2012
Twelve Significant Photographs a Year: 2012
Ansel Adams once famously said “twelve significant photographs in any one year is a good crop.” I don’t know how many days Ansel spent in the field in a given year, but I do know this: the pace of nature photography has become much more hectic than in his days of 8×10 view cameras and glass plates. Forget every year—it seems these days we’re expected to make twelve significant photographs every trip.
Every now and then, however, it is a good idea to slow down and to take stock of where things are and where they are heading. There’s no better time than the end of a year to take a deep breath, and to critically assess the direction your creative eye is taking you. So before charging headlong into 2013, pause for a moment to review the photographs you made in 2012.
Letting Ansel be our guide, challenge yourself to pick your twelve favorites from 2012. Picking just twelve can be more challenging than you think. Even if you had a really good year, finding twelve of your images that really inspire you may prove difficult. We all have an initial rush of excitement when we first view a stunning new image on our camera’s LCD screen, or after it has been brought to life on the computer. But after you have stared at an image for several months, does it still move you the same way it did when you first saw it? Many images have short term wow factor, but few have sufficient depth to stand the test of time. If you find that you are picking mostly from your recent work, take a break and wait a few weeks before starting again. Let some of the “honeymoon” period wear off, and study your recent work critically before including it in your top twelve.
Now that you’ve picked your twelve favorite images, take a moment to explore what they say about you as an artist. Have you taken images for yourself? Or have you taken photographs that will sell well or give you acclaim on the Internet? Has your vision progressed from the previous year, or have you been in an artistic rut? Are you seeing more of the nuance and subtlety of nature, or have you been chasing epic moments? Are each of your photos different, or is a style emerging? There are no right or wrong answers, but honestly asking these questions is the key to artistic growth.
To be honest, I find the process of picking my twelve best images to be a difficult one. Great photographs don’t just fall from the sky—they require patience, hard work, and dedication. Even with significant time spent in the field, few images rise to the highest level. The process of building a quality portfolio is a long and arduous one, and there are no shortcuts along the way. It may take years for your work to speak with authority, but once it does, no one will ever fail to see your vision. Even then, you can never expect to complete your progression as an artist—it is a lifelong journey, rather than a destination.
So, maybe in the end, twelve significant photographs every year really isn’t such a bad number. The most important thing is that they are significant to you, are a product of your own vision, and represent your progression as an artist. As we enter the New Year, reflect on the lessons learned from the past, and strive to do even better than before.
As for me, I’m looking forward to the day when I can have a conversation with Ansel about his awkward number choice. Ten (instead of twelve) has the benefit of being a round number, and much easier to obtain!
Now that I’ve officially wrapped up my shooting for the year, I can share my twelve favorites from 2012. Here they are, in no particular order . . .
1. “Reaching for Light”—Gladden Spit and Silk Cayes Marine Reserve, Belize
2. “Lenga Dance”—Los Glaciares National Park, Patagonia, Argentina
3. “The Devil’s Eye”—Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, Lake Superior, Wisconsin, USA
4. “Ancient Portal”—Scotland, United Kingdom
5. “The Beast”—Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA
6. “Visual Flow”—Antelope Canyon, Arizona, USA
7. “Eventide”—Acadia National Park, Maine, USA
8. “Snorkeling”—Gladden Spit and Silk Cayes Marine Reserve, Belize
9. “Eilean Leòdhais”—Scotland, United Kingdom
10. “Into the West Away”—Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Arizona, USA
11. “Sunset Slumber”—Tambopata National Reserve, Peru
12. “Aurora’s Blush”—Torres del Paine National Park, Patagonia, Chile
To see more of my images from 2012, visit my Recent Work gallery (although soon I will purge the gallery, move the best stuff into my permanent galleries, and then start fresh for the new year). Good luck to everyone in 2013!
Ian Plant's photographs and instructional articles have appeared in a number of books, calendars, and magazines, including Outdoor Photographer and Popular Photography. Ian writes a regular blog column for Outdoor Photographer online, and he is the author of numerous instructional eBooks and digital processing tutorials. Ian leads several photo tours each year.
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Gorgeous Ian- I’ve been critically working on a personal 11 best of 2012 myself- yours are distinctly more colorful then mine. Have great year ahead Bub and stay safe out there. And you know, really when I think about it- I’d be perfectly happy with just one outstanding image a year- quality over quantity and all, but I still try for more- Huzzah!~ See ya!
Hi Nate, thanks for the kind words! And you’re 100% correct – even one outstanding image a year is what it is all about. Good luck in 2013!
I think the saturation on some of these is a little too high for my taste. I am not sure I have ever seen Scotland that saturated in real life
It’s all about shooting in the right light. I do a lot of shooting at sunrise/sunset and during twilight, when the colors can be warm, colorful, and even otherwordly at times. Not just any old sunset will do; rather, I wait in particular for the ones where much of the sky lights up, which reflects a lot of light onto the landscape. The “Eventide” shot above is a perfect example: a lot of people think the colors were added in processing, but they weren’t – the whole sky lit up and the amount of red light reflected onto the scene was intense, so intense I actually backed off on the saturation. Regarding processing, I process my images to replicate the look of color slide film, which I used for many years before switching to digital — adding some contrast and a bit of underexposure during the processing phase can really bring out the colors. It’s certainly not for everyone – to each their own.
What an amazing year for you Ian, my personal favorite is “Ancient Portal”, I really love it, I would say it is the best seascape of 2012. All the best for 2013. — Cheers Chad
Thanks for the kind words Chad – cheers to you as well, good luck in 2013!
Amazing Work !!
Thanks Ian, for sharing your love of photography and nature
Looking forward to seeing what the coming year brings for your work
All The Best For 2013 !!
