The Best of 2010 : January

I wasn't sure about this one when I first took it. I didn't like that the bird wasn't centered in the frame. But, the more that I looked at it, the more I liked the empty expanse in contrast to the delicateness of its wing. Considering how high and fast it was going, it's not too bad.

The official 4-Year portrait.

We always see lots of fishing boats off the coast. This day was gray and cold and all of the boats had their lights on. I have no idea how far off shore they actually are. Out on the horizon line is all I can tell. I really never thought this would work, but it did. I'm blowing it up for the wall.

I never ask anyone to smile, not even kids. Parents do. All the time. "Come on. Smile!" This is exactly why I don't. The quiet expressions can speak volumes.

As I was setting this up, someone saw me. Turning bottles so the labels were all facing the same direction. Lining them up just so. "Hey, you guys. Look at what Lisa's doing." "Stop!" I told them. "Don't watch me!" They all laughed and made fun of me for not wanting to "@!#* up the magic".....

He must have jumped off that log 100 times. My being able to capture his joy in doing so was just a bonus...

After I took this, I flipped that sand dollar over and took it again. Didn't look nearly as natural.

We went to a party and when I saw this woman's necklace, I knew I wanted to photograph it. The contrast of it against her skin and the line of her shirt was great. The slight raise of her hand made the picture. It was so much more interesting than the others where her hands were in her lap.

I honestly couldn't have told you whether J.D. Salinger was alive or dead, but when I heard of his death, I ran down to the bookshelf and grabbed my copy of his most famous work. I've had it since I was in high school. I used to carry it around in my purse and read it whenever I had to wait somewhere. I could open it up to any point and know exactly what was going on. It remains, to this day, the best book that I've ever read and my very favorite of all time.

A quick trip through Pike Place Market for a location scout. We were on our way back to the car, when I remembered I wanted to get a shot of the sign. I ran back to the corner and got this.