Here we are on the last day of 2021.

This afternoon I sat down and started looking through the things that I created this last year. My focus for 2021 was to get back to what creates joy in my photography and for me that is flowers. Over my entire career, flowers are what inspires creativity in me and when I photograph a gorgeous bloom there is pure joy. A joy that bubbles up so intensely that I just can not wait to share with the world what I see through my camera. Sure, there are other things that I was hoping to focus on this year that I was unable to (like stationary) and the last quarter of the year I was unable to photograph flowers at all but I am very happy with the beauty I was able to capture and the journey the year has taken to get me to the mindset I have today.

These 10 images are my absolute favorite images of 2021. I obviously like photographing with crisp white backgrounds and lots of natural light but I also experimented with more dark and moody lighting with a more tonal black and white look. Those dark black and whites … I love them. I also had to add in a couple of images from out in the garden, one of which was in our new garden & the other from my mom’s garden.

I love the last day of the year. It marks the end and starts a beginning. The New Year always feels fresh and exciting for me. I feel like I can close the 2021 chapter and start a fresh new chapter for 2022. Wipe the slate clean of all the things that didn’t go to plan or didn’t happen at all and start again.