Each year superb landscape photographer Jim M. Goldstein invites readers of his blog to take part in his best photos of the year project.  As you might have guessed from the name this project involves readers of his blog choosing their ten best photographs from the previous year.  I decided that this year I should take part too.

I found it incredibly difficult to pick just ten photos from the previous year as all of the photographs I have taken mean something special  to me, but ten is the limit so in the end it was just a case of being brutal and making the tough choices.

The photos I have chosen are in the gallery below (in no particular order) and each one links through to a corresponding Flickr page.  I am not going to provide descriptions for each of the photographs as I think that photographs should really stand up on their own without requiring descriptions.  That said, it is often  interesting to know more about a photograph’s location  information and technical data so all of that information is available via the individual Flickr pages if you are particularly interested in that stuff.

So after much deliberation here are my top ten choices from the year 2011.

Thank you for taking the time to look at my best of 2011 and I’m very much looking forward to seeing all of the work from the photographers involved in the project.

Wishing you the very best for 2012.

You may remember a few weeks ago when space shuttle Endeavour blasted off for the final time and the unique photograph captured by Stefanie Gordon who was in a commercial passenger plane at the time.  Well that photo isn’t quite as unique today as it once was as Ryan Graff has captured a very similar shot of the final mission for space shuttle Atlantis today.

Images © Ryan Graff/Twitpic

It’s interesting to note than these shots were taken with an iPhone 4.  It’s truly wonderful to live in an age where we all have the potential to capture remarkable shots as and when they occur thanks to the ever more capable little cameras in our pockets, travelling with us everywhere we go!  It may be a sad time for the future of space travel but it’s also a massively exciting time for photography.

You can read the full story behind these images including some comments from the photographer, Ryan Graff on the Huffington Post article linked below.

From: The Huffington Post

A fox looking for a little peace and quiet Poole, Dorset, UK.

View this image on Flickr

What does this mean to us as photographers? Well according to Lytro one of the main selling points will be that it will allow the photographer as well as users viewing the photograph at a later stage to adjust the focus point. It will also allow images to be displayed in 3D as well as 2D, also as this camera will be more heavily influenced by software rather than hardware it has the potential to allow radical changes when it comes to low light photography and camera/lens design compared to the traditional forms of photography that we all know and love.

Here are a few example shots, including the obligatory cat shot (there are lots more example on Lytro’s website). Click on the image to change the focus point:

You would certainly be forgiven for thinking that this is some kind of elaborate April Fool prank but from what I can gather so far this is in-fact a real camera.

I must admit that I do have some reservations about it at this stage, perhaps from a photographic purity perspective. It sounds like it will allow the photographer to be lazy and simply take a shot then worry about the composition and focus during the post processing, which strikes me as a negative thing. I guess we will have to wait and see but putting my fears for the craft aside I am always excited by new gadgets and developments in the industry and I can’t wait to get my hands on one to try it out for myself.

Lytro Picture Revolution

Source engadget.

There are some similar services already available (TinEye being the most notable) and while certainly useful, they don’t seem to find every instance of image use  from my personal experience.

This new functionality is gradually being rolled out and is currently available to users of the Google Chrome web browser.  When accessing Google Image Search the user will now see a camera icon and clicking on this allows the user to upload an image or provide an image URL and then search for the locations where that image is being used online, as well as for similar images. This is incredibly useful and easy to use from a photographer’s perspective and I think it has some really interesting potential.

Google Image Search screen shot

Google’s new functionality will no doubt be welcomed by photographers wishing to know if their images are being used online without permission. In fact the very first image I selected to test using this new functionality last night was being used commercially without permission and I more than likely would never have known about it.

Here is the official promotional video from Google:

I would like to see this functionality taken a step further and I think this is almost certainly going to be the case.  Imagine being able to feed Google your Flickr, 500px, PurePhoto or SmugMug streams and allowing it to automatically monitor the usage of your images, alerting you when sites using your images are discovered.

I for one can’t wait to see how this technology evolves.

Happy shooting.

This stunning photograph of space shuttle Endeavour docked with the International Space Station was taken by Russian astronaut Paolo Nespoli while departing the ISS in a capsule.  The photograph was taken on May 23rd, 2011  but has just been released by NASA along with over 30 more shots.

All images © NASA

The images are all absolutely incredible but considering that this was the final mission for space shuttle Endeavour I have a feeling that we’ll be seeing this particular shot appearing across all forms of media for many years to come!

Take a look at all of the 30+ high quality photographs on the NASA website.

A black and white shot of a 1932 Austin Swallow, taken at Beaulieu in Hampshire, UK.

View this image on Flickr

A delightfully retro styled travel shot taken at Beaulieu in Hampshire, UK.

View this image on Flickr

A red phonebox with a splash of post processing for a slightly unusual look.

All images © NASA

You can see the full set 30+ stunning photographs on The Atlantic website.

Happy shooting!