It’s hard to distill a year of photography into a small set of images. Over on my website for my Vancouver, WA photography I recapped five memorable images from a business standpoint but I wanted to take a broader look including personal work. As I look at 2011 I have some images that stand out purely from an artistic standpoint, but others that stand out because of a story that accompanies the photo. Here are ten images from 2011 in date order:

Fun in Seattle: Disco on the Sidewalk

I made several trips to Seattle in the springtime, while walking downtown one night I looked down and found some interesting lights that made a fun image.

Railroad Generations: National Train Day

As a photographer who has always had a “thing” for trains, being able to photograph National Train Day for Amtrak in May was an exciting assignment. In this image, restored Southern Pacific steam locomotive #4449 slowly moves into position at Portland’s Union Station as its headlight reflects off of an Amtrak Superliner car.

Embracing HDR: No Rocks Under Stone

In past years I’d toyed around with HDR processing a bit, but in 2011 I began using it seriously for some images. This was one of my first HDR photos this year, looking through a concrete-covered trail in the Columbia River Gorge. The structure was built to protect the walking and biking path from rock slides from an adjacent hillside.

Burning Awesome at the Sonoma County Hot Air Balloon Classic

This might be my favorite event photo of 2011; we see a crew member on a hot air balloon yell back to the ground just after liftoff as a big flame illuminates the scene.

Photogenic Old Stuff in the Bay Area, Part One

I made my first of two photographic journeys to the San Francisco area in August. The lighthouse and brickwork of Fort Point remind us of the past in which this establishment was a military post guarding the entrance to San Francisco Bay. An arch of the Golden Gate Bridge frames the top of the photo.

Cashing in on Mobile Photography

This image of a forest fire in central Oregon represents the first photo I’ve sold that was originally published via Instagram. You can read more about that story.

Photogenic Old Stuff in the Bay Area, Part Two

In October I returned to the Bay Area with a significant amount of time researching and photographing for my Alcatraz Book (hit that link for information or to purchase in print or ePub format for iBooks). Here I’m looking up to the ruins of the Warden’s house; the Alcatraz lighthouse stands intact and operational in the background

Occupying My Lens

Like photographers across the country I made images documenting the “Occupy” movement. Here’s a representative image from a demonstration in Portland’s Jamison Square.

Rick and Scott and the Portland Startup Scene

Portland has a thriving startup scene right now. I’ve photographed several public events and I’m currently in the midst of a personal project to document the first “class” of startups that are part of the Portland Incubator Experiment (PIE). In this image, Urban Airship CEO Scott Kveton (foreground) listens to a question while PIE General Manager Rick Turoczy observes.

WordPress Friends Sara and Chelsea

December found me at WordCamp Las Vegas where I got to hang out a bit with Sara and Chelsea, two great designers who work with WordPress. I’ve been attempting to make more impromptu portraits and I was quite pleased with this one.