Top Photos of 2019

The year 2019 started with a hit... with accompanying pain and disappointment. 

The year 2019 ended with another hit... with a sense of accomplishment.

January 4th, was walking on a sidewalk in Miami, on my way to South America to continue an interrupted motorcycle tour from ten years earlier, when a distracted SUV driver knocked me down. Instantly my long planning to resume my South America ride was terminated.
Months of recovery and therapy followed. 

By April I was once again thinking about which long distance motorcycle rides I could do in the States and on what sidecar rig. The Kawasaki I had built for South America was too slow and inadequate for the long distances of US touring. 

Sold the Kawasaki and bought this BMW - EZS touring rig.

Here it is in Globe, Arizona on the ride back to Texas from California, where I picked it up.

Comping from California, swung south thru Big Bend National Park. 

I like how this photo illustrates the heat and emptiness of Big Bend. 

The flagman stops everyone for unseen construction far ahead.

After riding the new rig to Coeur d'Alene Idaho for the national sidecar rally, I spent a month in northern New Mexico photographing Spanish adobe missions. 

The new Our Lady of Guadalupe Parrish in downtown Taos

The old St Francis de Assis Mission in Rancho de Taos

San José de Garcia Mission in Trampas, Nm

A pre-dawn moon set, Trampas, NM

Learned and practiced a little more with portrait photography this year. There are portraits and there are pictures of people. My thinking is, a portrait should capture an essence or feeling or personality of the person in the image. Not a standard snapshot of their face.

Here is Billy...  "The Real McCoy"

What you see is what he is. 

"Holly" 

Playful, full of zest, mother of three

First Nations Warrior

Pride in his heritage, calm, focused, concentrating yet a feeling of tension and energy.

Kootenai Maiden

Reserved, modest, beauty, mother of two

At year's end, I entered the following photograph in the Photography Club's Print of the Year competition with hundreds of other culled photographs.

2019 wrapped up with a final hit...

"Three Amigos" was awarded "Best of The Best" ribbon in the show 

by the three professional judges.

Looking forward to 2020 being about pushing my photography envelope, 

visit new places and revisit old favorites on the BMW motorcycle, 

looking toward the horizon, wondering what adventure awaits.

Hope your 2020 will bring you new adventures.

Let's go ride...the future is now.

CCjon