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Best Of Our 2010 Photos

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In looking at all the photos we took in 2010 there were a few that stood out because they were more interesting than most. These were the ones that, for the most part, had few technical defects: they are in focus, not motion-blurred, nor greatly underexposed or overexposed. Most have had no post-processing other than the few that were cropped slightly to improve their framing.

Photos that include people were only selected if the photo would be interesting even if you don't know any of the people portrayed in them.

The three pictures of flowers that begin the collection were taken directly in front of my parked car, at the base of a redwood tree, in the same space at work where I parked each day for several years. For a couple of weeks each spring these flowers bloomed there, and then were gone. This time I captured their images so I can continue to enjoy them.

There are two sets of pictures that relate to the auto-focus feature of my camera. The last image in the birthday party series demonstrates quite clearly that auto-focus looks at the center of the frame, and works by looking for sharp edges with good contrast and adjusting the focus to optimize those sharp edges. But the other interesting thing about focus in that image requires the other birthday images to demonstrate.

The second set of images relating to auto-focus is the birds at the Applegate Park Zoo. Our photographer that day seems to have had the misfortune of being both too close to and too far away from the fences. We've got some great pictures of fences, but the hope was for images of the animals that live beyond them. This is partially my fault: I've trained the folks who use my camera to leave the LCD display turned off and to frame their shots using only the optical viewfinder. (Yes, I'm cheap! I'm trying to extend the battery life.) If we had used the display we might have noticed the auto-focus problem and moved closer to the fence or further from it so the camera could focus on what we were focussed on.

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What is the name for this flowering plant?

Date: 2010-02-26 07:40:47

Place: 1620 North Carpenter Road, Modesto, CA

Photographer: James Card

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What is the name for this flowering plant?

Date: 2010-02-26 07:41:30

Place: 1620 North Carpenter Road, Modesto, CA

Photographer: James Card

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What is the name for this flowering plant?

Date: 2010-02-26 07:42:05

Place: 1620 North Carpenter Road, Modesto, CA

Photographer: James Card

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One of the distinctive tables set for the Ladies Auxiliary Annual Tea

Date: 2010-02-27 10:33:08

Place: 893 Lander Avenue, Turlock, CA

Photographer: James Card

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Notice where the focus of attention is: everyone is looking at the birthday boy.

Date: 2010-07-07 13:29:42

Place: 865 Lander Avenue, Turlock, CA

Photographer: James Card

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Now everyone's attention is somewhere out of the frame.

Date: 2010-07-07 13:30:06

Place: 865 Lander Avenue, Turlock, CA

Photographer: James Cardx

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It was apparently funny, but...

Date: 2010-07-07 13:30:21

Place: 865 Lander Avenue, Turlock, CA

Photographer: James Card

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... where is the focus now?

Date: 2010-02-07 13:15:58

Place: 865 Lander Avenue, Turlock, CA

Photographer: Carol Card

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California's state flower, a golden poppy.

Date: 2010-04-17 13:48:31

Place: Adobe Springs, Stanislaus County, CA 🌎 geo:37.40850111571326,-121.4091702446624

Photographer: James Card

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Date: 2010-05-06 11:49:27

Place: Golden Gate National Cemetery

Photographer: James Card

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Date: 2010-06-04 11:18:48

Place: Applegate Park Zoo, Merced, CA

Photographer: Noah Card

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Date: 2010-06-04 11:20:29

Place: Applegate Park Zoo, Merced, CA

Photographer: Kaylee Diandra

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Date: 2010-06-04 11:20:38

Place: Applegate Park Zoo, Merced, CA

Photographer: Noah Card

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My! what a lovely... fence?

Date: 2010-06-04 11:17:32

Place: Applegate Park Zoo, Merced, CA

Photographer: Noah Card

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Oh wait! I think there's a couple of... birds, yeah there's birds in there.

Date: 2010-06-04 11:18:05

Place: Applegate Park Zoo, Merced, CA

Photographer: Noah Card

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That's better, maybe this camera is OK after all.

Date: 2010-06-04 11:21:37

Place: Applegate Park Zoo, Merced, CA

Photographer: Noah Card

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When I first looked at this image I thought "what a pity it wasn't in full sunlight", but the more I look at it the more I think that its appeal to me lies in the subtle shades produced by the subdued lighting and the dramatic effect of the reflected light from below to the right.

Date: 2010-06-04 11:22:43

Place: Applegate Park Zoo, Merced, CA

Photographer: Noah Card

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Girl acting goofy. I selected this image because I was intrigued with the way the light reflected from the lettering on her shirt created a reddish tinge on her cheek.

Date: 2010-07-28 21:04:56

Place: Newman, CA

Photographer: Kaylee Diandra

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Cool dude. What caught my eye was the contrast between the bright sun in the parking area and the coolness of the shade under the shelter. The other strong element here is the converging angles created by the roofline and the edge of the parking area.

Date: 2010-07-31 15:24:48

Place: Hagaman Park

Photographer: Kaylee Diandra

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Chicken grill. Again, strong contrast between the sunlit areas and the shaded areas and interesting angles, plus this one has the added contrast between the harsh sunlight on the meat and the soft glow of the coals.

Date: 2010-07-31 15:16:48

Place: Hagaman Park

Photographer: James Card

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Date: 2010-08-08 15:26:49

Place: Golden Gate Bridge

Photographer: Carol Card

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This image served as my desktop wallpaper for several months. Selected because the solitary pensive figure seemed to match the overall mood of the misty overcast; also because, at first glance, I saw a surfer in the background, which, upon closer inspection appears to be a seagull in flight much closer to the camera.

Date: 2010-08-08 16:07:48

Place: Ocean Beach, San Francisco

Photographer: Carol Card

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OK, this may not be officially called "Welcome Park" but I can't find an official name for this tiny park at the northern entrance to the city. These two images were just interesting to me, I suppose for the nearly random patterns formed by the light/dark contrasts, and the overall warm tone of the images.

Date: 2010-09-04 09:36:15

Place: "Welcome Park", Newman, CA

Photographer: James Card

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Date: 2010-09-04 09:36:54

Place: "Welcome Park", Newman, CA

Photographer: James Card

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A lacy network against the sky: prickly cones, smooth bark, twisted branches and long needles.

Date: 2010-09-05 13:14:58

Place: Thomas G. Yancy Memorial Park, Newman, CA

Photographer: James Card

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What Is It?

Date: 2010-10-20 13:18:20

Place: Vancouver, WA

Photographer: Jamie Scudder

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Imagination at work.

Date: 2010-10-20 15:55:43

Place: Vancouver, WA

Photographer: Jamie Scudder

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