My friend and colleague Jim Goldstein has posted a Best Photos of 2009 from 124 photographers that read his blog. Have a look, there is some really great work. In addition, I couldn’t create a post and not add a new image. I took this while testing a Canon 5D Mark II. What an amazing camera!

Parking Garage, Vail, Colorado © Jay Goodrich

Rattle Snake, Texas © Jay Goodrich

Here are 9 images of mine from 2009, posted right before the ninth day of 2010. They may not be award winners, but they all contain a congruent theme – a little bit of my year.

This year has been full of transition for me. My overall mission was really simple – to become a better photographer. What I did not realize was that the journey along the way was going become one of the best experiences of my life. I have a long background of design influences and education, but until this year really haven’t felt like I was able to capitalize on it. This rattlesnake image was that turning point for me. Simple and clean with a strong sense of line.

Red Fox Kits, Colorado © Jay Goodrich

We had a red fox den about 3 blocks from our home in Colorado this past spring. There were 5 kits. What I love about this image has absolutely nothing to do with the photograph itself. It reminds me of the day I took it. I brought my daughter Jade out there with me and she sat quietly right next to me experiencing this amazing evening, tripping the shutter whenever I whispered to her to do so.

Courthouse Towers, Arches National Park, Utah © Jay Goodrich

In April I drove over to Moab to shoot the sunset. This group of images became my testing ground for learning new HDR techniques. I learned more than I have ever thought possible in the past 12 months and this image was just the beginning.

Son and Wife 5-4-09 © Jay Goodrich

Then there was the beginning of May. I don’t think I need to explain this image. Just know it was the second happiest day of my life precluding the day my daughter was born.

Sunrise on the Hayden River, Yellowstone N.P., Wyoming © Jay Goodrich

Currently my favorite place on the planet. I know that is a pretty tall order, but Yellowstone captured my heart when I was 5 years old looking through albums of photos that my parents took there before I was even born. They have shots of grizzly bears licking the windshield of the car along the roadside. A time of our own naiveté, before we as a culture realized, that this was going to end badly for all of those included.  I got to travel here for my 45th time this past summer for a very special project that we will be unveiling in the coming months.

Private Residence Out Building from the Air © Jay Goodrich

I had existing clients hire me to shoot architecture aerials. So cool.

Private Residence, Colorado © Jay Goodrich

And new clients  give me the keys to projects with complete and total creative freedom.

The Secret Stash, Martha's Beach, Washington © Jay Goodrich

And then there is the beach that is 3 blocks from our Washington Home. My latest project. And hopefully a new book surfacing earlier next year.

Sunset behind the clouds, Martha's Beach, Washington © Jay Goodrich

An finally, my local beach again last week, a day before the new year. Putting all that new knowledge to work – a 4-image merge that looks exactly like the scene as I witnessed it. Shooting it with a fisheye to open the sky up, to express the fact that we should all dream big, the sky is indeed the limit, which is in fact no limit at all. Happy New Year, may yours be better than any before.