Tom Kelly Photo

Life in the Tube on Flickr.

It’s fun at the end of the year to look back at photographs that had a special meaning for me personally. No ranking this year, just sharing an image a day.

Carole and I had a wonderful experience at the London Olympics. We spent much time in the London Underground or Tube, which had a life and culture all its own.

On this particular day, I experimented by setting the camera on the handrail and blurring the walls. This English gentleman was an unwitting model for what was one of my most memorable images of the our time in London.

Enjoy this and other favorites of mine from 2012.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tkellyphoto/sets/72157632287598051/

Burning Treetops on Flickr.

I always look forward to the St. Mary’s Christmas in the Meadow Holiday Boutique as an opportunity to catch up with friends and share my landscape photography! It’s coming up this weekend, Nov. 17-18, at the St. Mary’s White Pine Canyon Church SR224 coming into Park City.

This year I’ll have over 75 unique images for sale in sizes ranging from notecards to large wall prints.

Burning Treetops is one of my favorites of the year, captured as the sun set on a blazing row of aspen along the Mirror Lake Highway. It’s one of many new prints that will be available for sale.

It’s the perfect spot for your holiday shopping where just $30 will buy you a framed, signed original print!

Here’s the details:

St. Mary’s Christmas in the Meadow Holiday Boutique
Sat. Nov. 17 - 9 am - 5 pm
Sun. Nov. 18 - 10 am - 3 pm

I look forward to visting with you!

Soldier Hollow Sheep Dog on Flickr.

The first time we went to the Soldier Hollow Classic years ago we had no idea what to expect. Sure, we had seen Babe. But this was the real deal. The intelligence of the border collies is mind boggling.

If you haven’t seen a sheep dog event, it goes like this. A border collie starts at the bottom of the hill, running up to greet five sheep. The sheep dog then leads the five sheep through a series of gates - in sequential order - before ultimately splitting the group into two (three and two), bringing them back together and into a pen. Whew, can’t imagine doing that myself.

In this photograph, the border collie has his sheep on the run, heading for the next gate near the bottom of the course, all in near perfect unison.

It’s a fun event to photograph. This image was made with a Nikon D300 using a 70-300mm lens. It’s part of an exciting sequence with the sheep dog hot in pursuit of a record time.

Parissienne Sunset on Flickr.

From the Arc de Triomphe you can see the spokes of a city fan out from the historic monument. In many ways, it is the heart of the city!

It had been a few grey, rainy days in Paris with little sign of the sun. It wasn’t much difference as I climbed the steps to the observation deck - hardly thinking I would find a sunset photograph waiting.

But as so often happens when the sun dips towards the horizon, the clouds lifted like a Broadway stage and the sun created an orange glow over the western edges of the great city of Paris.

My Nikon D300 had been the workhorse camera of this trip, fitted with a Nikkor 10-24mm. This photograph was made at ISO200, 1/40th at f9 - camera propped carefully outside the black metal fence on the edge of the monument.

It’s a photograph that, to me, represents the grandeur of this great city with neat streets pointing towards the Arc de Triomphe as the sun sets on yet another day in Paris.

Dead Heat on Flickr.

In my early days as a sports photojournalist, track and field was one of my favorite athletic events. It’s raw athleticism where the grimaces and energy isn’t cloaked by a jacket or a helmet.

The London 2012 Olympics brought me back to the track in a position to capture the energy and power of the women’s 100 meter hurdles gold medal final.

The race takes only seconds. The highly favored trio of Americans were in the lead. But then came nemesis Sally Pearson of Australia on the outside.

The photograph was made with a Nikon D300 with a Nikkor 70-300mm lens - ISO800, 1/250th at f5.6. It was the midway point of the race.

Look at the fierceness on the faces of Kellie Wells (bronze), Dawn Harper (silver) and Lolo Jones. Look at the calm focus of Sally Pearson.

This was the race for Olympic gold! This was the most intense athletic performance in each of these women’s careers. (c) 2012 Tom Kelly Photo

Via Flickr:
It’s still a dead heat just past the midway mark of the women’s 100 meter hurdles as Australia’s Sally Pearson makes her move to win gold (on left) against the American trio of Kellie Wells (bronze), Dawn Harper (silver) and Lolo Jones at the London 2012 Olympics. (c) 2012 Tom Kelly

The Tube - London 2012 on Flickr.

