Athena Carey’s Best of 2016

Many photographers choose their best or favorite photos at the end of each year and while I see the appeal, I have a very difficult time doing it myself.

The problem is that I like them all, even the “not so great” photos because they all represent to me more than just their value as a visual image. They represent even more than the record of the locations and conditions. For me, each photo is a reminder of the journey I embarked upon to get there, the people I met along the way, the time I spent in each place, and the photographers I was fortunate enough to meet and share it all with. Unsurprisingly, I don’t delete a lot, and as such, I have several external hard drives.

To simplify the task, I decided to choose only workshop related images from 2016 – places where I either co-lead or scout for a workshop. By default, these locations are extra special to me. I spend a lot of time in each one both before and during the workshops and I get to share their unique beauty with other photographers.

In addition, I have narrowed the selection even further to include only color photos. For the past few years, I have pushed my boundaries outwards from my beloved monochrome palette into digital color. It has been an exciting, if difficult journey for me. It’s not over yet, but I’ll likely take a step back to the comfort of monochrome in 2017.

Here are my four favorite color workshop images from 2016. 🙂

The Copper Coast of Ireland

This is one of my favorite places in the world. I’ve never found another place quite like it. The views out to sea are rather Jurassic and the shooting locations are plentiful within a small area. I co-lead at least one workshop with Light Land and Sea in the Copper Coast each year and travel back regularly to shoot for myself as well.

Sunset over the Copper Coast of Ireland in April, 2016

The Outer Banks of North Carolina

The thin strip of land between the vast Atlantic Ocean and the inter coastal waterway of North Carolina is a special place. Thousands of people flock there every year to enjoy the invigorating power of the sea, the stunning sunrises on the Atlantic side and sunsets over the calm sound side waters. I’ve had the pleasure of co-leading several workshops with the M2C guys in the Outer Banks and hopefully many more to come.

The Frisco Fishing Pier on the Outer Banks of North Carolina at sunrise in July, 2016.

Charleston, South Carolina

This past year I was delighted to help lead the M2C Long Exposure Workshop in Charleston. I’ve a bit of a love affair with Botany Bay, which is included in the locations for this workshop, so it was tempting to choose on of those images, but instead I went with this serene sunset over Lake Moultrie. There is something very calming to me about a lone tree and a soft sunset.

A single tree in Lake Moultrie, at sunset in August, 2016.

County Kerry, Ireland

Kerry is one of the most loved tourist destinations in Ireland, visited by throngs of people every year. I’ve explored and shot it a several times in addition to co-leading a workshop there a few years ago. I wanted to bring this location back for 2017, so we scouted it this past October for a Light Land and Sea workshop this October. It’s always a treat to see the sun going down across the famous Skellig Islands, especially when they are nestled between these ominous cliff sides.

The Skellig Islands from the Irish mainland, October 2016.

These are some of my favorites, show me your favorite?