2016 has come to a close.  It is now time to ring in 2017 with all the hope and expectation a new year brings!  Thank you for visiting Andy’s Travel Blog in 2016!  I figured it’d be a good time to go through my image archives and narrow it down to my 10 favorite images from 2016.  You’ve probably seen many of these before (maybe in one of my 5 Favorites series posts, for example) but maybe some will surprise you.  Some of them are travel related and a few aren’t, but I’m proud of each of them, not only for how they look visually but also from stories they represent.

Before we get into the images, I wanted to give you a soundtrack for this post (if it works), below is what I’ve decided will be my anthem for 2017, an amazing version of I Can See Clearly Now by a band called the Hothouse Flowers.  Hit play and then check out some awesome pictures!

1. Singapore Sunset

This image is awesome for many reasons, but I love how the dramatic sky so complements the dramatic architecture of the Singapore skyline, including the incredible Marina Bay Sands in the foreground.

2. The Old and the New of Hong Kong

This image was an immediate all-time favorite, capturing the old feel of Hong Kong against the dramatic and amazing skyline behind it.  Looking past the fact that the boat in the foreground, the Aqua Luna, is pretty much a booze cruise, the image is still dramatic and wonderful.

3. Black and White at Big Sur

My trip to San Francisco and Big Sur was one of my favorite trips of the year, the company simply couldn’t be beat 🙂

We went out to Big Sur on a foggy and cloudy morning, which was initally a bummer but I decided to shoot the pictures in black and white and ended up with some fantastic images!

4. Texas Bluebonnets

Ennis, Texas, hosts an annual Bluebonnet Festival in April every year when the bluebonnets (the state flower of Texas) are in full bloom.  All around the town are fields of bluebonnets and it’s just amazing.  This field of bluebonnets was off a random two-lane road a little east of town and my friend and I both gasped when we saw it.  The bluebonnets mixed with an amazing sunset are a memory I will never forget.  As much as I like this picture it doesn’t really do it justice.

5. Vernazza, Italy

I’ve posted my other Vernazza shot enough, I thought I’d use my other favorite from that day.  Vernazza is epic and wonderful but kind of weird if you’re traveling alone.  Regardless, the charm of the village is amazing and I loved capturing it before the daytrippers and tourists invaded a few hours later.

6. Mexican Sunrise

As I posted the other day, my 2016 travels wrapped up in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.  Some family friends rented out an amazing house on the cliffs and I was lucky enough to capture this incredible sunrise panorama one of the mornings.

7. Southwest Airlines Landing at Love

This is one of those lucky lucky shots.  I was taking it from a helicopter and the pilot (thanks Wesley!) noticed the jet coming in for landing as we flew over Love Field.  I fired off as many shots as I could and, luckily enough, captured the 737 just after landing with flaps fully extended.

8. 787-9 Engine

The Boeing 787 is one of my favorite jets.  I love the technology they used in it and have enjoyed flying on them every time I’ve been able to.  As part of some exclusive ramp access I received from American Airlines I was able to take this picture, one of my all-time favorite aviation pictures.

9. Addison Kabooms

Kaboomtown! in Addison, Texas, is one of the biggest July 4th fireworks displays in the country.  I saw my camera on a tripod and captured an image each time a firework exploded and then composited them together into a massive explosion which represents the amazing display very well!

10. Well, it’s personal

I’ve kind of figured out landscape photography, to a certain degree at least, the same for architecture photography and aerial photography.  What I’ve struggled with historically is taking pictures of people.  People are tougher because they, you know, blink and breathe and move and all that.  Anyway, I’ve gotten better at taking pictures of people this year, one person in particular.  I’m not going to mention her name here but she’s really special to me and it’s been fun traveling the country and world with her this year.  While I think the pictures we’ve taken together are some of the best I’ve ever taken, I’ll leave them off this post because they’re intensely personal to me.  If she reads this she’ll know, I promise 😉

Which picture above was your favorite?  What was YOUR favorite picture from 2016?  Let me know in the comments below!