very much. Maybe your attention to the sky.

      Reply
      • Vince

        I’m really happy to hear that comes through. That’s certainly a lot of what went into those experiences for me.

        Reply
  81. Nancy L Hatfield

    I love to shoot wildlife and a little landscape. I shoot these near my home in Michigan and the aurora is from my trip to Alaska. I would love to be able to get some good action shots of wildlife especially of owls or eagles. I also would like more instruction in Photoshop or Lightroom in post processing to make my images better.

    https://adobe.ly/3Fd2Vgm

    Reply
    • Zee

      Nice work

      Reply
  82. Marcia Zeigler

    It’s been a difficult year…no travel and unmotivated to get out the camera except for a few family events. I didn’t realize how little I had used the camera this past year. I’m ready for a fresh start and feeling motivated to re begin my 2022 artistic journey with all of you.

    It’s all about family here:

    https://adobe.ly/3q6v704

    Reply
    • Zee

      beautiful work

      Reply
  83. Chris Broshar

    I enjoy photographing wildlife and landscapes, but after picking photos, apparently I like macros, too.
    https://adobe.ly/3zCX3vL

    Reply
    • Kasandra Mathieson

      These were beautiful, love your trucks!!

      Reply
  84. Marilyn Holgate

    I mainly photograph landscapes, birds and creative portraiture. These are a few from 2021.
    https://adobe.ly/3fb5vJ3

    Reply
  85. Scott Mims

    I am most interested in landscapes, but tried to learn how to do macro photography this past year – lots of flowers. https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjzxVUJ

    Two things I learned from looking through my photos is that (1) I would like to broaden my landscape subjects and (2) I’d like to take more pictures with people in them.

    Reply
    • Nancy L Hatfield

      Nice shots of landscape and macros! Your color in your macros are very bold and bright. They really pop!

      Reply
    • Kasandra Mathieson

      Really loved your colour!!

      Reply
  86. Doug Phillips

    I take a lot of bird photos and some of other wildlife and a few landscapes. I use a Nikon D850 usually with a 600mm Nikkor for wildlife. Thankfully, the pandemic hasn’t slowed me down. Thanks for organizing Fresh Start. Here’s a link to some of my photos: https://adobe.ly/3t8iinW

    Reply
    • Chris Broshar

      You have some great action shots, something I have a hard time with. The heron with the enormous fish made me smile.

      Reply
  87. Marc Moreels

    This was a very interesting exercise that caused me to reflect on my photography. Normally, I tend to be a travel photographer but this past year didn’t give me many opportunities. You’ll see that my photos focus on landscapes, beach scenes, and nature. It’s been very helpful looking at other portfolios included here as well – it’s given me some new ideas on how to move forward in 2022. Hey wait – that’s the idea of this exercise, right?
    https://adobe.ly/31CPdpk

    Reply
  88. Cathie

    I take a sunset photo almost every day! I also like taking memory pictures around our home.
    https://adobe.ly/34DeFMN

    Reply
    • Pam Perkins

      Congratulations! I enjoyed looking at your beautiful images. I have identified my favorites but haven’t created a post yet. I’m taking the easy way out and will post a Flikr link

      Reply
  89. Sylvain Maher

    Hello everyone. here is my selection of some of my favorites from 2021. It’s the first time I do that exercice and it,s not so easy! Also the first time I publish a website of my work (I used Portfolio from Adobe). Merci!
    https://sylvainmaher.myportfolio.com

    Reply
    • Bec

      Lovely photos, Ron. I went to Lake Powell a number of years ago – it certainly has more water in it in my photos!

      Reply
  90. Tony Martindale

    2021 was not a good year for me. For most of 2021 I couldn’t walk very far due to having severe arthritis in my left hip. I am pleased to say that I had a hip replacement surgery in late November and I am now walking much better and hopefully I will be able to shoot many more photos in 2022 and Covid willing get some travel in too. I took very few photos in 2021 and here are the best of them. I know I am late posting but better late than never!
    https://tonymartindale.myportfolio.com/2021-favorites

    Reply
  91. Matt Burroughs

    Is it possible to take photos I already have processed in Lightroom that are in different files on my commuter, gather the ones I like, put them into a separate folder on my desktop and somehow send/post them to you – without using Lightroom?

    Reply
  92. Scott Shields

    I’m a little late to the party, but I’ve been doing a yearly favorites to Facebook for 8 years now. It’s a fantastic exercise to review what you’ve done for the year and how you can grow year over year. Looking at the crop of photos from 2021, I’m realizing how much I like blurry photos. 😉 https://adobe.ly/3zGeUCc

    Reply
    • Ray Jobin

      I enjoyed your photos and your unique style.

      Reply
      • lorettaf42

        Thank you, Ray

        Reply
  93. Alan Bloodgood

    Matt –
    Thanks for hosting this and giving us this exercise. I shoot a variety of photography from landscape to wildlife and sports photography for the DC Breeze Ultimate Frisbee Team.

    Here is a link to my favorites from 2021
    https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjzxUVn

    Reply
  94. David Harrison

    Better late than never. I posted my twenty on my Flickr account – https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjzxnuo – I was hoping to update my website with them as well; but that’ll have to wait until another day – https://mlt.photography. I found that using the ratings and labels in Lightroom invaluable in selecting “just twenty”. I also found that being forced to look at Lightroom (mobile and web) was useful and was pleasingly surprised to see that sync from Classic doesn’t appear to have taken up any of my storage allocation. I have to admit to being very confused as to how/why I should use anything other than Classic on my laptop based system.

    Reply
  95. June Greenway

    Thank you Matt, I’ve never done this before and it’s been a real eye opener for me. I have eclectic photography styles but this has shown me that I’m really interested in macro flower, birds of prey and, loosely, street photography. I say, loosely, because I like live action shows like jousting etc. I hope this works and some of you like my images. (I hope this works!) https://adobe.ly/31CUdu4

    Reply
  96. Deborah Papineau

    This is a great exercise, so glad I signed up for “Fresh Start.” Very inspiring work Matt, thank you. A little bit of everything from me. Just starting back in shooting after a long time away. It is a mix of birds, landscapes, sunsets, etc. Looking forward to refining my skills and eye in this new year. Here is the link to take a peak of a few that I posted. https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjzxT8M

    Reply
  97. Alice

    Had to work all week, so I’m late and I had to figure out how the “album-posting-thing” works 🙂 I haven’t been able to travel this year, so not a lot of landscape pictures for me. I focused on something completely different and started with photographing my dog. Hoping to get more landscapes in this year.
    https://adobe.ly/3f0MskS

    Reply
    • Gavin

      You have done a beautiful job capturing a very photogenic dog.

      Reply
      • Alice

        Thank you, Gavin!

        Reply
  98. Betty Gott

    I am really drawn to macro photography. I don’t always use my macro lens but I like the simplicity of focusing on the subject alone. I love using Lightroom, especially with all the enhancements of the newest version. After I import my photos into Lightroom and make basic adjustments, I sometimes open them in Photoshop to do focus stacking or layer enhancements. https://bettygott.smugmug.com/Portfolio/Best-of-2021/

    Reply
  99. Catherine

    Thanks for this information Matt. I am late to the party – didn’t have access to my main computer. Here is a collection of some of this year’s work
    https://adobe.ly/3G8kiQB

    Reply
    • Rona Golfen

      Lovely portfolio, Catherine! I especially like the black and white minimalistic shots.

      Reply
  100. Alyce Campbell

    https://adobe.ly/3eUxsF4 Alyce Campbell
    I am in my 80’s love photography and learning. Landscape and bird are my favorites.

    Reply
    • Ray Jobin

      Thanks Alyce! Loved your album and it is an inspiration to others like me who also are in their 80s!

      Reply
  101. Enrique Hervás

    I am mainly travel and landsacape photographer. It is a relly difficult exercise to review your work from years or even only one year, and select just a few photos. But as a fresh start, I think that is a very valuable task.

    https://ehcfoto.zenfolio.com/fresh-start-2022

    Reply
    • Tim Dalton

      Really nice shots Enrique. The one with the birds is exceptional. Came back to it twice so had to comment. thanks

      Reply
  102. Earl Todd

    I mostly enjoy landscapes and wildlife. With that said I have been getting more into astro and some still life this past year so this is a little bit of everything.

    https://photos.app.goo.gl/chdtyoefRf7sCfQE6

    Reply
  103. Carl Brauer

    2021 was a year I tried to work on my bird photography after being inspired by Matt and others. These images are all taken with five miles of my home.

    https://adobe.ly/31GpigA

    Reply
  104. Carl Brauer

    2021 was a year I tried to work on my bird photography after being inspired by Matt and others. These images are all taken with five miles of my home.

    Reply
    • Gerard Whelan

      Hi Helen, nice Bird Shots. You are obviously here in Australia. I try tp get the same ones especially those little Superb Blue Wrens. Well Done.

      Reply
  105. Ann-Christin Svenningsson

    Here are some pictures from Sweden. some are from Stockholm and some are from nothern Sweden.
    https://adobe.ly/3n5R25y

    Reply
  106. Mike Woolley

    I like to shoot wildlife and nature, birds in particular: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjzxRW1

    Going through my pictures, I realise that I didn’t get out much in 2021 – mainly due to the pandemic but also due some inertia I think! So I’m really hoping that I’ll get out more in 2022 🙂

    Reply
  107. Martin B

    Hopefully I’ve got this working now. If so I hope you all enjoy what I’ve taken.
    https://adobe.ly/3f5rqBI

    Reply
  108. Anne

    I like taking Nature and Landscape images. This year due to Covid restrictions in Australia. I haven’t done much photography. Most of the photographs I have shared were taken in my garden. Thank you in advance for taking the time look at them. I find it very hard to share, I never think they are as good as other people’s. this is the link https://annecomerddfe.myportfolio.com

    Reply
    • Rona Golfen

      Your bird photos are wonderful, Anne! ‘Family Conference’ is my favorite. How great to have such a wide variety of birds right in your own garden!

