Yesterday was the final day to vote for Thirty Days 2009.  After the votes were counted the following images were voted as the top three from the Thirty Days 2009 collection.

3rd Place: Day 2 – Sunset on Green Mountain

2nd Place: Day 9 – Watching Paint Dry

1st Place: Day 29 – Hannah

This morning four names were selected to win a matted print of one of the Thirty Days 2009 images.  The winners are Jeff K., Laura M, Liz D and Alex S.  Congratulations!

I know some of you have inquired about how to purchase a print of one of the photograph in this years series.  Now that the voting is over, the Thirty Days 2009 gallery is available where selected images are available to purchase.  You may also contact me directly, if there is a certain image you were interested in buying.

Thank you again for taking the time to vote.  It definitely has been helpful to see the images receiving the votes.

The images for the month of December have been picked from the daily posts and are now a part of the Along the Journey… gallery.

Along the Journey… is a collection of images taken with an iPhone during the normal course of the day.  Inspired from the work of Chase Jarvis and others it is a creative outlet to explore new ideas while using a mobile phone.  Editing of the photos is done “in camera” with an iPhone application keeping to the goal of creativity and composition.

Telephone Poles in the Snow

This image was taken while on Amtrak in October 2009, but was posted as a daily picture in December.  Photographing while traveling in a train was quite a challenge.  The key is to be aware of the lag time in your camera as well as what is approaching.  Seeing what is approaching may not be always the same as what is in front of you, but that adds to the challenge.

Railing in the Snow

December brought some snow to Denver early in the month.  With the warmer pavement the snow melted quickly, allowing for the contrast of white and dark to stand out especially when adjusting the contrast levels.

Colma BART Station

Using what was learned from the Amtrak trip in October, I applied this to a trip to the Bay Area.  Taking BART from the San Francisco airport, I explored some of the same techniques and the sense of motion.

Suitcase

At the airport everyone is waiting in line.  While getting breakfast, this suitcase stood in front of me in line (yes the owner was next to it).  Grabbing a picture of the suitcase on it’s own took a creative angle on my side.  But the goal of getting the suitcase in an open space was achieved.

Walking through the Airport

At the airport, everyone is in a state of movement.  While waiting for a flight at the end of November, I noticed that and from my chair tried to grab some of these images.  This idea of people of movement at the airport was inspired by a series of work done by Missoula photographer Bob McGowan.

Be sure to visit the Along the Journey… gallery to see work from prior months.

With the first full week of 2010 coming to an end, I figured it was time to pick some images from 2009 which summarized the year.  Instead of picking the top images, I picked five images taken in 2009 along with how they changed my style or approach when photographing.

Winter in Washington Park

On the first weekend of January 2009, some snowfall finally graced Denver.  Not knowing how much would fall, I planned to wake up early on Sunday morning to see the result and photograph around Denver.  When heading out that morning, in my mind I was thinking of the tree at Washington Park I had photographed on a May 1, 2008 (Snowy May Day).  Arriving before sunrise at the park, I took the similar photograph, but then decided to explore the subject some more with different angles in addition to what should be included in the frame.  The end result is the above image which now includes the boat house at the park.  While I went into the location with an idea of the subject, exploring new perspectives and challenging yourself in the field is important.  This approach was something I had always done in the field, but on this day it just hit home with the result.

Rocky Mountain News – Final Edition

On Friday February 27, 2009 the Rocky Mountain News published their final edition. The News had been a part of Denver for almost as long as Denver was a city and this final edition marked the end of an era. The final edition which I purchased was placed on the front porch to my house as this is how many people received the paper.  The idea for this image came to mind when I was walking back from the local convenience store where I purchased a few copies of the paper.  There were two reminders which came with this photograph.  The first is to think about how people see the subject you are photographing.  In the instance of the newspaper a front porch is where you would expect the paper to land and become a part of your day.  Sure there are the days it is in the grass, bushes or elsewhere but that isn’t a positive outlook of picking up the newspaper.  The second is to be aware of what is happening around you as you never know when a good photo opportunity may present itself.

Coors Field Seats

While at a Colorado Rockies game this fall with a large group, just before the game I noticed the sun starting to drop behind the stands on the 3rd base side of the stadium.  As this late afternoon light streamed through, the beverage holders near our seats started to pick up the light.  Pausing from a conversation witha  few others, I grabbed my iPhone and took the above image.  This image shows the importance of having a camera with you at all times even if it is a mobile phone, and is the basis of the Along the Journey… series.