London’s Underground is a way of life, moving millions of passengers each day. During the London 2012 Olympics, the “Tube” played a vital role as businessmen, Olympic fans and Londoners all mixed on the escalators and stairs, platforms and trains.

As we descended into a tube station was struck by the motion all around me - passengers going down and up, placards advertising clothing or theatrical performances whizzing by almost in a blur.

Ahead of me was a gentleman going about his daily routine. I placed my Nikon D300 and Nikkor 10-24mm lens on the black hand belt and quickly set a time exposure that would hopefully capture the blurring placards and his thoughtful stare.

I made many wonderful photographs of the tube while in London. But this stood out as my favorite. (c) 2012 Tom Kelly Photo

Morning on the Seine on Flickr.

Our last morning in Paris and I hope to find just one more memorable photograph. In the pre-dawn hours I grabbed a Velib bicycle and cruised down along the Seine. It was much quieter than it had been just a few hours earlier.

It was not a brilliant morning. Grey clouds blocked much of the sun. But as I rode past the Pont de l’Archevêché and looked back at Notre Dame, I was struck with the pastels in the sky and just a glint of dawn light touching the cathedral.

I made a few initial photographs with the D300 and super wide Nikkor 10mm before switching to the D700 at about 24mm on the zoom. I propped the camera up as best I could on a railing for stability, with no tripod available.

It was okay, I though, and rode away.

Just a few days later I brought the image into Photoshop and saw just how wonderful the light had been. Beautiful pastel skies with grey morning clouds whisping over Paris. Very little direct light but the splash on the east side of the cathedral really helped to make the photograph work.

It was a great way to end a weekend in Paris, spending a morning on the Seine. (c) 2012 Tom Kelly

Mary D. Hume in Gold Beach on Flickr.

It couldn’t help but catch my eye as we drove over the Rogue River and into Gold Beach, Oregon. A ragged old ship - covered in green moss - anchored firmly in the sand. It was a photograph ready to happen.

The Mary D. Hume was built in 1881 by R.D. Hume for his Gold Beach cannery, christening it in honor of his wife, Mary. It served many owners through nearly a full century of seagoing before being retired in 1978.

Today, it rests silently in the Rogue River, anchored firmly in the beach and appearing in totality at low tide.

As a photographic object, there are few rivals. It’s brilliant color and near perfect angle for early morning sunlight make it a perfect model.

This image was made with a Nikon D-300, fitted with my favorite Nikkor 10-24 mm lens. And thanks for the clouds for making the perfect backdrop. (c) 2012 Tom Kelly Photo

Mary D. Hume was build in 1881 by R.D. Hume for his Cannery in Gold Beach. He named the ship after his wife. Over the years, different owners reconstructed it and it has been used for many purposes around Gold Beach on the Oregon Coast. Back in the 1970s it even had the title as the oldest serving commercial vessel.

When good old Mary D. Hume retired in 1978, they tried to make her into a museum ship with no luck.

Portland Farmer’s Market on Flickr.

Living in the Utah desert, we’re not accustomed to the breadth and scope of vegetables we found at the Portland Farmer’s Market in early June.

It was a rainy, dreary day as we walked through the stands on a mall at Portland State University. But amidst the gray, overcast haze that hung over the city, the vegetables spoke to us in vivid colors.

At first I made a few photographs just to record the scene. But I quickly found the vegetables to be engaging models, forming mysterious lines and radiating wonderful, full color.

These parsnips and carrots are just one of many photographs from the market, all handheld with a Nikon D-700 with a Nikkor 24-120 mm lens. (c) 2012 Tom Kelly Photo

Coquille River Lighthouse on Oregon Coast on Flickr.

The Coquille River Lighthouse stands silently along a weed covered sand dune jetty outside Bandon, Oregon on the Pacific Ocean coastline. Built in 1896, the 47 foot tower guided boats safely across the shallow beach at the mouth of the Coquille River up to 1939. It is the newest of the eight remaining lighthouses on the Oregon Coast and is on the National Register of Historic Places. (c) 2012 Tom Kelly