      Reply
  109. Jean

    In 2020 I decided to learn more about photography, a hobby I have enjoyed for years. One of the ways was to take a photo a day, it lasted for 5 months but it did make me look at my everyday surroundings in a new light and realise that I have a camera with me always in my phone. Though I normally shoot with my Canon. I never thought about looking back for my favourites so I enjoyed this exercise and have a variety of photos for 2021. I have tried to improve my editing skills in 2021and I think I will continue to learn new editing skills this year.
    https://adobe.ly/3q5h0Is

    Reply
    • Anne

      Thank you for sharing your photos Jean, They are wonderful. You have some beautiful skies.

      Reply
  110. Marleen Hoffman

    I’m a little late with my favorite photos and had a few glitches along the way but here it comes.
    https://adobe.ly/3q4JzWD

    I’ve lived in Alaska since 1972 so the vast majority of my photos are landscape, wild animals and birds. I love where I live and share it’s beauty with others. Like most of us, I’m intimated by the photos posted on the web and not as computer savvy as i’d like but i’ll keep trying. I love my Sony mirrorless camera and updated to 6600 last year. Hoping 2022 allows me enjoy the beauty around me and share it with others, with less frustration during the editing process etc.

    Reply
    • Anne

      Stunning scenery and wonderful birds ad animals. You live in a lovely part of the World

      Reply
    • Rona Golfen

      I lived in Alaska in 1967 – 68 and have loved the scenery there since then. Your pictures bring it back to life. Lovely!

      Reply
      • Marleen

        Thank you Anne and Rona for your kind words. I think the best part of photography is that it allows us to make time to actually see the beauty around us. And we can travel around the world via photos shared by other photographers. Life is good.

        Reply
    • Gerard Whelan

      Well done Marleen. Great landscpes and wildlife.

      Reply
  111. Graham

    I’ve selected a set of 20 images from 2021. I photograph a broad range of genre and this selection demonstrates this range. Some I have entered in International competitions and have had a range of success – some have done well and others not so much but they are the 20 I think are the best of mine from 2021. You can access them at https://adobe.ly/3qUEIX2

    Reply
    • Ellen Senisi

      Nice work! I especially like the compositions and patterns (marbles, green bubbly circles, eggs). With fewer people around to photograph (my usual niche), I am taking more photographs like that and really enjoying doing something different.

      Reply
    • mmotion@bigpond.com

      A nice set Graham. I am about to go through and select my images.

      Reply
  112. GREGORY DE SANTIS

    Thank you Matt for suggesting this valuable exercise. 2020 was sort of a wash, 2021 was mostly taken up by my move from CA to OR, and breaking my right foot in 6 places. Nevertheless, I managed to get out and about enough to catch some keepers. Nature, urban, street, whatever catches my eye, both film and digital. I’m looking forward to completing the remainder of the Fresh-Start program. https://adobe.ly/3F4NXJh

    Reply
  113. Omar Martinez

    I photograph birds for the most part. Really like Architecture and Cityscapes as well, but didn’t really have favorites for those. Don’t really know if they are the best, but they are my favorites bird shots of 2021. Here they are:

    https://adobe.ly/31BmGAu

    Reply
  114. Robert Hacker

    My primary passion is landscape photography. However, we have not been able to travel so I selected images from the last two trips that we made. We traveled to the Scottish Highlands in October 2019 and to Yellowstone National Park in September 2018.

    https://rahacker597210d.myportfolio.com

    Reply
    • Ann

      I love that you are giving new life to your old images and renewing the memories. Thank you for sharing.

      Reply
      • Will

        Thank you very much.

        Reply
    • Anne

      I love that you are bringing your old photographs back to life and renewing memories, Thank you for sharing.

      Reply
      • WillAllen

        Thank you Ann and Anne. I make many new photographs but I spend lots of time scanning old things. The Afghan (horses) picture was a straightforward attempt to recover as closely as I could what I think the old slide looked like. But at such distance in time, memory plays a part. It must. And part of the satisfaction comes with remembering, especially remembering a place that has changed so much (I was in Afghanistan before the wars). The Black and white fence gate I played with. I am sure that I printed the negative some 57-58 years ago. It is gone. I’m sure that it was lighter. But what I saw in the image seen again was the texture of the wood and I emphasized it.

        Reply
  115. Jeff

    I do love landscape photography. However, for me to update to a Sony full frame system, I had to promise to take pictures of our granddaughter. So, I have been learning lifestyle family photography. Here is my contribution, lots to learn for sure.

    https://adobe.ly/3n5HF65

    Reply
  116. Susan Milinkovich

    A group of my photography friends share our top ten images each year. I also create calendars for family and friends each year, so creating the calendar is also an activity that requires that I look back over the past year and select my favorite images from the year. The first time I looked back at my images, I quickly confirmed that I like intimate landscapes and close-ups/macro images. During the past two COVID years where our travel has been limited, I have also branched out into still life photography, worked on minimalism in my images, and played a lot with photographing flowers frozen in ice.

    Reply
    • WillAllen

      I wonder if one day there will a chapter in a history of photography book called “Photography During Covid?”

      Reply
  117. David Hobbs

    I take nature and travel photographs (no portraits or street). I’ve done Fresh Start before and found it valuable to look over the 2019 Favourites and compare.

    This time I see some IR photography, and an improvement in bird photography using the techniques from Matt’s Bird Photography course. Enjoying the challenge of the birds – sunrises were getting predictable.

    https://davidhobbsimages.com/2021-favourites

    Reply
  118. Roman Schwartz

    I am mostly doing landscape, wildlife and travel photography. You can see my images on website. Sorry to tell, but I have not doing normal update for 2020 and 2021. I just created standalone page for 2021 – https://www.romanschwartzphotography.com/best2021

    Reply
    • Brett Hutchinson

      Well done Roman. There are some nice photos there.

      Reply
  119. Madeleine Gallagher

    I thought I’d posted already (after your “gentle” nudge at the beginning of video 2, but I can’t find it so here goes again…
    I shoot with MFT, Olympus OMD EM1 Markii and Markiii…primarily landscapes, wildlife, and anything in the natural world. What I learned from doing this year review is that I really have improved from previous years AND I’ve still got LOTS to learn! Thank you, Matt, for providing this challenge!

    I’ve got a Favorites 2021 album on flickr…hopefully attached here:

    https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjzxPra

    Reply
    • Brett

      Great work Madeleine. Good to see another M4/3 user.

      Reply
      • WillAllen

        I am glad Flickr survived. I peeked at some of your other work. El Cap and HD from Foresta is spectacular.

        Reply
  120. Leticia Lozano

    Going through my 2021 photos and choosing my favorites helped me clarify the type of photography I most enjoy. I’m surprised none of my landscapes made the final cut. What you see here is some street photography and urban landscapes.

    https://adobe.ly/3q5sFqP

    Reply
    • Ellen Senisi

      As a people photographer, I like to see street photography but I was not able to view your work. The link led me to an Adobe Lightroom gallery but said it was private. And I am logged in to Adobe.

      Reply
  121. Susan

    Busy week but finally had a few minutes to work on this assignment. I wanted to try to create an album first: https://slickpic.us/2285401Mzzz Setting up a NAS system this weekend and will continue reviewing this year’s photos.

    Reply
  122. Wanda Collins

    It’s been a long crazy week, but I did manage to get my top photos down to 28 and I shared them on Facebook. Just didn’t have the time to figure out how to share to put them here. I learned that this was a year of learning some new techniques and some of them even made to top photos. The ones that I thought would make the list when I started, didn’t even make the top 100.

    Reply
  123. Ellen Senisi

    I am primarily a people-photographer, mostly kids from 0-teens. This year I’ve gotten a few people pix but have mostly been photographing light, shadow, and reflections around the house. The last two photos in this gallery are examples of earlier work that I am in the process of experimenting with using the new Adobe tools and Luminar – they are amazing!

    https://www.ellensenisi.com/uploads/photos2021

    Reply
    • Lesha Mathes

      Not super happy with most of my photos this year. Switched from canon to Sony mirrorless and am having trouble adjusting. Trouble with grain and sharpness that I’ve never had before. Ugh. Still hanging in there.

      Reply
  124. Rick Teal

    I’m primarily a landscape photographer but do some wildlife and macro.

    https://adobe.ly/3qe0s1b

    Reply
    • Gerard Whelan

      Nice selection of Landscapes Rick. The waterfalls are great too

      Reply
  125. Kim La Rue

    Wow, so many amazing photos from everyone. I hope one day to get to that level. My collection has creative, abstract, and street. I am still learning taking photo classes every semester.

    https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjzxNyL

    Reply
  126. Gerard Whelan

    Jus sharing a few from 2021 and before. I mostly do Nature and Landscape.
    From when you could travel as well.

    Reply
  127. Karrie

    I like portrait and landscape photography the best, but I love to shoot anything that seems interesting to me. I realized most of my photos are from my iPhone this year.

    https://adobe.ly/3q3ZUKU

    Reply
  128. Karrie Rottschalk

    I like portrait and landscape photography the best, but I love to shoot anything that seems interesting to me. I realized most of my photos are from my iPhone this year.

    https://adobe.ly/3q3ZUKU

    Reply
  129. helen.storm1

    Thanks, Matt for encouraging us to do this assignment. I sure learned a lot about posting photos on the web. This is the first time that I’ve done this and there were a number of issues I had to research and explore.

    In searching through my 2021 photos I noticed that I have experimented with a number of different genres of photography from macro to nature, landscape, abstract, and more. My favourites at this point are macro and abstract photography. The macro gives me the opportunity to see things I don’t see or notice with the naked eye, mostly the wonders of nature. The abstract challenges my imagination.

    This site is also giving me the opportunity to see some wonderful photos done by you and others in the group.

    The link to my photos is https://adobe.ly/3qUs1vf

    Thanks again.

    Reply
  130. Gordon

    It took me a while to decide what I liked most over the last few years. Surprisingly, most of my favorite photos are landscapes and I really enjoy night photography. Thanks for the exercise Matt!
    https://bit.ly/3G8PcZp

    Reply
  131. Sam J Williams

    My 20, from the last couple of years. I mainly shoot landscape photography with the odd wildlife shot if i’m lucky enough.

    https://adobe.ly/3q4GpSz

    Reply
  132. Dave Cincera

    Took me a bit longer than I expected……but I’m glad I’ve learned something new!!!!! https://adobe.ly/3F0ntsx

    Reply
    • Guido

      Very nice collection. Beautiful colors.

