Top 100 Photos of 2012
I took a few thousand pictures in 2012. Some of the best ones I shared on this blog and Facebook, but most of them I couldn’t work into posts.
So, I went through all of them and selected my favorites. It turns out there’s more than 100, but who’s really counting, right? I categorized them by color and will feature the various sets in different posts over the next several days. This first post features blues. Eventually, I’ll work them into the Oklahoma Color Project where I pair my interest in street photography with my love of color.
50 Great Street Photographers
I love street photography. I was shooting in this genre before I even knew it had a name. Here’s a link to the 50 Greatest Street Photographers Right Now.
Nearly all of my pictures are of Oklahoma City subjects because this is where I live. If I lived in Tulsa or Chicago I’d be into street photography there.
I like honest, candid pictures. I frequently photograph urban renewal and urban blight, but lately, suburban decay has been calling me as well as gentrification. These are subjects I will pursue in 2013, as well as all my usual interests.
Irony, Isolation, Emotion
Like most street photographers, I like patterns and textures in my photos. And, like I explained here, I love to capture irony. If you’ve been following my blog over the last year, you know I like to document graffiti and signage throughout Oklahoma City. These are common subjects in street photography. So are silence and isolation. I am fond of these subjects, too, but I also look for the whole range of human emotion. It’s very difficult to capture candidly.
Risk and Sacrifice
Great street photography does not come without sacrifice. It requires constant preparedness; enormous time; risk-taking and a boldness that only comes after years of practice. To produce great stuff you must believe in the greatness of your city. But, you can’t shrink from its many sins either. Not if you’re going to be authentic.
When I take pictures I am not telling stories, I am only capturing them. They belong to someone else. I think it’s important to God that someone tell them. And, as it turns out a lot of people are whether they’re intentional about it or not. I’m just a pair of hands that transfers the image and makes it available to a wider audience. Whatever truth is revealed through pixels existed long before it was captured. These truths will live on long after my laptop crashes and my SD cards gives up the ghost.
Happy Pictures and Liars
I like happy pictures and pictures that uplift or entertain. I like to prove that life is beautiful. But, I can’t stand lies and liars, so I’m willing to photograph things that make people, including me, a little uneasy. These are the pictures I really need to share, but usually, I don’t. I am still learning to be honest and practice courage. I think 2013 will be my best year for street photography. I am no longer apologetic when I take pictures. And, I’m committed to sharing more of what I shoot on this blog in the coming year.
I hope you enjoy these blues and in the coming days, the reds, greens, yellows, whites, blacks, browns, pinks, purples, teals and multi-coloreds. Street photography is straight photography. My intention is to share realistic images of life. There is no manipulation, and in the rare instance there is, I will state it. Some of my pictures have been “auto-corrected.” A few I’ve destroyed by accidentally over-correcting them. This means they are saturated in color. I’ve shared a couple of these screw-ups because I love the pictures so much. The moral of this story is don’t delete your unedited files.
Finally, all of these images were shot with a camera that is now five years old. A Nikon D60. I have worn smooth the texture on the body, and when I hold it, I feel like I’m holding a dear companion, and sometimes, I feel like I’m walking with God.
Street Photography in Shades of Blue
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| Oklahoma City’s Vietnamese community remembers the Fall of Saigon. |
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| The Trivial Pursuits of Generation X. |
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| The staff of Liquid Fish, an Oklahoma City design and advertising firm. |
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| Jesus by FAME |
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| Sonic the Hedgehog Graffiti |
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| Thunder Graffiti Under Centennial Expressway |
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| Stations of the Cross Mural on SW 25th Street in Oklahoma City |
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| Chalk artist Bobby Marsee depicts the Venus de Milo in an OKC Thunder jersey. |
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| Rain on Balloons |
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| Plain People | Oklahoma City |
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| Day of the Dead in Blue |
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| Girls Gone Blue Fox |
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| Blue Shopping Carts |
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| Grocery Store Parking Lot Carnival | And Three Men Looking Up |
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| Grasshopper in a Jar |
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| Blue Swallow Motel | Tucumcari Tonite |
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| Chaps |
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| Ape in a Blanket |
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| Baby Backstroke |
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| Kaiser’s American Bistro |
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| Generation X Tonka |
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| Ralph’s Drug |
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| Devon Tower Under Construction |
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| Wendy’s Hamburgers Inflatable |
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| Quonset | NE OKC |
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| Adidas and Easter Eggs |
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| American Flag on Bungalow | Mesta Park, OKC |
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| Make Like A Grape |
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| “I’ve lived here for 40 years and nobody’s ever asked to take my picture.” |
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| THRE |
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| Blue Guitar |
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| Chemtrails Conspiracy |
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| Dun Dun. Dun Dun | Daniel’s Birthday Party, OKC |
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| Shadows and Graffiti on Trains |
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| Give My Love To Greece | From The Flags We Fly |
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| OKC Halloween Parade | Girl in Blue |
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| Miami Cheat | OKC Thunder Graffiti |
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| Storm Drain Graffiti |
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| The Cross at St. Patrick’s, OKC |
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| Wal-Mart Graffiti by Bubo |
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| Scissortail Bridge over I-40 |
Coming Up Next: WHITES
10 Responses to “Top 100 Photos of 2012”
[...] lovely Jennifer James of Are You There God? It’s Me Generation X is doing a series of posts highlighting some of the amazing photographs she took in 2012. Since there are so many of them, and she has an ongoing color project, she has [...]
[...] [Street Photography] [...]
I seem to get a lot of comments on that photo! They’re parked outside Toys R Us most days! Thanks, GW BILL!
Thanks, Alan. It’s hard to keep it real!
Thanks for always supporting me, Andi!
Fab pics… I love the ‘plain people’ in Oaklahoma shot… Makes you wonder where they were going, what happened to them…
My goodness these photos are just beyond amazing!
Great set of photos. I like the shopping carts very much.
What a year end treat!! Great pics, YOU are my favorite photographer (period). Keep it real in 2013!
Love, love, love! Can’t wait to see the rest!