When you think about the year that just ended; what images come to your mind? For 25 (mostly) DMV photographers, the answers vary. Views from an airplane, monuments, murmurations, dramatic clouds, reflections and refraction, our city’s diversity, protests and celebrations, boxers, owls, pandas, and…wait! Is that Joni Mitchell? We were delighted with all of these answers and we hope that you are too.
Cheryle Alexander
Some of my favorite shots from 2022, because !?!, we were actually able to travel again!!!
Catching up on some much awaited travel, some international, and some back and forthing from the east coast to the west coast for time shared with loved ones! It is no wonder that the beautiful sites were right outside the window of a very exciting trip.
Christopher Buoscio
(Flickr; Website)
I saw this view that lined up the Washington Monument with the center of the Lincoln Memorial while on the Mt. Vernon Bike Trail. I liked the formality of the shapes and the non-traditional view of the structures.
A deep blue sunset settled over the White House while flocks of birds kept circling in the sky. I tried to capture the Secret Service officer on the roof silhouetted behind the dramatic clouds.
Maria Helena Carey
(IG: themadamemeow; Website)
Laurie Collins
(IG: dccitygirl)
Two of my favorite pictures of 2022 centered around the holidays and blossoms. We got an unexpected snow storm in March and I captured a murmuration of birds over the White House, both a surprise and both so magical.
Rodney D. Cunningham
(IG: @rodneydcunningham)
I’m an early riser, even on vacation. The beach in Myrtle Beach, SC faces east and the sunrises can be spectacular. I got up early while there and walked on the beach, with my camera just in case I saw something worth photographing. One morning, I saw this family.
I was in New York City Christmas weekend 2022 and decided to go an art gallery that I knew was open. In this picture is a piece of art and it is 100% reflective. Not only was looking at a piece of art, but I was looking at a piece of art that was created in such a way that you see it and whatever it reflects.
Joe Flood
(IG: joeflood; Website)
Will detour for clouds. I was riding my bike when I saw this massive thundercloud off to the east. I turned and rode to the Capitol, hoping that it would line up as perfectly as it did. Black and white highlights the drama of this ominous cloud.
The one thing I like about fall is the soft light. It reveals how beautiful DC is, like in this photo of Marine Corps Marathon runners in Rock Creek Park.
Aurelia Glenn
(IG: glennaurelia)
This photo is meaningful to me because it’s a rarely captured view of a playful mural that’s become Instagram-famous in DC. Taken from another DC institution, one of the ubiquitous alleys.
I’m impressed that a Bolivian-American dance troupe brought up the rear of the Independence Day parade on Barracks Row, as well as the general diversity of the event. It was America at a glance.
Shannon Heaton
(IG: nekosandpiper)
The image from Bass Harbor Lighthouse in Bar Harbor Maine was taken at night in the dark by climbing out on the rocky cliffside and using a giant rock as a tripod. It was not my brightest moment, but I got the shot.
The image from Presidents Heads park is of my friend @a.polaroidist from Halloween weekend. This is by no means my “best” shot of the year, but it is still one of my favorites for the absurdity of it.
Roland Johnson
(IG: millibenthic)
These candid portraits are two of my best from 2022…
Gloria Jones
(IG: glo.is.me)
In 2022, I continued capturing whatever caught my eye as I went about with my iPhone in hand, be it cherry blossoms in DC, sunflowers in Maryland, lighthouses in Maine or the Hollywood sign in LA. So it was really hard to choose my favorite photo that I took this year. I don’t know if it is because it was taken at the year’s end and the memories are most recent, but these two photos that I took in Mont Tremblant, Quebec last week are definitely two of my favorites of the year. The first one captures the beauty of the slopes.
The second captures the beauty of the village at the base of the mountain.
Kristine Jones
(IG: 3women4craft2market)
Marchers walked 500 miles in four weeks in a 2½-month demonstration, putting pressure on President Joe Biden to grant executive clemency and release Leonard Peltier after 46 years in prison.
Miki Jourdan
(IG: mikijourdan; Flickr)
The photos that really stuck with me from last year were the happiest and the saddest. This first one, from a Juneteenth celebration at Freedom Plaza, is filled with joy.
In this portrait, an Iranian woman mourns her brother, who was murdered by the Iranian government.