      Reply
      • WillAllen

        I admire your closeup work. I’ve been trying to improve mine. I will. Just stick to it. And look at your work from time to time. (Yes, I peeked beyond your submission)

        Reply
  133. Kim Ormsby

    Thanks, Matt! I didn’t know I could share collections! I have a mixture of wildlife and landscape.
    https://adobe.ly/3q0wqOk

    Reply
  134. Marcy

    Apparently, I am all over the place with the types of photography. I find my surroundings challenging so I take everything when I can get out of here.
    Themes, Landscape, urban? buildings. lol, odd things.

    https://adobe.ly/3f3Sq4h

    Reply
  135. Mary Dean

    I really enjoy landscape photography. I have learned I often enjoy having a human element in the photo, especially when traveling. I want to learn more about black and white photography and am always learning about composition!

    https://adobe.ly/3r0wzAf

    Reply
  136. Kathleen Howard

    Late to the game as I was on the road and not at my computer. I learned a lot looking through my pictures. One was that my favorites were mostly at the end of the year – thanks to Matt’s courses! I was working on birds in flight. I can see that now I need to work on removing distractions – some I did were OK, but it needs more work.

    https://slickpic.us/2285377MM0j

    Reply
    • Guido

      I liked these pictures very much. Nice composition and such rich, honest colors.

      Reply
  137. Bob Laramie

    Here are my 2021 Favorites.

    What I learned: My work has been given a new life due to Covid-19 isolation.
    The beginning of the year saw travel and photo opportunities dry up and I deduced to learn new software skills in Photoshop, Lightroom and On1 by immersing myself in online tutorials. I began shooting still life images using techniques like layer styles, blending modes and various other techniques I had very little knowledge of previously. I also decided to venture back into portrait and event photography using social distancing and to get away a little from wildlife and landscape photography. I soon learned that I loved portrait work, my heart was still into wildlife. A late year trip to Tanzania and some local trips to shoot landscape made this quite clear. In 2020, I hope to continue to learn new and exciting post processing techniques and continue exploring portrait and event photography combined with a renewed commitment to wildlife and landscape photo trips. Here is a link to 20 of my favorite photos from 2021

    https://www.rjlphoto.com/gallery/2021-Favorites/G0000KwEJ70rIZn0

    Reply
  138. Stephanie G

    Here is an album with my favorites from 2021. https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjzxKRr

    My goal for 2021 is to get in better physical condition so I can get out birding and taking photos more. I hope to take more pictures in which motion is frozen using higher shutter speeds.

    Reply
  139. Margot Beck

    https://adobe.ly/3JQr28b
    Thought I should try and see if I can do this. Hoping to get inspired to take lots more photos in 2022.

    Reply
    • Guido

      oops, private. It is Adobes fault.
      Other people have the same problem.

      Reply
  140. Marilyn Citron

    Matt, how do I share my favorite photos from 2021?

    Reply
  141. Kirsty

    After getting a “procrastination” kick from video 2 – I just went and did it! here is my link to a random selection of shots from 2021, plus a few older shots re-edited in 2021…

    https://adobe.ly/336efO1

    Reply
  142. Stephen Mathews

    This was good for me. I struggle as I am a freelance for local news paper. I also do real estate photography, street photography and travel. Here is my link for the 20 photos I picked.

    https://adobe.ly/3n7Wmp4

    Reply
  143. Stephen Mathews

    This was a good exercise for me as I struggle. I am freelance for newspaper, I do real estate photos, street photography, and travel. I’m trying to find out what I want to be.

    https://adobe.ly/3n7Wmp4

    Reply
  144. Fred Krampetz

    Thanks for the Fresh Start. It has incentivized me to take a look back at some of my better work. Also, thanks for your information on getting started with Lightroom’s free gallery option for the web. Here are just a few of my images for a starter at: https://adobe.ly/3f0pHgM.

    Reply
    • Ray Jobin

      Thank you for sharing such neat photos!

      Reply
    • Guido

      Thanks for sharing these pictures. And by the same token, a walk through a nice set of collections.

      Reply
  145. Kathleen Kerndt

    I didn’t use my camera much in 2021. All my favorites of 2021 are from my second trip to Iceland in September. I do mostly landscape photography. https://adobe.ly/3qXF2Er

    Reply
  146. Vibeke Friis

    https://www.flickr.com/gp/vibeke/dheh8x
    Here is a selection of some of my favourites, despite not being able to get out as much as usual I still had over 6000 edited images from the year.
    I live in Nelson, New Zealand which in my opinion is one of the best places in the world, especially at the moment, so far we have had it pretty easy. I found I had taken far fewer landscapes and a lot more photos indoor in my little studio.
    I’m in my late 70th and have been photographing all my life, I still love it.

    Reply
    • KSacry

      I really enjoyed looking at your photos! I especially like the still life/flower photos you have created.

      Reply
    • Guido

      Great selection of pictures. The flowers made in your studio are such a joy to look at. You must have admired so many great paintings that now, you make your own interpretation of the world.

      Reply
  147. Marilyn Citron

    For a variety of reasons, I did very little photography in 2021. In early June, I went on a five-day photo tour in Oregon and California. subject was primarily forest landscapes and ocean landscapes. I’m not a landscape photographer but I do enjoy focusing on what I call intimate objects in nature. I think some of my best images of that trip did exactly that. I prefer making images of wildlife. That’s my ideal subject. However, I have learned to photograph other subjects as well.

    Reply
  148. Gay Gangel Fayhee

    Last year I went to Namibia. Only had my Sony A6000 and a kit lens that zoomed to 200 but I still had some fun. Some photos from there and around my home in New Mexico. I was struggling for some reason with the lightroom share feature so I hope this works. https://lightroom.adobe.com/shares/e25cec1c9701449f8cec4b02455fbe29

    Reply
    • Chandra

      Love your flamingos Gay!

      Reply
      • Gay Gangel Fayhee

        Thank-you Chandra — caused me to look up your photos. Love them all but particularly the Merkat!

        Reply
  149. Rob Deane

    I’m a bit late to the party, but here are my images mainly landscape / seascape. I am a hobbyist that enjoys all things photographic. The first and last images posted are from where I live the rest are from my travels.

    https://adobe.ly/3f0WySU

    Reply
  150. Marina

    I am Still A newbie and don’t have a portfolio at this stage. I enjoy to look at everybody’s photos and feel sometimes that my photos are really not good enough to put in a portfolio at this stage. Seeing the changes for the better makes me ffeel good that I am starting to get better.

    Reply
  151. Dave Johnson

    https://adobe.ly/3F5eVk1 The link to my photos. I have a variety of photos from 2021. Most are landscape. I am really interested in street photography and portraits. 2022 will provide more opportunities in these areas.

    Reply
    • Guido

      A nice collection from macro to world.

      Reply
  152. Gaye

    I finally got my act together and opened a SLICKPIC account. I have posted my Best2021 and am looking forward to using the site from now on. Thanks for the information Matt!
    https://slickpic.us/2285362DEMg

    Reply
  153. Gary Forner

    Here is a link to some photos I am going to share at a photo workshop I am going to.

    https://adobe.ly/3qWuDc9

    Reply
    • `Gaye Lively

      Some very stunning images!

      Reply
    • Guido

      Quite personal interpretation for many of these, which I like

      Reply
  154. Jackie Robinson

    Love all the wonderful photos already shared. I finally took the time to wrap my mind around the sharing capability in LR. So here are a few of my photos. https://adobe.ly/34w9M84

    Reply
  155. George W Gootee

    A little late with this but excited to see what I can learn. I enjoy landscape and wildlife photography. Looking back over the past couple of years one thing I need to work on is patience. Especially with wildlife. Also I need to enhance my post processing skills. This is an enjoyable exercise, thanks Matt!
    https://adobe.ly/3q1Jums

    Reply
  156. Sarah Holmes

    Thanks Matt – this was useful. Last year health issues meant I didn’t pick up a camera as much as I might have done and less travelling didn’t help either. I have a very mixed bag of images as I experimented with different approaches and styles – I suspect Im looking either to consolidate my ‘look’ or discover a new one! I have certainly lost a bit of my mojo so this is a great start to the year!
    Not at home at the moment so couldn’t post a gallery – will add it asap

    Reply
  157. Fokke de Boer

    We emigrated from the Netherlands to France 18 months ago, so very very little time for photography. Most are done with my phone. I used to do portraits and such in a studio, but here I don’t have a studio anymore. So, I move to nature, landscape and wildlife… but just getting started with it!
    Some results here: https://hautedone.fr/fokkes-top15-from-2021/

    Reply
  158. Paul

    It took me too much time to figure out how to get my photos public. These are all from 2021. I have a real interest in composites and I put a few into my collection. I live in coastal Maine in Brunswick and I do like to take photos in this scenic place.

    https://lightroom.adobe.com/shares/cf061b50f1144959abdd235b53809d77

    Reply
    • Jim

      Your photos look very similar to mine. Great minds think alike.

      Reply
  159. Doc

    I do this but with people in my camera club. The great thing about digital is that we can go back to review our past work, play with old photos and find ways to improve our future work. Nice video. Thanks.

    Reply
    • Connie Gill-Straubhaar

      I hit comment before I posted the rest: I learned how to use my cameras more efficiently and also am starting to see my voice in my photos. My interests are pretty varied – wildlife/nature are at the top of the list. I even took photos for my step-daughter’s wedding…I found out I have absolutely no desire to be a wedding photographer.

      Reply
    • Dave Johnson

      Photos are amazing!!!

      Reply
  160. Peter

    Hi Matt
    Happy new year, sorry a bit late in responding to the Restart 22. Your bird favourites are great and inspired me to check out some bird images I took at Fort Myers beach a few years go, I reviewed them and did a bit of post processing. I don’t know how to upload them for you to see, can anyone help? Cheers Peter

    Reply
  161. Andy Betts

    I’ve managed to come up with ten images this year, which surprises me as I haven’t really been out much. They do highlight my photographic preferences, landscape, nature & wildlife, and aviation.

