I launched this blog just after Christmas five years ago with the intention of seeing where it went over the course of the next year. When that year was up, I felt moved not only to keep on going, but to compile a Holiday Photo Gallery that would highlight the work of photographers in the Flickr world who had done so much to enliven these pages and assist in exploring the themes and questions I had been posing to myself and to the readers who had joined me in this venture.
That initial Photo Gallery, meant as a one-and-done at the time, begat a second, to which I appended the word “Annual” in order to commit myself to taking a bit of time at this time-squeezed juncture of the year to pause, to marvel, to exclaim, always involuntarily, “Wow, look at that! Amazing!”
And “amazing” is what these photographs are again, in my estimation, all in their own way, just as the four previous iterations in this collection have been. And having taken far less than a thousand words to introduce them, I will now turn this space over to the photographers to tell their own stories, in the pictures worth thousands and thousands more.
So Merry Christmas, and every other form of celebration that moves you body and soul at this hallowed time of year.
My word(s)! Such an extraordinary pleasure this has been. Thank you!
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The joy of open spaces, by Trey Ratcliff
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Shorebirds meeting their alteregos, by Ingrid Taylar
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Seems like a miracle, and maybe it is…by Wendelin Jacober
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“We’ll get though this, too, I know we will,” by Bruno Casonato
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Go ahead, catch the sun, you can do it!…by Magdalena Roeseler
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Yes, but you’ll be inside, maybe with someone you love, and some whisky…by Annie Milroy Price
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Were we just wondering above about miracles? Yes, definitely a miracle…by Andreas Kay
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“I think this is going to be the start of a beautiful friendship,” by Shan Sheehan
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A black hole’s jets, the universe collapsing with a bang, not a whimper, by NASA
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Life, and loss, and work, and pain, and their hard-won wisdom, by Collin Key
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The little people of Bryce Canyon, silently bearing witness, by nrg_crisis
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Mother and child universal by Elizabeth Haslam
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And finally, a symphony, with a rather loud chorus, brought to you by John Fowler and a million of his friends, hoping to send you off happy and in ever present awe toward a new year…
http://www.facebook.com/TraversingBlog
Twitter: @AndrewHidas
Deep appreciation to the photographers! Unless otherwise stated, some rights reserved under Creative Commons licensing.
Elizabeth Haslam, whose photos (except for the books) grace the rotating banner at the top of this page, and also the bottom photo, “”Mother and Child.” https://www.flickr.com/photos/lizhaslam/
Library books photo at top of page by Larry Rose, Redlands, California, all rights reserved, contact: larry@rosefoto.com
Little girl running by Trey Ratcliff, Queenstown, New Zealand
https://www.flickr.com/photos/stuckincustoms/
Shorebirds by Ingrid Taylar, “Nomadic, West Coast, USA,” https://www.flickr.com/photos/taylar/
Eye by Wendelin Jacober, Lucerne, Switzerland
https://www.flickr.com/photos/wendelinjacober/with/33404538604/
Chimp lovers by Bruno Casonato, Niederrhein, Germany, https://www.flickr.com/photos/derpunk/
Beach leap by Magdalena Roeseler, Switzerland, https://www.flickr.com/photos/magdalenaroeseler/
Snow camping by Annie Milroy Price, Asheville, North Carolina
https://www.instagram.com/birdseyebiz/
Tree frog by Andreas Kay, Puyo, Ecuador, https://www.flickr.com/photos/andreaskay/
Puppy love by Shan Sheehan, Subic Bay, https://www.flickr.com/photos/47217301@N06/
Black hole jets by NASA Goddard Space Science Center, Greenbelt, Maryland
https://www.flickr.com/photos/gsfc/
Elderly Ngada (Indonesian) man by Collin Key, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany
https://www.flickr.com/photos/collin_key/
Bryce Canyon by nrg_crisis, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, https://www.flickr.com/photos/nrg_crisis/
Snow geese migration video by John Fowler, Placitas, New Mexico
https://www.flickr.com/photos/snowpeak/
Many thanks for another year of beautiful imagery, thought-provoking discourse, and the opportunity to reflect and engage on worthy issues.
Sorely needed in this world of ours, and greatly appreciated!!
So glad to have you along, Angela. I strongly suspect the world won’t be giving us any less material to ponder in 2018…
Great images! Especially love the “Universe collapsing with a bang not a whimper”!! I also echo Angela’s appreciations – your blog is a regular lens I go to in an attempt to make some sort of sense of this life of ours! Here’s to continued pondering in 2018!
Kevin, I daresay we will remain here in the ponderer’s chair just as long as the gods will put up with us. Thanks for pulling up your own stool alongside now and again!