East of Denver International Airport

During the month of November, I once again did the Thirty Days project.  Near the end of the month, I flew back to Denver from a Thanksgiving trip in Southern California.  Knowing that the my flight would land after midnight I thought about heading out to photograph at that time, depending on the weather.  Upon arriving at my car close to 2am, I thought about it and took a drive east of the airport to photograph.  I knew it would be cold, so I prepared myself as best I could in the conditions.  After spending about 45 minutes on the plains I headed home tired, but more so happy I pushed myself to use that opportunity to photograph.  It is easy to stay somewhere warm, but the images can not be created without pushing yourself.  In this instance I found my Day 30 image, but also have ideas to look into later this year.

Hannah’s Birthday at Disneyland

My niece turned five in 2009.  For her birthday, she was treated with a trip to Disneyland to see the princesses and fairies.  I decided to fly out for the occasion and join my sister’s family, as well as my parents who made the trip to Anaheim.  Of course there was no way I would not head there without a camera and during the day I took many images of Hannah enjoying herself at the park.  Capturing the moment is important but so is taking time out to enjoy the important moments in life as they will quickly pass.

There were many other pictures taken during the course of 2009, but I feel the above five highlight the year and serve as a reminder of why I photograph.

There is just a few days left to vote for Thirty Days 2009.  Let your voice be heard by selecting the three images you like best, and when you vote you will be entered to win a matted print of an image of your choice.  A couple of images are in the lead right now…  will your vote help them or make it a close call towards the end?

Day 2 - Sunset on Green Mountain

In photography as well as any business it is important to make a personal connection with a customer or prospect.  In these days it is so easy to just let be an ‘e’ contact as e-mail, twitter and the many other e-communication methods which exist at this time become a normal part of our lives.  One method which I use to connect to current customers as well as prospects is something which has been around for quite a while, a hand written note.

When visiting any local bookstore or card shop you will find the number of note cards they have on hand has been decreasing over the past few years.  In addition the cards on hand might not be what you would like to send.  One option you have is a custom note card from Neil Corman Photography which may use any image in the catalog.

Custom note cards are available in two sizes (4″ x 5.5″ and 5″ x 7″) and come in bundles of 25 with your choice of either a standard white or parchment envelope. The note cards are normally printed on an art watercolor paper as this provides the best result for the image, but there are additional paper options available. Additionally all custom note card orders include the opportunity to include your own custom text inside the card at no additional cost.

Let us know if you would like to discuss in more detail the pricing and options available for custom note cards and start making that personal contact with your current customers as well as those prospects you talk to in 2010.

There is just one more week left to vote for Thirty Days 2009.  Let your voice be heard by selecting the three images you like best, and when you vote you will be entered to win a matted print of an image of your choice.  Will it be Day 6 and Ringo, Day 15 at the Denver Arts Center, Day 28 at Mission Beach California, early in the morning on Day 30 in the fields east of the Denver International Airport or one of the other 26 images?

Denver Arts Center - Day 15

I would love to get your feedback for the images from the project in November 2009.

Earlier this week I posted on Picking a Personal Photography Project.  In that post I asked you to post some of the projects you are just starting or have planned for 2010.  I went through the feedback I received in the comments area of the post as well as through e-mail and picked some to post.  The projects listed below are quite interesting and I hope these inspire you with your goals in the new year.

• Alex Saunders is making a project of the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve in Southern Colorado. In September of 2009 he spent three days there and would like to get a solid group of 12 images for his portfolio.  This would encompass the dunes as well as the surrounding area.

• Marcy James has two projects she will be working on completing. The first is meandering through her murky watered futuristic place, no man’s land where she is thinking she will make artifacts found there. The second is finising her butte, america book to submit for blurb’s contest.

• Christopher Rice is in the early stages of planning for a photography project to document a portion of the Denver metro area.  This planning is to determine if the project is feasible and the scope he will encompass.

• Annie Florin, a children’s photographer in the Bay Area, is looking at two different projects.  While the first is in the planning stages at this time it is an interesting concept which brings together her local area as well as something in common with her focus of children’s photography.  She will also continue her Jack project featuring her son.

• I will build on my Winter in Washington Park image as I work to document the Denver area.  It is quite common to photograph the mountains in Colorado however the Denver area has it’s own beauty.  Covering the city in the different seasons will bring some challenges but also will highlight what the city has to offer.

I hope we will be able to check-in on some of these projects in the upcoming months.  Is there a project you are working on which you would like to share?