    I need to make more of an effort in 2022

    https://andybetts.myportfolio.com/top-10

    Reply
  162. Heather

    Sorry it’s so late! I love shooting Nature. Never posted publicly like this before, but was nice to learn something new.
    https://adobe.ly/3n3Ka8Z

    Reply
    • Nancy A

      Impressive collection! I love the parrots and the zebras!

      Reply
    • Richard

      Nice Photos!

      Reply
  163. Robin Warwick

    Must admit I was surprised at how many I had given that I haven’t been out much this year. Tried to keep it down to 20 but ended up with 29. Hope that’s OK.

    https://robinwarwick.uk/best-of-2021

    Reply
    • Gavin

      You have posted the wrong link. It just takes me to my own sign in page.

      Reply
  164. Terri-Lyn Love

    Holy crap there are a lot of good images in here!

    My favourite stuff to shoot is nature and derelict broken down stuff. I have been trying to get into portraits more and have had some fun this year with that too.

    https://adobe.ly/3q3EE8d

    Reply
    • Becky Jones

      Thank you Matt for your inspiration.

      I am mainly a wildlife photographer. I do not know how to submit a picture. Could you or someone else please explain. I only use Lightroom.

      Reply
  165. Kevin Morrison

    Monitor Calibration: I work using 2 different monitors and even though both are the exact same make and model, they both throw out different colours. When i also upload photos, they appear darker on other screens / monitors. This has resulted in me purchasing software / hardware like the Datacolor Spyder, and whilst this has allowed me to align the two monitors, still results in darker images out the other end.

    Workflow: I enjoyed this feature as i have always looked at other industry professionals and tried to base my workflow off theirs. It’s only been through trial and error that i have become more fluid and unrestrained and tailor each edit to the photo. Thanks once again Matt

    Reply
    • Kevin Morrison

      Sorry, uploaded onto the wrong page!

      Reply
  166. Joe

    Every year I produce a chronological coffee table book of what I consider my best photos. Family, landscape, portrait etc. The problem I have is the time in processing and deciding what to include. Hence I’ve just finished 2018. The other reason is to see what pictures work in print and whether its worth having a larger print produced

    Reply
  167. Andrew Gow

    Looking through my 2021 photos I’m actually surprised at what a mixed bag I’ve created. With Covid restrictions, most are taken in my yard or within a short walk so I’ve had to work with what’s available. I enjoy nature photography, especially close up detail, and in 2021 developed an interest in birds. I’ve also been working on photographing vintage and classic vehicles, especially in the landscape or with their owners enjoying them.

    From reviewing these favourites I’m thinking this year I need to work a bit more on a consistent look and feel.

    https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjzxHJL

    Reply
  168. Gavin

    I am a little late with this but here goes. Had a hard time getting down to 20 shots so there are a few extras. I gravitate towards macro shots of flowers and other objects. Love to shoot old cars but most of the cars shows were shut down because of Covid this past year. I also like landscapes but no travelling last year so they are local and I live in a very flat area so not the most exciting to shoot. This year I would like to try some bird photography.
    https://adobe.ly/3taJuTf

    Reply
  169. Frank Winters

    Finally, after many, many hours, I believe I’ve rather belatedly gotten to the point where I can make a comment. In brief, my interest in photography is very broad and varied – wild life, nature, scenery. I enjoy trying to capture the moment. Over the years, I have had a variety of Canon, Pentax cameras complete with various lens and recently settled on a Panasonic DMC – FZ300 which is versatile enough to use when hiking, travelling. This has just been supplemented with an Apple iPhone12 Pro. The images you will be viewing were captured on these devices. Protography activities have been curtailed by COVIS and a couple of images capture street art related to the pandemic. I am a non-techie and I hope to develop skills in the area.

    Reply
    • lacewood

      do you classify iPhone , phone shots included .. sometimes I get great shots , not software but sometimes the picture , composition just. worked ..

      Reply
    • Martin

      Unfortunately I’ve had issues in setting up a site through Lightroom. I’ll persevere and try again later.
      I’ve noticed that I don’t have a particular subject I like to take photos of, just whatever takes my eye at that specific time. I think one of my biggest failings is that I don’t believe my photos are good enough but hopefully by the end of this course that will change.

      Reply
  170. Matt Cockinos

    2021 was meant to be the year I would work actively to continue to improve on my landscape photography but with lockdowns and restrictions in Sydney, I had to become more creative. Instead of focusing on landscapes, I ended up shooting a good selection of Australian animals.

    https://adobe.ly/3qXbfMg

    Reply
  171. Gerard Whelan

    I like to shoot Nature and Landscape.
    These are a few from my travels when you could travel

    Reply
  172. Kerry Lorimer

    I love travel photography, and especially nature/landscape. Travel this past year has been purely domestic (I’m in Australia) so my subjects are a bit of an aberration on ‘usual’. However, it became clear in this selection process that by far the majority of my images are landscapes – I’m obviously drawn to bold colours, patterns (particularly reflections), wide angles and I’ve shot a lot of waterfalls this year! I also had a surprising number of bird photos (though few made the favourites list) and NOT ONE portrait (apart from happy snaps of friends)! Might have to work on that this year… In 2021 I made it a resolution to improve my photography and develop my ‘style’ (whatever that is!) and, while this gallery is not chronological, I think I can see a difference from Jan to Dec… A great exercise – thanks Matt! Here is the link to the gallery:
    https://adobe.ly/3JOztkw

    Reply
    • David Hobbs

      Stunning photographs there.

      Reply
    • Chandra

      Your landscapes with those beautiful bold colors are amazing Kerry! And that Crimson Rosella…what a beauty you captured!

      Reply
  173. Art Napolitano

    I reviewed the 4,255 pictures I took over the last year and found that (not including family photos) I focused on two genres… wildlife – both in motion and stationary and merged photos of landscapes and architecture. I did not re-edit the photos shown here.

    I think some of them could benefit from the new masking option(s) in Lightroom.

    Thanks for doing this Matt, I was getting stale.

    Reply
      • Terry DeCorah

        beautiful images!

        Reply
  174. Shirley Voelker

    I take a lot of family photos, but my new favorite is flowers – I love both taking the pics and also discovering new ways to edit and enhance the photos. This gallery includes a little variety of my favorite photos for 2021.

    https://www.shirleyvphotography.com/Portfolio/2021-Top-20-/

    Reply
  175. Lara

    I enjoy nature photography and outdoor family portraiture. Reviewing this year’s photos, I see many more taken using my iPhone and many fewer taken using my mirrorless. My goal for 2022 is to make the effort to get back to shooting with the mirrorless. https://adobe.ly/3G58heY

    Reply
  176. Melissa Teller

    Bird photography was my focus for most of 2021 (prior to that I shot mostly landscapes). So here are my best bird photos of the year. For 2022 I’d like to find more opportunities to showcase birds in their environments (rather than just cropping tightly on the bird). And of course I still need to hone my skills shooting BIF.

    https://adobe.ly/3HMoMx1

    Reply
  177. Joel Chaplin

    The Fresh Start series has been a fantastic way to start each year, I always come away with new ideas and perspectives for the year to come. Here are some of my favorites from 2021:

    https://adobe.ly/3zytivU

    Reply
  178. John Giavedoni

    It was a year of staying safe, and close to home, so I took many car trips exploring my province. These are my fav images showing the beauty of central Canadian summer and winter.
    https://immagine.ca/fav2021

    Reply
    • Rick Danielson

      I can’t find a way to post pictures here.

      Reply
  179. Cathy Bennington

    So busy admiring everyone’s galleries I never got around to posting my own – Sorry!

    I love Nature photography but I really am all over the place – when I have my camera in my hand nothing is safe from me.

    https://www.cjbenningtonphotography.ca/p914464462

    Reply
  180. Janet

    https://adobe.ly/3GjjA3r

    Like many others, I didn’t do much in the last two years.

    What I noticed was that more than half of my “favorites” were photos of things that caught my attention, not planned. (Old cars, old barn, an unexpected sunset, the texture of a flower, an ugly spider.)

    My one photo shoot was a new endeavor, the Milky Way, included, not for best work, just a first effort. The goal for this year is to get out more and hone my macro and Milky skills.

    Reply
  181. Armando Bruck

    For my use, I love the idea that I do not need to save in jpg or transfer my image, if I want to share I just create a collection and share, is free and any time is easy de update. I also love Adobe Portfolio and Adobe Spark.
    Great advice make a collection for every year, and maybe for every month, and print the best ones.

    Reply
  182. Teresa Spraitz Ciszek

    Hello! I discovered that I barely took any photos the last two year, in fact I was just in Italy and brought one body and one lens and mostly used my iPhone (I forgive myself, it was almost a month long trip and I was the mother of the groom so I wanted to relax and enjoy).So i went back and brought some up form an Ireland trip in 2019- here is a batch: https://adobe.ly/3qYwehy

    Reply
  183. Marilyn Martin

    In my review of 2021 favorites, shown at my link below, I made 2 observations:

    * I’m not shooting nearly enough
    * I haven’t been following my passion for street photography for the last 2 years, largely because of Covid in 2020, but last year, I had more than enough opportunity, I just didn’t get out in public enough.

    Most of what I shot was either publicity photos for my husband’s puppetry business or landscapes.

    https://lightroom.adobe.com/shares/58cf15c6e281434c8f7cb35d50d9eefa

    Reply
  184. Rob

    I didn’t take many photos in 2021. Here are just a few of my favorites, mostly of my grandchildren, although there are a couple of landscape photos included as well.

    https://adobe.ly/3zvMHhf

    Reply
  185. Eric Sanders

    I enjoy shooting Wildlife and Landscapes primarily. I would like to improve my work flow, get more visibility and perhaps have a gallery showing sometime in the near future. Here is a link to a few favorites of mine from 2021. Enjoy!

    https://www.EricSanders.com/2021-Favorites/

    Reply
  186. Sherita Normington

    Thanks Matt for having us share photos. A new experience for me. I enjoy photographing nature. In 2021 I did a weekly photo challenge so many of the photos are from that. Here is the link to my photos. https://photos.app.goo.gl/Pe2KtwZ1dF9Z4pUGA

    Reply
  187. Julie Delio

    This is actually the third year I have done a retrospective review of my photos from the previous year. Most of the photos that I would call my favorites have been taken while traveling, and so are these. But travel was very limited because of the pandemic. One from far west Texas, a couple from New England, more from New Mexico, and the last from Texas Hill Country. I have been in the photographic doldrums for the past few years and am hoping these exercises will help me pull myself out of them.

    https://adobe.ly/3eWtUSz

    Reply
    • Ray Jobin

      Thanks for sharing and I do love your photos.