Thank you Dayna!
Thanks for the wise and encouraging words, so eloquently said. I try to constantly ask myself those same questions:
“Have you taken images for yourself? Or have you taken photographs that will sell well or give you acclaim on the Internet? Has your vision progressed from the previous year, or have you been in an artistic rut? Are you seeing more of the nuance and subtlety of nature, or have you been chasing epic moments? Are each of your photos different, or is a style emerging? There are no right or wrong answers, but honestly asking these questions is the key to artistic growth.”
My favorite from you is probably #1 “Chasing the Light”, because it exemplifies skill across the important factors I think there are in photography: a) proficiency – capturing harshly dynamic light with just the right amount of detail b) creativity – just a tough, crowded place to compose (it seems to me) and c) tenacity – just finding new places (countries, natural sites) to explore that isn’t trodden with many others’ steps.
Looking forward to more inspirational work from you in ’13!
Navin
Thanks Navin – good luck in 2013!
Timely article, Ian. I think twelve print worthy images a year is an excellent goal. Quality over quantity.
Happy shooting in 2013!
Really digging’ your blog and recent post. I really enjoy all your photos but I really like “Into the West Away” maybe because I’m a little biased and love the southwest
When are you going to have some new Valley of Fire images? I can’t tell you how much I anticipate seeing southwest and Valley of Fire images from you.
Hi Van, thanks, always a pleasure to hear from you. Not sure when I’ll be back to the Southwest or Valley of Fire. VoF is one of my favorite places, I can’t wait to get back there, just don’t know when it is going to happen.
This is truly amazing work, Ian. Congrats! I’m following several landscape photogs on the web, but your output is uniquely inspiring, and I’ve learned a lot from you — although my own photography is still nowhere near the level of yours, of course. Again, congratulations on this wonderful work, and best of luck for 2013!
Hi Dennis, thanks for the kind words, good luck in 2013!
Hi, Ian – what an inspiring group of photos. I’m with Ansel on the number 12 – an average of one per month. A nice goal to aim for. I am thankful that I had the opportunity to get to know you this year … to learn from you, shoot with you, and laugh with you. I hope to review my 2012 photos in the coming week and see which are my favorites and which I can learn from. I would also like to go back and reprocess some using the techniques I learned from you and Joe Rossbach both at the workshop and from your books and videos. Happy New Year!
actually having a hard time coming to terms w/how one person can get that many images of that quality in one year.
do what you will, but i cast my vote for keeping the 2012 gallery around *somewhere*!
Thanks very much for the blog, ebooks and videos – they have all been very inspiring and/or helpful!
Beautiful work Ian. Even though I’m not a wildlife shooter, I can’t help but be super impressed by The Beast, perhaps because of the resemblance to my former wife! Out of the bunch, I would have to say Visual Flow is my fave, but all are inspirational. Great work man.
i guess choosing the best 12 images out of your other images is a vey tough decision because i really like all of them. happy new year to you. i am looking forward to 2013 to see more of your work. thanks for a great year.
jonathan
Hi Ian. What a wonderful and inspiring collection of images. #6 visual flow is my absolute favorite. I also really like #3 the devil’s eye and #12 Aurora’s Blush. You have a slightly different image like #12 that I saw for the first time on 500px and it is one of my all time favorite images. You do a magnificent job of capturing both amazing light and pleasing compositions.
For me this was a very exciting year in photography. It was the first year that I was able to turn a visualized concept into reality. I started putting together my favorite 12 images of 2012 (inspired by your post) and found that there is really just one image that stands out, while a number of others that I captured are good, but not great. I also noticed that I started paying too much attention to taking the same images as everyone else rather than finding my own voice. Therefore, my goal in 2013 will be to find my own style.
Thanks for you post and good luck in 2013.
MAN Ian these are nice! I hadn’t seen The Beast before and it is awesome! Same with Ancient Portal and Devil’s Eye, really incredible shots those three especially.
Great work, Ian. We haven’t e-met yet, but I liked your post on blending, have heard of you and am impressed with your images here. As you may know my father was a student and teaching associate of Ansel Adams and was known for his Glen Canyon photography before Lake Powell. His “Cathedral In The Desert,” American Photo named one of the top 100 images of the 20th Century. You certainly measure up with your amazing photo of Glen Canyon though. It is nice to see some of the current pros doing great work in there as the canyons emerge out of their underwater darkness. My other favorite is the last one with the different viewpoint from what I’ve seen of that range and the incredible light you captured there.
Hi David, you and your father are well known to us here, so glad you stopped by. I guess we can consider this our official “e-meeting” – though I’m a bit old fashioned and would prefer a real meeting at some point! Thanks for the very kind words, you’re always welcome to stop by here, and hopefully our paths will cross in the real world at some point. I only spent a week kayaking on Lake Powell, but I hope to go back soon with more time to explore Glen Canyon – what an enchanting place. Happy New Year!
Hello Ian,
My name is Stanny Lawalata and just to saw your pictures when the facebook offered me to “Like” your page and then oooohhh…I like it all your pictures.
I’m an ordinary woman, but I like pictures (only enjoyed).
You have WONDERFUL pictures….and woww..BEAUTIFUL all your pictures.
I will permission to you, if you don’t mind..someday I will put one of your pictures in my cover facebook..
may I?…I like changes my cover facebook.
By the way, what kind of animal the picture from the “Beast” is?….BISON/BUFFALO?
I live in Indonesia, hope someday you can come to my country..we have wonderful nature and culture, with your expert experienced as a photographer…you will be happy to make pictures.
Ok, thank you Ian for your nice lovely pictures, I’m very enjoyed it!
Regards,
Stanny Lawalata