Top 20 Photos from 2020

“Photography is an art of observation.  It’s about finding something interesting in an ordinary place.” says Elliott Erwitt.  As an award-winning professional photographer, Erwitt is known for his candid photos in everyday settings.  He goes on to say “I’ve found it has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them.”  If there was ever a time to seek interest in the ordinary, it was this past year.  The many challenges and limitations of 2020 kept us at home for months and months.
2020 was indeed a year of finding interest and joy in the ordinary.  This became apparent as I reviewed my 2020 photos for this post.  The vast majority of my photos were taken close to home—in the everyday setting of our place on beautiful Lake Oconee.  Today I share my top 20 personal favorites from 2020—shown in no particular order.  Please note this is a photo-rich post so, depending on your internet access, it could take a little time to load.
We had lots of time to garden this past year.  The resulting flowers provided countless moments of beauty.  Pictured below is  a cluster of yellow bearded irises surrounding a bird bath in the morning sunshine.

I don’t know if it’s the gorgeous shades of purple or the graceful rounded forms but I love this simple photo of a purple hydrangea blossom.

The early morning dew looks like perfectly placed jewels on the leaf of a strawberry plant.

As the plants and flowers flourished, birds and insects were drawn in.  Here a carpenter bee enjoys the harvest inside the graceful curve of a cosmos bloom.

Judging from the number of shots I took of butterflies, I could dub 2020 as “My Year of the Butterfly”.  The sunlight shining through the wings of this Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus) makes this shot stand out.

Once I started studying butterflies, dragonflies also caught my eye.  This is a Blue Dasher (Pachydiplax longipennis).

Apparently, what looks like a photo opportunity to me, looks like a meal to the birds.  Here a splendid male Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis) delivers lunch to his little ones.

This Prothonotary Warbler (Protonotaria citrea) allowed me to get surprisingly close while preparing its nest.

On the other hand, I had to admire this family of Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) from a distance.  Here the father fish hawk delivers a fish to the mother and chick.

I spent several hours watching the osprey and was delighted to witness the chick learning to fly.  This was one of its early attempts to get airborne.

Domesticated birds are also fun to watch.  Here’s a rock star Polish rooster from the free-range chicken flock at a nearby farm.
Timing, as they say, is everything.  I couldn’t have asked for better timing when I spotted this rooster leaving the hen house.
Timing was also an important factor in this next photo.  The rainbow is beautiful but, for me, it’s the magical lighting on the clouds that makes this shot.

The eerie scene pictured below is a pecan orchard shrouded by early morning fog.

A considerable number of my photos are taken specifically for the blog.  I always enjoy the challenge of turning a project idea into the reality of a photo.  Sometimes the ideas don’t quite work—often it takes several tries.  Occasionally, I get a shot that becomes memorable on its own.  A few of my favorite project photos follow.
This shot for the post, Announcing the Floral World Tour Collection, highlights the charming lines of our curvy café chairs.
I made the below trio of sailboats for the post, Sunrise Breakfast Picnic, and was so pleased with the results that I followed up with a tutorial in A Landlubber’s Toy Sailboat – DIY Tutorial.
The boating fun continued with the post Falling Leaves and Floating Boats and the tutorial Simple Folded Boat – DIY Tutorial.

Like everyone else, our wings were clipped in 2020 and travel was seriously curtailed.  My husband and I did, however, manage to go to Eastern Canada to see close family members.  It was a long drive—stopping only to sleep in hotels with rigorous COVID-19 procedures.  We went directly into strict quarantine at our destination.  We were only able to venture out after 14 days of isolation and negative COVID-19 test results.  But it was worth the effort and worry to see our dear ones.
The beauty of fall in the Canadian Maritimes was a bonus.  This shot, taken in Eastern Margaree, Nova Scotia, showcases the vibrant colors of the autumn leaves. A post of favorite photos wouldn’t be complete without a sunrise or sunset—so I have one of each.  This is first light at Crowbush Cove on Prince Edward Island.
This is the St Andrews North Point Lighthouse at sunset in St Andrews New Brunswick.

More Info

About half of the photos in today’s post are being shared for the first time, the other half have been shared in previous posts.  In addition to the posts already mentioned, you can see more in the following:
. Our Garden Prepares to Leap
. Chasing Butterflies
. 15 Bird Photography Tips Starring the Osprey
. Crowing and Clucking in the Barnyard
. In Pursuit of Sea Glass
. Beacons of Light
You may also enjoy my Top 19 Photos from 2019.

Today’s Takeaways

“Photography is an art of observation.  It’s about finding something interesting in an ordinary place… I’ve found it has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them.”  Elliott Erwitt