      Reply
    • June Greenway

      I wanted to visit the Cadillacs when we came to Texas in 2008 but sadly ran out of time! Great photos.

      Reply
  188. Marilyn

    Nothing like being reprimanded to get some action from us! Mostly landscapes but some other things tossed in — flowers, abstract, black and white. Now to compare these with what I selected last year to find out more about myself.
    https://adobe.ly/3HKY0Vt

    Reply
  189. Wendy Baker

    For this exercise I chose to pick some of my favorites from my medieval architecture (a passion of mine) images. Reducing an album of hundreds of images to the top 20 was an eye opening exercise. I am about to submit some images to my stock photography sites and asking myself, “Does this photo really belong in my favorites?” forced me to eliminate quite a few images from my submission. I’ll do this more often 🙂

    https://galleries.wendybaker.com/Galleries/Medieval-Architecture/

    Reply
    • Terry DeCorah

      I had to take a look when a saw Medieval achitecture…… amazing photos!

      Reply
      • Wendy Baker

        Thank you Terry. I appreciate it.

        Reply
  190. Sharon Gartenberg

    I selected my favorites days ago but finally got around to posting, hope not too late. These are landscape photos. Sadly no travel photos. I picked some other favorites of family, including a new baby, but I don’t have permission to post those publicly so I’ll enjoy them myself. What did I learn? Even though I wasn’t able to do any travel photography, which is my favorite, 2021 wasn’t as bad a year as I thought. https://sharonmg.smugmug.com/2021-Favorites

    Reply
  191. Steven Becker

    Matt, I do not use Lightroom or Photoshop, I only use ON1 Photo Raw. Is there any option for me to post pictures for free from this program?

    Reply
  192. Roger Goodman

    Just a few photos (12). I am an advanced amateur, claiming Event photography as my niche. I also manage to get some nice flower photos along the way. 🙂 For these photos, soccer was the event I captured. Sorry these are late by a day.

    https://www.flickr.com/gp/87231388@N00/Lu0Y01

    Reply
  193. Jodi Keim

    I enjoyed this presentation and learned new things about Lightroom and Adobe. I haven’t been taking a lot of photos lately but I’m looking forward to a photo filled 2022. Most of these are from my latest trip to Longwood Garden plus a few older shots from my collection.

    https://adobe.ly/3G6vVHO

    Reply
  194. Judith Bock

    Mostly wildlife photography since moving to Florida in 2021. Amazed at the difference from the beginning of the year to now. Have taken taken quite a few online courses the past couple of years because of the pandemic. Am a novice but love learning and Matt certainly challenges this Senior!
    Still going thru 2021 photos but at least FINALLY figured out how to post!

    Adobe.ly33cviy5

    Reply
    • Ray Jobin

      Are you the same Judith Bock who was on the staff for the 1990 National Geographic SGI program? If so, I remember you well and the great job you did preparing us to become TCs.

      Reply
  195. Sharon Topliss

    I started on a bird photography journey this year, so my favourite pics are of birds. I learned a lot from Matt’s course (thanks for that) and am now trying to practice techniques with varying degrees of success. What I noticed:
    – nearly half of the photos were taken in my own backyard
    – I prefer “action” shots, or ones that show a bit of “personality”
    – getting down low makes a big difference (but is a little harder in my advanced years!)
    https://scrapgeek.myportfolio.com/2021-favourites

    Reply
    • Tom Barreto

      Incredible images, Sharon! Many of them do show the personality in the shots!

      Reply
    • Kerry Lorimer

      Lovely photos Sharon – how lucky to have those birds in your backyard!

      Reply
  196. Donna S Pittz

    I take photos of everything! Here are just a few from this past year! I am an amateur but love taking photos. Travel photography is my favorite!

    https://adobe.ly/32Tk5CF

    Reply
  197. Karen Keegan

    I have an Adobe portfolio site which I haven’t updated in a while. I can see some photos I should replace, but until I have time to do that, here it is! https://karenkeegandesigns.myportfolio.com/ I’m also a painter and jewelry designer, so you’ll see some of this work included here as well. I like flower, macro and landscape photography – especially the editing part.

    Reply
  198. CJ Kern

    I just recently moved to South Florida and am working at finding my direction again photographicly speaking. I’m finding many of my photos are of birds and wildlife but not all.

    https://adobe.ly/3zFp31N

    Reply
  199. Marjorie Borissow

    A mixture of what I like. Insects, birds, landscapes, Street. So much to learn. This sharing via Lightroom is all new to me. Thank you Matt.

    https://adobe.ly/3q3XU5D

    Reply
    • Tom Barreto

      Fantastic gallery, Becky! I really like the Jay in flight. Wonderful captures!

      Reply
    • Chandra

      Your gallery and images are simply gorgeous, Becky! Your floral images are breathtaking!

      Reply
    • Kerry Lorimer

      Stunning photos Becky – you have a wonderful talent – not to mention incredible patience!

      Reply
    • Vito

      These are amazing images

      Reply
    • Ray Jobin

      So, so beautiful. Thanks for sharing your talent with us all.

      Reply
    • Becky Kempf

      Stunning shots and a beautiful gallery!

      Reply
      • Chandra

        Thank you so much for the kind words Becky!

        Reply
    • Kerry Lorimer

      Beautiful images Chandra – love the meerkat!

      Reply
  200. Denise Lehenbauer

    2021 was a challenging year for me due to some eyesight issues. I shot a lot, but was unable to do a lot of processing and kind of got out of the habit. It was until mid August that I was able to work a lot on the computer. These are some of my images from the year.
    https://denisel.myportfolio.com/fresh-start-2022

    Reply
    • Lynn Kobrin

      Denise, your photographs are beautiful. I love the artistic element you bring into your pictures.

      Reply
      • Denise Lehenbauer

        Thank you.

        Reply
  201. Colin Brown

    Better late than never!! I have not taken many photos in thje last two years, so O went back to Sept 2019. In going through my photographs, I realised that I take a lot of photos in poor light – indoor, overcast, late evening, etc. I picked out 12 photos I like. Because of circumstances some were taken with an i-phone 8.
    https://adobe.ly/3G37NWx

    Reply
    • Becky Kempf

      Wow! Beautiful shots! I especially love the composition of the landscape with the barn.

      Reply
    • Tom Barreto

      Amazing photos from Yellowstone! Someday, I’ll get there in the winter!

      Reply
    • Kerry Lorimer

      Beautiful images both visually and technically!

      Reply
  202. Chris Chato

    I actually did the picking my best photos part of this, but I skipped the sharing part (didn’t quite feel comfortable with it). However, I am so glad other folks did share their photos because I really liked looking at them although, I only looked at some. I’d like to look at them all, but there are too many… I do have my own photo group I share photos with.

    Thanks for these videos!!

    Reply
  203. John Keator

    Thanks for showing me how to post a public gallery from LR Classic. I knew there was such a method but had no idea how to do it. I mainly enjoy wildlife and landscape photography but I do belong to a club which has further inspired my interests.

    https://adobe.ly/3JQiazx

    Reply
  204. Jean

    I mostly enjoy macro and landscape, and in 2021 stayed close to home and visited Animal Adventure Park several times.
    https://adobe.ly/3zyker4

    Reply
  205. Bob Boyle

    I’m off to a bad start. I missed the first deadline. Hopefully, I can do better in the future.
    As you can see from the attached, I enjoy many kinds of photography. I particularly enjoy photographing my grandson’s lacrosse games.

    https://adobe.ly/3qNpKCc

    Reply
    • Jodi Keim

      I enjoyed this presentation and learned new things about Lightroom and Adobe. I haven’t been taking a lot of photos lately but I’m looking forward to a photo filled 2022. Most of these are from my latest trip to Longwood Garden plus a few older shots from my collection.

      https://adobe.ly/3G6vVHO

      Reply
      • Jodi Keim

        So sorry Jim…first time posting like this and I accidentally posted within your comment section.

        Reply
  206. Marvin Moriarty

    Here’s my shot hat it! Never did this before and found it quite eye opening – the things that capture my attention are many and varied. One observation after all this – I need to be more “mindful” each shot I take. https://marvinm134.zenfolio.com/p89048575

    Reply
  207. Nancy Searcy

    Here are some wildlife photos that were taken mostly in my backyard plus some others from years 2020 and 2021. I am just learning to create website for sharing and this is my first attempt. Hope you enjoy my beautiful feathered friends as much as I have!!

    https://adobe.ly/3sXDflq

    Reply
    • Becky Kempf

      Beautiful shots, Nancy!

      Reply
  208. Leah

    Thanks for the inspiration to learn the My Profile Adobe personalized website. I watched a couple of Terry White’s videos and just got it published. My husband and I keep learning more and enjoy taking nature and dog pics. https://kurt-leah-photos.myportfolio.com/favorites-of-2021

    Reply
    • Terry DeCorah

      love your dog pics!

      Reply
    • Brendan Kennedy

      Great work! (You can’t go wrong with dogs)

      Reply
  209. Brian Milner

    I live in the Eastern Bay of Plenty in the North Island of New Zealand. My interests are Nature, (bird and fungi), landscape and seascape with some action thrown in. Most of the shots here are within 40km of home.
    https://adobe.ly/3t4xdQb

    Reply
    • Vibeke Friis

      Beautiful photos. Our interests are similar.

