Best photo ever taken?

Demian · November 21, 2012

I'm guessing something like this has been asked before... but I couldn't find it.

I see a ton of you turn out incredible quality work week after week, and can't help but wonder... if that's your regular work, what's the best look like?

So I ask: If you had to choose a -single- best photo from all of your work, what would it be? I mean best in the most subjective way possible; it can mean what best represents your work, the rarest shot, something you're emotionally attached to, etc.

I hope you guys respond. I really wanna know

superduckz · November 26, 2012

Please don't take this the wrong way as I think it's a very fair question and conversation starter. My "best" photo is dependent on so many factors (like my mood at the moment) that likely matter only to me that it'd be difficult to communicate why I see it that way. Of course there are technical evaluations that can be made but even there... for example I'm really proud of how this came out "technically" and no small amount of luck was involved in the capture... but...

for reasons difficult to convey to a stranger, this next photo has a LOT of meaning for me in a way that defeats my ability to explain it. It's probably technically inferior to my first photo but is one of the few that I have on the wall of my den. I spent some significant time on getting it to print exactly the way I'd hoped.

Sorry... the best explanation I've read is from as this commenter over on "The Online Photographer"

Nicholas Condon: "There was a great moment for me about a year ago when I realized that I was the only audience for my photos that mattered. I don't need to worry about making money from my photos, so the enjoyment that I derive from making them is the only reward worth seeking. As it turns out, I enjoy making photos for myself far more than I did when I was thinking so much about the opinions of others. I doubt this makes me an artist, but it does make me a much more satisfied photographer."

when I read this I actually felt a bit liberated... for lack of a better word.

mercphoto · November 26, 2012

Possibly this one:

moose135 · November 26, 2012

Demian · November 27, 2012

Superduckz, are you talking about the softness in the second one? Personally, I wouldn't like it nearly as much if it was tack sharp. But as it stands, it's a beautiful picture.

superduckz · November 27, 2012

Thanks much Demian. Everyone has a few photo's that are more than the sum of their pixels and that's definitely one of mine. that sort of emotional connection to a moment/photograph makes it difficult for me to judge it on purely technical merit. And being a bit new to the craft it seems to be consistent with what I'm gradually discovering to be my "style". But the fact that it was taken at a very good "planets aligning" moment on what was a VERY happy day with my family and young daughter helping out etc... Well... it's as close to being a "spiritual" moment as this grumpy old nerd generally admits to.

Best photo ever taken?

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