The Ones I Like List of 2012 [The Best of the Rest]
Okay, I want to warn all of you that you may be in for a bit of a let down. I hope not, but it could happen. As we approach my #1 photo of the year on my The Ones I Like List of 2012, I will tell you that the photo wasn’t one of the Top 10 favorites in terms of likes on Facebook – not even Top 20 – but it’s one that I absolutely love, and I hope some of you will love it as well.
This was a difficult year for me when it came to choosing my ten photos. I’m particularly happy with the work that I did in 2012, and so many of my photos resonated with me on a deep level.
For that reason, and particularly this year, I want to share some of the “just misses” with you, five to be exact.
The photo December was processed only about a week ago. It was taken, however, on a rare snowy day in Houston a few years back. I find it difficult to add photos I’ve just processed to my year-end list because I feel like I might be influenced a bit by the recent-nature of the work. You know, it’s kind of like when you leave a movie and you say “best movie ever!” only to realize years later you said that about Tuff Turf. I fear the swirly twirlies I get from having just created something might get in the way of my better judgement. I think I love December, but only time will tell just how much.
The Wake was taken recently as well, in the past month or so. In Houston, we had a devastating drought in 2011. What that drought did to our beautiful parks, to the trees — it still hurts to think about it. But worse, it hurts to see it. This photo was taken at one of our major parks, Memorial Park, where crews have had to cut down thousands of dead trees. This is the wake left from that sad, but necessary destruction. I have a feeling this photo can go as high as my second favorite photo of 2012 in the future, but because of what I mentioned earlier — the potential for compromised judgement — today it just leads “the best of the rest.”
Another photo that would have been a strong contender if I hadn’t just processed it within the past two weeks – Fukasi Departs, taken in Lake Tahoe a number of years ago, but only processed this year (see Breathe for explanation). I can thank Greg Fallis for the title because he introduced me to the hauntingly beautiful work of Masahisa Fukasi, who he said this photo kinda sorta reminded him of. Fukasi passed away this year, so I thought the title was fitting.
By the way, Greg also wrote my bio for Image Conscious, who I struck an agreement with this year to publish a number of my photos as open-edition fine art posters. I’ve enjoyed all my communications with them so far, and I’m really happy to be one of their published artists.
Speaking of which, since I’m on the subject of licensing in 2012, I also licensed one of my photos to Papyrus, the greeting card company. I love the brand, and I used to work in a card shop when I was a teenager, so it registers high on the “cool” meter with me.
So, back to Fukasi Departs, I wish more of my photography could be like this.
Dawn was one of the first photos I took in the 2012-2013 fog season. It was our first real fog of autumn, and I was just driving down a feeder road, searching for a great tree, and I found this guy instead. I was hyper happy about it, and I think that memory of silly bliss probably factors a bit into my love of this photo.
©2012 Katya Horner (All Five Photos)
And finally – Maura. I don’t often include portraits or any kind of client work in my year-end lists because, by the very nature of the collaboration, I feel like the creativity isn’t entirely my own. That said, I love this photo of my friend’s daughter Maura so much that I decided to put it into the “best of the rest.”
And with that…thanks, everyone, for indulging my “the best of the rest” selections. Tomorrow, onward to #1!
