Note: Thank you to everyone who left a kind comment on the original version of this post.  I lost all of the comments in a transition to this blog format but I appreciated all of them. One of the things I enjoy most about the end of the year is seeing “favorite images” lists from the photographers I follow. I always find it interesting to see where people have traveled and how their work has progressed. For me, 2011 was the first year I thought I had anything to share. I looked back at that group of photos yesterday and, at least from my perspective, saw quite a bit of progress in my own work. For the first time, I am able to look at some of my own photos and actually like what I see.

I attribute a lot of this progress to being able to spend significant time on photography this year, which has been incredibly fulfilling and a lot of fun. For the last few years, I have wanted to spend some extended time traveling with a focus on photography but just could not find a way to make it happen. In early 2012, that opportunity unexpectedly appeared when I started traveling a lot with Ron Coscorrosa. Ron, a very talented landscape photographer, is about a year and a half into a temporary retirement and for most of this year, I have had the good fortune to join him on nearly all of his trips.