#1 - Accidental Art

It’s the end of the year and we all know that means one thing – Top Ten Lists.

In 2009, so far, I have taken 9,786 photos and as hard as it was to do I narrowed it down to my Top 10.

And they are:

#1 – Accidental Art

The truth is I don’t know why I love the photos I chose for the top ten.

The captions are half assed attempts to identify in words my reaction to them. I like them. The pictures touch me for any number of reasons. I’ve tried to share what the reason could be and yet the truth is I don’t know. Why do we like anything? What makes us react to an image? Your guess is as good as mine, no matter what the art critics say. I react to visuals very strongly and I’m blessed to have a great visual vocabulary (if only my verbal vocabulary was half as good). But what made this image number 1? This white flower captured in the gardens of the Cloisters its romantic, pretty, elegant, organic, abstract and precious. This picture stands out for me from all the others because it is perfectly not perfect.

#2 - Window

It’s the end of the year and we all know that means one thing – Top Ten Lists.

In 2009, so far, I have taken 9,786 photos and as hard as it was to do I narrowed it down to my Top 10.

And they are:

#2 – Window

I have a crazy amount of photos with silhouetted objects but this one of the ducks grabs me. I love the composition. I love the light and its potency up against the simple objects, it’s all elegant. Either that or I am craving home catalogs; I would like to think this would at least be in the Martha Stewart collection catalog.

#3 - Upsee Daisy

It’s the end of the year and we all know that means one thing – Top Ten Lists.

In 2009, so far, I have taken 9,786 photos and as hard as it was to do I narrowed it down to my Top 10.

And they are:

#3 – Upsee Daisy

This little boy makes me laugh but what I love about this picture is the hand under his head supporting him as he walks up the stairs. He actually was being taken inside for a “time out” because the excitement of Family Day was just too much for him, but even on the road to punishment he was still a character.

#4 - Andrew Henry's Treehouse

It’s the end of the year and we all know that means one thing – Top Ten Lists.

In 2009, so far, I have taken 9,786 photos and as hard as it was to do I narrowed it down to my Top 10.

And they are:

#4 - Andrew Henry's Treehouse

Every time I see this picture I have the desire to whistle the theme song from the Andy Griffith Show or read Andrew Henry’s Meadow it is the perfect back yard on the perfect summer day. You don’t need to be a kid to appreciate such a place.

#5 - I Want Them All

It’s the end of the year and we all know that means one thing – Top Ten Lists.

In 2009, so far, I have taken 9,786 photos and as hard as it was to do I narrowed it down to my Top 10.

And they are:

#5 - I Want Them All

The pictures I chose for the top ten are a reflection of me and this one is one of the most obvious examples. I love sending postcards. I find it fun to share with someone a place I have been or a work of art I’ve seen. Plus, I need the karma of sending out mail that is not a bill. This picture could be a picture of me browsing in a museum gift shop hopeful they made a card of the work I loved best. I certainly have lived this moment no wonder I liked the picture so much.

#6 - Play Time

It’s the end of the year and we all know that means one thing – Top Ten Lists.

In 2009, so far, I have taken 9,786 photos and as hard as it was to do I narrowed it down to my Top 10.

And they are:

#6 – Play Time

I love this photo because it is playful and sentimental with a historic twist – just like me. Plus I loved the way the old glass in the windows distorted the light. It seems like I could be a kid looking out my bedroom window in 1776.

#7 - Flower Explosion

It’s the end of the year and we all know that means one thing – Top Ten Lists.

In 2009, so far, I have taken 9,786 photos and as hard as it was to do I narrowed it down to my Top 10.

And they are:

#7 – Flower Explosion

I took many photos of flowers this year, but can you really ever have too many photos of flowers? The problem started when I had to choose from among them. This image made the cut easily because it stayed with me all year. I took with my phone and used it as my background for months. Every time I looked at it I’d see explosions of red, beauty and power. I see a solar landscape of color and passion. I see how flowers can communicate and that these talk to me every time.