      Reply
  210. Terry DeCorah

    Love this! I learned something new! In reviewing my images from last year, I was surprised just how many were of flowers. Nothing wrong with that but I would like to image a wider variety of subjects. Here is the link to my images: https://adobe.ly/31DepMA

    Reply
    • Leah

      Gorgeous!

      Reply
      • Becky Kempf

        Such beautiful art! You are truly talented.

        Reply
    • Wendy Baker

      Wonderful images. I really like your compositions and tones.

      Reply
    • Terry DeCorah

      I admire your street photography, I have never been comfortable taking pics of strangers. Well Done!

      Reply
      • merrill

        thank you.
        you are wise to be careful when photographing strangers.
        random crime has definitely increased during the pandemic.

        Reply
  211. Curt

    Because of health issue the pandemic in 2021 was as bad as 2020 so we did not leave home. I went back and found realized that I had a lot of pictures from my backyard or very close by.

    https://adobe.ly/3F23Vnm

    Reply
  212. Brendan Kennedy

    An important takeaway from Matt’s video was that we need to force ourselves to get our stuff out there. I took pictures for years and never shared them because I didn’t think they were good enough. Well, I went to school to learn design and that was the end of that; you HAD to share your work. I started a Flickr page and have been using that to share ever since. It isn’t really focused enough to be called a portfolio, but I am looking into that. Still, I had to start somewhere:

    https://flic.kr/ps/urZxS

    Reply
  213. Ray Jobin

    I posted a few photos from the last few years. I love taking images on my travels and nature photos in and around my neighborhood. Always something new to learn. Any tips you might have will be appreciated.

    https://adobe.ly/3zs8jLx

    Reply
    • Brendan Kennedy

      Thanks for sharing some very good work!

      Reply
    • Rona Golfen

      Really nice photos, Irina! I love the black and white with orange, especially the one with the light trails of the highway in the middle.

      Reply
    • Denisel L

      Lovely work. I adored the one with the buildings and the handrail with rain on it. Great composition.

      Reply
    • Dave Johnson

      Irina, stunning landscape photos. I really enjoyed the variety in your gallery. Thanks for sharing.

      Reply
  214. Mary C Murphy

    I like taking photos of flowers in my yard, and I make prints that I can display and enjoy all year round. I also enjoy taking pictures of my grandchildren and travel photos (although that has been significantly curtailed the last two years!) Here are my favorites from 2021.

    https://lightroom.adobe.com/shares/d673daaf883f43d2862f84b70e589e28

    Reply
    • Fred Duquenne

      Mary C Murphy you have some nice landscapes in your favorites as well !

      Reply
  215. Charlie

    While I started photographing just about everything, I eventually gravitated toward nature (primarily landscape) and wildlife (primarily active birds).
    https://charlienewman.myportfolio.com

    Reply
    • Tom Barreto

      Awesome photos, Charlie! That leaping mountain lion is incredible!

      Reply
  216. Ela Masse

    A bit late to the game but I love to photograph wildlife, nature, landscapes and anything that catches my eye. Looking forward to the Fresh Start.
    https://adobe.ly/3pZMGPi

    Reply
    • Beatrice

      Love your portfolio. Such beautiful pictures. Love the birds and many more. Happy to have found you on IG to follow. Regards from 🇨🇭Switzerland, Beatrice

      Reply
  217. Tim Clifton

    Thank you Matt for encouraging us to share our images. Here are some from 2021. I look forward to the upcoming emails. All the best in 2022
    https://timclifton2.myportfolio.com/2021

    Reply
    • Linda Buckman

      Tim, your images are stunning! I know we’re not supposed to compare our work with other’s work, but yours was the first gallery I looked at…now I’m not sure if I want to share my pics, smile. Kudos to you.

      Reply
    • Rona Golfen

      I just looked at your photos, Tim – Wow! I especially love the photos of the ocean. Wonderful!

      Reply
    • CheriAnn

      Those big crashing waves – WOW!! Also, the bleeding hearts. Always a favorite of mine and your photo is lovely!

      Reply
    • Brian Milner

      Wonderful wave shots!

      Reply
    • Becky Kempf

      Looking at your portfolio was like watching fireworks! Each picture was amazing and I oohed and awed over all of them.

      Reply
    • Marjorie Borissow

      Tim…. magnificent images

      Reply
  218. Becky Reed

    I had a hard time with the technical stuff but I think I’ve done it right. It seems I’m taking a lot of macro, landscape, and bird photography. I would really like to take photos of birds in flight and maybe some “people” photos https://adobe.ly/3sY4ZXc

    Reply
  219. Lynda Folwick

    This was fun! I had no idea about most of what your video described, so thanks! Nature and dogs are my primary photography interests. These are my 2021 faves. https://adobe.ly/3F5Hs90

    Reply
  220. Gaye Lively

    I appreciate Matt’s style of teaching and his many opportunities to grow. As with others my 2021 favorite/ best selections were much more limited than 2020 selections. (Thanks COVID). However, I was able to dive deeper into night and Astro photography more than ever this past year. Several trips to the Everglades and then north Fl allowed a small group of fellow photographers to grow and learn together. Birds in flight were another area of focus this past year. Because I am in the midst of transferring to a new computer I will delay the postings a few days.

    Reply
  221. Tom Barreto

    What a talented group of photographers! I primarily enjoy shooting astro photography, wildlife, macro and landscapes and here are my favorites from 2021. What I’d like to do better in 2022 is to shoot better “birdscapes” and work on improving the composition of my landscape photography. https://adobe.ly/3t28XOm

    Reply
  222. Susan Holder

    I am a relative newby. I haven’t put my photos out there, so I don’t even have a photo sharing site yet. Will work on that this week. But I did go back and look at some earlier photos and I really need to make the time to get my camera in hand more often.

    Reply
  223. Beverley Dawson

    Thank you Gail. I will try again.

    Reply
  224. Kathie

    https://adobe.ly/33brhtt some 2021 photos…conquering how to do this in LRC was a challenge in itself. BTW used your method for displaying the partial lunar eclipse with good results.

    Reply
  225. Joanne Humphrey

    I looked at the images I picked and realized that peaceful landscape and close ups of flowers, leaves whatever catch my eye are what interest me. Thanks for encouraging us to take the time to realize that and be okay with it.

    Reply
  226. garrickwmeyer

    Yes I did go through my photos from 2021 and am not happy because 2020 photos are 100 percent better I have to get out more and spend less time in the computer and stop listening to the weather reports which have keep me home because of bad reports when I missed days I could have gone out shooting..I have picked a few things I would like to do and that is get more photos of small birds and more landscape photos …

    Reply
    • Linda Buckman

      Beautiful images. I love your subject matter and your edits.

      Reply
      • Jean-Pierre Koenig

        Thank you so much for your kind words. I try and my fresh start hope is that I will try harder :).

        Reply
  227. Kathy Apicelli

    Hello All,
    I am a little late to the game this week but glad to be here.
    My goal this year is to transition from corporate photography to personal photography with an art fusion using Photoshop. Maybe for stock, maybe for sale at art shows. Any advise on how to make this transition is greatly appreciated.

    https://adobe.ly/3q38hXq

    Reply
    • Lannon Tanchum

      Nice images Kathy. I especially like the winter landscapes.

      Reply
      • Lannon Tanchum

        Sorry So sorry Kathy, I posted this in the wrong place ….

        Reply
        • Kathy Apicelli

          No worries Lannon. : )

          Reply
  228. Connie McClaran

    Hello! AMAzing photos in here! It will take time to get through them all…but here’s more: https://adobe.ly/3q0EVsB
    I’m a Nature Photographer, lately experimenting with birds ( Thanks Matt!;<), wildlife and infrared. All the B&W's are IR. Unexpected benefit from this exercise is that it gave me the momentum to go through all my 2021 images and find what I liked enough to process and share. Otherwise they likely would've gotten lost.

    Reply
    • Lannon Tanchum

      Nice images Connie. I especially like the winter landscapes.

      Reply
    • Mick O'Neill

      Connie,
      Nice photos!!! Are your beautiful Dune photos from White Sands National Park?

      Reply
      • Connie McClaran

        Thanks Landon! I do live in a winter wonderland…

        Reply
        • Connie McClaran

          Ooops. I moved too fast and the above comment was meant for Lannon.😬 So to answer your question Mick, these dunes are at Death Valley Nat’l Park. I’ve always wanted to go to White Sands though….

          Reply
    • Kathy Apicelli

      Agreed! Nice Dunes too!

      Reply
  229. Elaine Miller

    I just had time to go through my 2021 photos. These are my favorite macro / flower photos from last year. This was a good exercise!
    https://adobe.ly/3q3phwk

    Reply
    • Kathy Apicelli

      Love your work! It is similar to what I am looking to do in my next cahpter.

      Reply
      • Connie McClaran

        Thank you Kathy!

        Reply
      • Elaine Miller

        Thank you Kathy!

        Reply
    • Guido

      Long time ago; I was taught not to touch the flowers and show them in their habitat.
      I love your flower pictures very much. I will borrow from your way of making flower pictures.
      Rules are made to be consciously broken.

      Reply
  230. Dennus Baum

    https://slickpic.us/22852222UzU

    Matt, sorry about the delay. Life gets in the way sometimes.
    2021 photos are a collection of pictures from Zimbabwe, Costa Rica, Eygpt, Budapest.

    Reply
  231. John Fernald

    Re-examined some old photos with taken with different equipment and some more recent shots with newer equipment. I found some improvement in the technical area but I think more practice and focus on creativity is needed. Here are some of my past efforts….

    https://ferlong.myportfolio.com/work

    Reply
    • Matt

      Great shots John. A bit overprocessed / sharpened, so maybe hold off on those settings in the future. Nice shots though.

      Reply
  232. Susan Winsor

    I am a relative newcomer to photography plus a care giver to a family member that keeps me close to home. Finding new and interesting subjects nearby can be a challenge, but I am always looking for a fresh way to look at the world around me.

    https://lightroom.adobe.com/shares/5a32b7b7b2884cf5b43a44fc9f38494c

    Reply
  233. Kathy Klingenstein

    I consider myself an amateur photographer- always trying to learn more. I love landscape and nature photography. I’ve recently gotten into street photography and I also love shooting my grandchildren.

    https://slickpic.us/2285232EgEM

    Reply
  234. Barbra

    Thanks so much for the Matt, I am going to begin working on this, fun project!!!

