My favorite photos of 2015

In the past, I've tended to skew my year-end lists toward photos that I thought others may like -- or did like on social media.

This year I took a different tack: when reviewing I made in the past 12 months, I had one and only criteria: I picked the 10 that for whatever my reason were my personal favorites. I didn't worry about whether other people may like them or how accessible they may be to others.

If there's a tie that binds these images, it's this: I felt like I caught a good moment in each of the situations. A Special Olympian tracking a shuttlecock. A girl cooling off in the spray of a fire hose on the Fourth of July.  A singer reaching for the notes that would come next. A car on a lonely freeway onramp in eastern Oregon. Surfers swimming through a big wave.

In some ways, the past year was a transitional one for me as a photographer on two fronts. I was able to finally get a little bit of paid work. More importantly, I concentrated on taking photos of people, something I was previously reluctant to do -- and no good at. I'm still not really good, but I took some good steps in the right direction.

I've also spent a lot of time thinking about style -- if I had one, if I should have one, and how style may reflect my interests. Another thread that runs through many of the photos in this post: a lot of context. I often could have cropped some of these images tighter, but didn't.

Take, for example, the photo above of the figure skater. I shot hundreds of photos of a local competition that weekend and many of them feature skaters at their most graceful. But this one, I think, gets the essence of the sport: someone out there all alone being judged -- and, in the case above, being judged while no one else is much interested.

Of course, by tomorrow I may choose another 10 photos. In that spirit, after the jump I've posted some other photos from 2015 that I liked. Thanks for looking!




















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--S.H.

The above photos are ©Steve Hymon and may not be used elsewhere without my advanced written permission. All rights reserved.