My Best Pictures of 2019
4 January 2020
After seeing the Best Photos from 2019 project, I decided to edit down my favorites to the ones I consider my best artistic pictures of the year, rather than as interesting bird photographs.
So: here are the top six. I wanted to get it to five, but couldn't quite manage… A metanote: all but the hummingbird were taken in Manhattan. The great egret picture is from Morningside Park; the others are from Central Park. Most of the pictures are geotagged; for all of them, clicking through will get you a full resolution image.
THE mandarin duck
I have many pictures of Central Park's mandarin duck. This one is my favorite because of the lighting of the water.
January 11, 2019
1/250, f/7.1, ISO 800, 300.0 mm
Great blue heron
In the Lake in Central Park.
February 16, 2019
1/400, f/13.0, ISO 800, 700.0 mm
Great egret
I've taken many photos of the great egret in the pond in Morningside Park. The lighting makes this one special.
May 20, 2019
1/1600, f/5.6, ISO 640, 500.0 mm
Broad-tailed hummingbird (female)
A tremendous amount of luck went into this shot at Rocky Mountain National Park. Humming birds move very rapidly, of course, but the camera managed to be in focus. Also, the shutter speed was at 1/4000 of a second, which is why the wings are so sharp.
June 01, 2019
1/4000, f/5.6, ISO 800, 300.0 mm
Red-tailed hawk
The Loch in Central Park. I've taken many hawk pictures, but I love the background coloring here.
July 16, 2019
1/640, f/5.6, ISO 800, 380.0 mm
Red-bellied woodpecker
It hasn't even fully retracted its landing gear. (Central Park, northwest of the Reservoir.)
December 25, 2019
1/3200, f/5.6, ISO 1600, 500.0 mm