    Reply
    • Pam Garven

      Wonderful photos John

      Reply
  235. Cassandra Buckles

    Landscape & Wildlife are my favorites to photograph. I challenged myself to learn Panoramas for our trip to Alaska this year. I am pretty happy with the photos turned out. I want to improve on my action shots of wildlife. My goal is to set up a website this year, I tend to talk myself out of doing that.

    https://adobe.ly/3FYdkxE

    Reply
  236. Chantal

    Quite a challenge. I’ve never done any publishing other than FB and IG. I did create a Collection and a Web Gallery (in LR) but for now, still unable to publish… I did identify a few tutorials I have to go through. Taking a little longer but… it will work !

    Reply
  237. Mandy

    I am a little late as relocating to another state for 2022. I do not really specialize in any style of photography. I think that is probably what I am looking for – is something I can specialize in rather than just dabbling in many different genres and techniques. I do love light painting and intend to do more in 2022.

    https://adobe.ly/3zyAus7

    Reply
    • Leah

      Great bird shots, love the frog too!

      Reply
  238. William Alsmeyer-Johnson

    I am late getting started. Got the video on Monday but since the wife had COVID, have been busy adjusting. I put together a selection of some of my favorite pictures from 2021 that I took for a class called “A Yes of Creative Photography”. It had a different theme each month, such as shadow, color, types of light and lighting, impressionism and more. This is why Matt’s Fresh Start 2022 program appeals.

    I will put future picture assignments online using my Adobe account but right now my some of my favorite 2021 pictures are at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/194669668@N07/

    Reply
    • William Alsmeyer-Johnson

      That is actually “A Year of Creative Photography”. Sorry about the typo.

      Reply
      • Fred Duquenne

        William Alsmeyer-Johnson you have some nice images,

        Reply
  239. Susan Baron

    Thanks for encouraging as I’ve thought about a basic web site for my travel,flower and bird photos. Still working on the site and gathering images. https://susanbaron.myportfolio.com/

    Reply
    • Guido

      Very nice collection.

      Reply
  240. Guido

    What I remember as a tourist.

    When sifting through my pictures, I find at least four different type of pictures. My favorites are people pictures, in action, doing their thing. But for privacy reasons, they are not to be published.
    Also, a mix of the different type did not look nice, the colors of some of my pastoral pictures are so different from what selected here, is does not add up as a single set of work. Now, the pictures are one of my styles, if you do’nt know the place, You cannot guess which country they are taken in.

    And, as always, I have one problem. I grab my camera and start shooting. Getting the camera set up should be my main attention point.

    But I hope you will enjoy these.

    https://adobe.ly/3JQjn9K

    Reply
    • Elaine Miller

      One of my goals for this year is to think about my camera settings before I start shooting.

      Reply
      • Guido

        You read my mind.

        Reply
  241. Janet G

    I mainly concentrate on bird photography and flower photography. Here is the link to my top 12 bird photos.
    This year I was concentrating on birds in flight and also getting some attitude from the birds.
    https://lightroom.adobe.com/libraries

    Reply
  242. Neil deLeeuw

    another try at public linkhttps://adobe.ly/3q0dxuI

    Reply
  243. Neil deLeeuw

    Many good photographers posting images. I have few from 2021, used other years as well. Hope I can get them properly linked .https://adobe.ly/3FZwALn link is meant to be public. Hope its now correct

    Reply
  244. Neil deLeeuw

    Many good photographers posting images. I have few from 2021, used other years as well. Hope I can get them properly linked .https://adobe.ly/3FZwALn

    Reply
    • Patrick Cooney

      Nope, it’s still private

      Reply
  245. Guido

    I selected travel pictures, and going through the pictures for 2021, I have selected a set of pictures, so similar that you cannot guess which country these are from, unless you know the places.

    It is always very hard for me to decide what would be my portfolio pictures. I do not consider them as pieces of art, but I try to make them interesting and fun to look at.

    As I reduced my 2021 pictures into a single set, I bumped into two problems,

    I do a lot of people pictures, but these are faces, actions, personal activity. I know that these people do not want their picture like that on the web. So, that is 2/3ds out.

    I have like several domains that do not fit into a single portfolio. Think about doors, I love making pictures of striking doors. But they do not fit in with the rest, the colors are too different.

    At the end, I decided to limit to a single category, What strikes me as a tourist

    Reply
  246. Taiyo

    Well, I’m late to the first installment of the party … sorry, I’m fairly ignorant of getting photos into public view but think this may work.

    These are bird photos from my feeder and yard … I love watching them and their endless antics. Enjoy

    https://adobe.ly/3G4r36f

    Reply
  247. Skip Taylor

    Thanks, Matt K, for encouraging us to do the work on Monday’s assignment. Recently, I was privileged to participate in a shoot at Birds of Prey, in Awenda, SC. Of all the photos of last year I keep returning to those magnificent raptors at BOP.

    Another suggestion is to join a local photography club. We have a terrific one (KIPC) on Kiawah Island, SC. If you can’t find a club, consider starting one.

    Thanks for encouraging us with Fresh Start.

    Reply
  248. marc baumser

    Mostly I shoot whatever is in front of me. Everything but people. Some Nature/Wildlife, Landscape, My dog Diva, Action, Abstract.

    https://pbase.com/mbaumser/favorites

    Reply
  249. Ron Reynolds

    Ok So Matt shamed me about being late… but I had already started the process of cleaning / tagging / and further processing 2021 images in Lightroom. And then I needed to figure out Portfolio…

    In the past I to pictures, mostly of animals and landscapes when travelling. I transitioned to (mostly) birds because of restrictions. I’ve tried to pick about 20 that are may be interesting to the group; perhaps in the future it would make sense to make a larger collection available as well.

    https://rreynolds2021collection.myportfolio.com/

    Thanks in advance for any input
    Ron

    Reply
    • Bob

      I really enjoyed scrolling through your photos. What processing do you do to enhance the sharpness of your main subjects? (Or would that be asking the recipe for a secret sauce …)

      Reply
      • Ron Reynolds

        Thanks for your comments. I guess there are a few things. Certainly good glass – most of those were shot with a Sony 100 – 400. During the year, I used Sony’s 6600, A7iii, and the A1. The latter was better for BIF, although I did get pretty good results with all of them. The A1 lets me crop, though, without losing too much information. I think that the settings are important – if a bird is moving, I try to use 1 / 2000 shutter. With birds like kingfishers, it is pretty important. I do use Topaz deNoise on many shots. If you look at a shot before it looks ok; if you see an original and a processed image side by side, the cleanup of the noise (and some minor sharpening in the program) makes a big difference.

        Probably more stuff than you wanted….

        Reply
  250. Eugene E Stevens IV

    Thanks for the encouragement. I should be starting my retirement within 90 days (awaiting paperwork from the Army) and I plan to go through my early photos using the current tools which have improved vastly over the past 20 years when I started shooting digitally. I still use smugmug and my site’s URL is https://clarityphotos.smugmug.com .

    Reply
  251. Laurel Gail Klein

    https://adobe.ly/3JN79Pl

    I do a variety of photography, having done a lot of macro flower close-ups, I am not focusing on portraits and children and families. I shoot with a Nikon D850 and many types of lenses, several macros, a few Velvet Lensbabies and a Nikor 85mm 1.4.
    I lke to challenge myself, but struggle with finding time to do so, so this type of lesson will be good for me. Thank you Matt for offering this. I enjoy your classes.

    Reply
    • Skip Taylor

      Thanks, Matt K, for encouraging us to do the work on Monday’s assignment. Recently, I was privileged to participate in a shoot at Birds of Prey, in Awenda, SC. Of all the photos of last year I keep returning to those magnificent raptors at BOP.

      Reply
  252. C Vandenberg

    What is adobe.ly ???

    Thanks

    Reply
  253. GPN

    After watching the second video and realizing that perfection is holding me back – I am sharing photos taken at the Outer Banks this past Thanksgiving
    Thanks for the insights Matt

    https://adobe.ly/3EKBKcw

    Reply
  254. Randy Melton

    Hi Everyone,

    Well there are certainly photographers at every level here judging by all the wonderful submissions so far. Myself, I’m not quite at the top of my game as a pro yet and not a beginner. I credit this to living in what I consider to be a photographically challenged area for the type of photography I enjoy doing most which is landscape. No rocky coastlines or beautiful mountains or canyons.

    My time in these places is limited to the number of vacation days I have in a year and in those days, hopefully getting just the right light and conditions (which by the way rarely meet in the same place for me.)

    This will change for me beginning exactly 1 year from today as I will be retiring and traveling the country in my brand new 5th wheel with my wife all over the country (including Alaska). I will have so many more shooting days to perfect my craft and get it where I want it to be.

    Thanks in advance for taking a look at my favorite pictures. Not all were taken in 2021 but these represent most of my best work. Hope you enjoy.

    Randy

    https://topphotoguy89a8.myportfolio.com/work

    Reply
  255. Agnes De Brouwer

    I mainly do nature photography, but many different aspects, from landscape to macro, plants, insects, birds…
    This year I was more focused on water, drops, puddles, lakes, flowing water.
    The hardest thing in this assignment was limiting it to a maximum of 20 photos
    https://adobe.ly/3f2tn1q

    Reply
    • Jack Winter

      I love the birds & the bugs

      Reply
    • Jerri Lantz

      First of all I enjoyed looking at your photos and everyone else’s. May I ask a question? How did you share your photos? I noticed quite a few that were https://adpbe.ly links. I don’t know how to do this. I have Lightroom. THANY YOU!!

      Reply
      • Agnes De Brouwer

        Hoi Jerri, It was also the first time for me that I used this way, I just followed the step-by-step instructions in the video. And I have to say that I liked the method and the result of it, I think I will use it more often this year.

        Reply
        • Jerri Lantz

          Thank you so much! I was so sure I had watched the video but obviously I hadn’t watched it all the way through. I got mine posted today.