Rob Klug
(IG: osoikame)
Something which I treasure so much about living in Washington DC is the ability to experience the sights and sounds of city life and within minutes be able to immerse myself in the tranquility and solitude of nature. This first photo was taken downtown near the World War II Memorial where weekly demonstrations have been taking place in support of the resistance movement in Iran.
The second photo was taken only minutes away in Rock Creek Park. A sleepy Barred Owl settling in for a long nap.
Diane Krauthamer
(IG: diane.krauthamer; Twitter)
Icicles after a winter storm in Van Ness, DC…
Mike Landsman
(IG: landsman_photoworks)
One serious and one fun. The serious is from in February in Lafayette Park before the invasion of Ukraine. It is something that I follow daily to this day.
The fun is from the open house at Joint Base Andrew for the air show. Everyone assume the airshow position!
Stacey Lewis
(IG: itsmestaceyl)
This image, Land Of The Free?, is my favorite of 2022. Roe v. Wade had just been overturned, angry people were protesting everywhere and extremist politicians (in order to cater to their right-wing base), were discussing how to make even more intrusions into our private lives legal. It felt like more like the America of 1952 than 2022. As a nation, we were being dragged backwards and a small, vocal minority of fundamentalists was leading the pack. Our nation was trying to silence women and a lot of us felt like the lady in the photo below.
I made this image a few weeks before my mother died unexpectedly in November. I’m not usually attracted to landscapes at all (no patience), but something about the beautiful fall light, the way the setting sun beamed through the trees…it spoke to me at the time and now, this peaceful scene reminds me of her.
Angela N.
Here is Xiao Qi Ji’s enjoying cake and treats at his second birthday party!
Van Ngo
Picking one or two favorite images for a year end exercise is hard. So I went with a random date and file. The date was April 30th and the venue was the James E. Hooper House in the Old Goucher neighborhood of Baltimore. The background music and visual were premeditated for the performance called Hellbound. However, Azumi O E (pictured) and the others’ acts were all impromptu in a very cramped basement space. This snapshot is a contrast to the grim emotion earlier in the evening.
Kelly Paras
(IG: flipflopcaravan)
In January 2022, as the reflecting pool began to freeze during a snowstorm, patterns and swirls formed in patches of ice. Of the hundreds of times I’ve walked this stretch of the National Mall, I’ve never seen anything quite like this odd/awesome formation before!
This view of a midday stroll (from the vantage point of the roof of the Watergate building) makes me immediately think of Larry Tutt. Larry was a beloved DC institution, a constant presence of positivity on K Street for years. Known as the “Good Morning Man,” Larry had a kind word or message of encouragement for everyone who walked (or biked) by. Larry passed away on July 29.2022.
Victoria Pickering
(IG: @vpickering, Flickr)
I always find it interesting to watch Marine One take off from the White House.
The Kite Festival returned this year after the pandemic, and despite the skies becoming ominous, people were so happy to be there that they stayed through the storm.
Diriki Rice
(IG: thread_pitch. IG: diriki_rice_portraits_)
Both images are from a Boxing Showcase held on the Georgetown University campus. The headgear and the ancient structure reminded me of gladiators in the Colosseum, hence me titling the images “Gladiator Days”.
Russ Rumelt
(IG: llkoolwhip)
Here is local dancer Dani Moyer posing in front of the mural “LOVE” by local artist Lisa Marie Thalhammer located in DC’s Blagden Alley. I feel like it exemplifies the diversity, inclusiveness, and beauty of our city.
Rimma Tsyhichko
[Editor’s note: Rimma is a reader of this blog from Ukraine.]
(Viewbug profile)
The first photo was taken in spring in Truskavets, a small town and a famous resort in Western Ukraine. This is a landscape park which is especially beautiful in spring.
In the second photo there is Lviv, my favorite city in Ukraine and one of the most beautiful European cities that is famous for a special atmosphere and unique architecture.
Lisa A. Walker
(IG: shotsfromthedark)
Jeff Vincent
(IG: jeff.vers2.0; Flickr)
I just happened to see both of these subjects in the shortest, most random of glances. The first, which I call “Through the Looking Glass,” features a carousel horse seen through the window of a townhouse in Georgetown.
The second, “Bar Glasses Refracted,” features a Pride Flag filtered through drink glasses at a coffee shop in Arlington. Both make me smile.
Absolutely beautiful photos from such a variety of “artists with a lens”
Thanks so much!