          Reply
  256. Fred Orkin

    Thanks for the (needed) encouragement to review & identify ‘my best’ images from 2021. I prefer to share locally & not post to ‘social [sic] media’ sites. However, the task encouraged me to ask colleagues in a local photo group to share ‘best of 2021’ for our February meeting. Thanks.

    Reply
  257. David Spillane

    Because of a medical condition and the Covid restrictions my 2021 photography was very limited – my best 5 images were taken close to home. Now recovering from surgery and looking to be more active in 2022 !!

    Images are at https://adobe.ly/3n1JuB2

    Reply
    • Marcy

      Apparently, I am all over the place with the types of photography. I find my surroundings challenging so I take everything when I can get out of here.
      Themes, Landscape, urban? buildings. lol, odd things.
      https://adobe.ly/3f3Sq4h

      Reply
  258. Eygene Malymeik

    After photographing for others for over 40 years, I now get the pleasure of just doing what I want! No more deadlines, no more bosses etc. I prefer landscapes, wildlife and occasional macro work. I am a retired military and corporate photographer.
    A sample of my photos from 2021:

    https://eugenemalymeik.smugmug.com/2021/

    Reply
    • Eugene Malymeik

      Wish there was a way to edit! Misspelled first name, Should be Eugene!!!

      Reply
  259. Wendy B

    This was so hard for me to share, especially after seeing some the the amazing photos already posted. I’m learning and will keep practicing to get better! https://adobe.ly/3eV9lpB

    Reply
    • Donna

      I love the eagle in flight image. Beautiful!

      Reply
  260. Diana L Dunlap

    https://dianadunlap.com/share-page/

    finally got thru the tech issues
    What I learned is that I need to fine tune how I store my work, how to make catagories
    Use the above link to see work

    Reply
  261. Pete M.

    Wow! That was hard but educational and enlightening. So many people have wonderful photos up here.
    I like to shoot sports, some moon shots and sunsets when I can and also some Christmas themed. I had a hard time with sports last year due to Covd but got out when I could. These are what I liked from last year. Some of them are more sentimental favorites then great photos, but thanks for the opportunity. I want to keep working on learning editing, and and continue to improve my photo skills.

    https://adobe.ly/3fdFzgh

    Reply
  262. Craig Weakley

    Here are my “greatest hits” from 2021. For me, 2020 was a “bummer” photography year due to the travel restrictions associated with the pandemic. But, in 2021, I was able to do some local travel (WA & OR) and that re-awakened my passion for shooting nature’s beauty!
    https://www.colorvisionworks.com/2021

    Reply
  263. Beverley Dawson

    Good Morning: Better late than never. Beautiful photo’s from everyone
    I have been a photographer for almost all of my life, it’s a passion. I love nature and wildlife.

    Reply
      • Gayle

        Beverley,
        For some reason your album shows up as private when I click on the link so it doesn’t open. One more step to make it public, I think.

        Reply
        • Beverley Dawson

          Thank you Gail. I will try again.

          Reply
      • Diana L Dunlap

        beautiful work, love the bright orange trees. Yes, the travel restrictions made life challenging

        Reply
  264. Charana Jayasuriya

    The images are a mixture of seascape images from the west coast of Sri Lanka and those created in my garden during the lockdown. Having previously focused on travel and street photography, these were my first attempts at coastal and seascape photography.

    https://adobe.ly/32MP4QV

    Reply
    • Law Hamilton

      Your captures of the skies are glorious! The perspectives on the boats are fun!

      Reply
      • Charana Jayasuriya

        Thank you, Law

        Reply
  265. Kevin Morrison

    A selection of some pictures from 2021 with a range of landscape and street photography. I like to explore and challenge myself to different styles, themes and environments. However, I often think i over-edit, so maybe this new ‘fresh start’ can guide me along. Looking forward to learning from other people’s experiences and sharing, and hope i can offer something too. Thanks Kevin

    https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjzxEuS

    Reply
  266. Karen Vohs

    I do a lot of outdoor and travel photography but within the last couple of years, I’ve really gotten into nighttime photography both stars and urban scenes. I still have a lot to learn but enjoy the challenge of composing in the dark. the majority of the photos were taken this year but several are from previous years. https://adobe.ly/335kkKz

    Reply
  267. Sarina Cook

    Thanks for the challenge, I do lots of photography and enjoy all types and also the post processing aspect. Love to try out new techniques and looks. Every genre holds its own unique things I enjoy and also challenges. Here’s my link:
    https://www.cookfamilyphotography.net/2021favorites

    Reply
    • CRAIG WEAKLEY

      Some gorgeous shots! Love the vivid colors!

      Reply
    • Linda Buckman

      Your images and edits are beautiful. Kudos

      Reply
  268. Sarina Cook

    Thanks for the challenge, I do lots of photography and enjoy all types and also the post processing aspect. Love to try out new techniques and looks. Every genre holds its own unique things I enjoy and also challenges.

    Reply
  269. Carol Sutcliffe

    I mainly enjoy shooting landscape and travel, or better yet combining the two. I learned a lot from Matt’s class on long exposure, and am pleased with the subsequent shot of the waterfall.
    https://adobe.ly/3rcJorF

    Reply
    • Sarina Cook

      The castle is cool. Jones Beach, haven’t been there in years!

      Reply
  270. Donna Miller

    Here’s my link. I look forward to this opportunity to get back to shooting.
    Great idea to look back at our photos.

    https://adobe.ly/3F2DWfw

    Reply
  271. Donna Miller

    Thank you Matt for offering these tutorials. I look forward to getting
    back to photography. Great idea to look at past photos. I have work to do.

    Reply
  272. Roger

    Here are my favorites from 2021. I found it really helpful to go through my catalog and pull them out.
    I didn’t travel anywhere so all the photos are local, mostly landscape or macro. Looking through them I think I want to try to do more people and action this year.

    https://adobe.ly/3f2bEao

    Reply
    • sarina cook

      nice capture of the dogs.

      Reply
  273. C Vandenberg

    As a photographer, I have lots of favorite images. I have recently wandered into the world of composites. textures, and creative graphic art (using photoshop and sometimes my images) and am liking many of those creations too. I have a hosted website.

    Reply
  274. Susan Ohama

    I don’t go out on a photo shoot with a particular type of image in mind. I capture a moment in time or interesting
    subject.

    https://adobe.ly/3HKtgEp

    Reply
    • Tim Dalton

      Really like the Museum shot. well done.

      Reply
  275. John Sweitzer

    I am just an amateur that is working to get better at photography. I enjoy seeing everyone’s work so many of you are so talented.https://adobe.ly/3qSdAIm

    Reply
    • Law Hamilton

      Wonderful work! Love your hummingbird shot!

      Reply
      • John Sweitzer

        Law Hamilton – thank you for your comments –

        Reply
  276. Bernie

    Still very much a learner, focusing on learning to envision images, and to plan how to accomplish those visions. Here’s a link to my ‘best of 2021’:

    https://adobe.ly/3zxKkud

    Reply
    • James Bruckman

      Doesn’t look like that to me! Very nice photos.

      Reply
    • sarina cook

      I enjoy bird photography also. I LOVE the heart swirl shot and the abstract of the water close up.

      Reply
    • Dennis

      Nice images.

      Reply
    • CRAIG WEAKLEY

      Yep – that heart swirl shot is unique and gorgeous!

      Reply
  277. Wim

    Hi all,

    I see a lot of wonderfull pictures and I prepared a small collection of old trains I like to photograph. I hope to improve my compositions this year

    https://wvdjagt.myportfolio.com/trains

    Reply
    • Tim Dalton

      Wim, really enjoyed wandering through your photos. Well done. Especially enjoyed the side engine shot with the extra parts. The tin can with hardware in it made it perfect.

      Reply
    • Dan

      I really enjoyed your train photos here. I particularly like the detail shots you have of the various sections and some closeups. Keep this up and you will have enough fort a book of photos before you know it.

      Reply
    • Donna Tiffin

      My good friend here in Saskatoon is also a Train freak. He’d love these photos. Well done

      Reply
    • Pete Meshanic

      These are really nice! I have a friend who does train photos too and ive really started enjoying that look. Nice Work, thanks for sharing

      Reply
  278. G.K.

    Hello all. I love looking at everyone’s work! I’ve never shared my photos in a group like this before (usually just Facebook). Fingers crossed that the link works.

    I like landscapes and (apparently… looking at the ones I put together) water. Also, many of these pix are taken (and processed) on my phone.

    Link:
    https://photos.app.goo.gl/B1oUcST7kGqU4nsi7

    Reply
  279. Vito L Tanzi

    I am so impressed by all the photos I am seeing. I really appreciate everyone sharing their favorites—-here are a few of my mine from 2021 from Italy, Iceland, Dubai, and Washington DC https://adobe.ly/3HAndC2

    Reply
    • Sherlynn

      Beautiful shots! Looks like you were lucky to travel last year. Love the owl shots.

      Reply
      • Vito L Tanzi

        Thank you so much–It was indeed very lucky.

        Reply
    • CRAIG WEAKLEY

      Spectacular action shot of the kayaker flying down the waterfall – well done!

      Reply
      • Vito

        Thank you so much–the day I took the photo I thought its 3 pm I am not going to take my camera with me. But my wife encouraged me to take it–when I saw the Kayaker I thought this guy is nuts–thankfully he was an expert. An important lesson for me was to always carry a camera.

        Reply
  280. Gloria Howard

    A little late getting these posted, but these are my favorite photos from 2021. I enjoy doing wildlife and some landscapes. I love the challenge of moving water and I’ve played around a couple of time with light painting. When looking at these photos, I realized that a lot of my favorites were because I have an emotional attachment to the photo itself, either because it was the first time I photographed that particular species or the action that was taking place. Will need to concentrate more on the technical aspect of things in 2022.
    https://adobe.ly/3qQCd8k

    Reply
    • Vito L Tanzi

      Wow some beautiful photos

      Reply
      • Niki

        love the final sunset. beautiful

        Reply
        • Gloria Howard

          Thank you Niki. I appreciate it

          Reply
      • Gloria Howard

        Thank you Vito. I appreciate your kind comment.

        Reply