Best Photos of 2022: My Favorites of the Year /  by Todd Henson

One of the things I enjoy about the end of the year is looking back at all the photos I’ve created and trying to narrow them down to a small set of favorites. In most years I’ve chosen just 10 but for 2022 I decided to up that to 12. There are 12 months in the year so why not 12 favorite photos? Granted, I didn’t choose a photo from each month, but it’s interesting to see which months ended up more productive as far as favorites are concerned.

Click on any of the photos for a larger view. Below each photo is the name of the image and a link back to the blog post where it first appeared, along with the month I created it, and a link to purchase the photo as wall art or on various products.

If this is your first time viewing these then I hope you enjoy them. And if you’ve seen them before then I hope you enjoy the look back.

 

Brooding Over Morning Marshlands, January (actually 12/31/2021) (available for purchase)

Soft Morning Light, October (available for purchase)

Woodland Highlights, October (available for purchase)

Emergence, November (available for purchase)

That’s it for 2022. Thanks very much for taking a look. And thanks much for your support throughout the year.

Here’s to a great 2023!

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My Favorite Books, Films and Anime in 2022 /  by Todd Henson

My favorite books, movies and anime in 2022.

2022 is just about over. It’s almost time to roll over the calendars and welcome in 2023. But before that happens lets take a look back at some of the books, movies and anime I was fortunate to experience and enjoy this year. Maybe you’ll find something in the list that catches your attention, or perhaps brings back some good memories.

Some of the links below are affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on these links. This is at no extra cost to you.

Favorite Non-fiction Books

The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music by Dave Grohl

Dave Grohl might be familiar to some of you. He’s the frontman for The Foo Fighters and used to be the drummer for Nirvana. He’s an incredible musician, and it turns out he’s led an interesting life. I loved listening to this audiobook narrated by himself as he tells his own story. It was very heartwarming learning how important family is, and about the healing power of music.

Thinking in Bets: Making Smarter Decisions When You Don’t Have All the Facts by Annie Duke

A great read by a master poker player who learned all about how to think in bets, how to weigh risks and rewards and make better decisions by recognizing and understanding the various cognitive biases we all experience. This book is all about realizing that any outcome is made up of part skill and part luck and by learning to better tell the difference we can improve our future decision making.

Favorite Fiction Books

The Wall by Marlen Haushofer

This was such a fascinating and moving read, all based around a single speculative element, the appearance of an invisible wall that traps a lone woman in the mountains, separated from her friends. The story is then about what she does. It’s such a personal and touching story, sad one minute and life affirming the next. Originally written in German in 1963, later translated to English, and then narrated as an incredible audiobook.

Good Omens: A Full Cast Production by Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett

An angel of heaven and a demon of hell have spent so much time together on Earth they’ve built up a friendship and have grown to enjoy their time amongst the humans. So when there are incontrovertible signs that the apocalypse is finally here they find themselves trying to stop it. What an absolutely fantastic and fun story full of the humor you’d expect from Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. And what a fabulous audiobook narrated by a full cast who really bring these characters to life.

The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams

If you’d told me at the beginning of the year that one of my favorite books this year would be an audiobook of this classic children’s story I’d have said you were crazy. And yet here we are. Such an absolutely lovely story, well worth reading to a child, and also well worth reading yourself. And if you get the opportunity, give Xe Sands a chance with her audiobook narration.

Black Sun (Between Earth and Sky #1) by Rebecca Roanhorse

What a powerful start to a new fantasy series, and my first experience with a book by this author. The first short chapter was a bit of a gut punch, and from then on a clock was ticking, taking us closer and closer to something, though we don’t know exactly what. This book went by so quickly, I just couldn’t stop reading.

Grave Reservations by Cherie Priest

Some books are just pure fun and enjoyment, and that’s the case with this one. In a nutshell, it’s about a psychic who’s trying to learn to better use her gift while also running a travel agency. And it’s about a Seattle police detective who happens to have his life changed by using her agency, and then learning about her other skills. A fun, funny, and exciting murder mystery. Give it a try.

Peacemaker by Joseph Bruchac

Peacemaker is a tale of the Ho-de-no-sau-nee, or Iroquois, of North America. It tells the story of the great Peacemaker who brought together the five warring nations into one confederacy. And the story is told through the eyes of a young boy who gets caught up in those times. A story for all ages and all times, one about understanding our differences and coming together.

Favorite Graphic Novels & Comics

Saga Volume 1 & 2 by Brian K. Vaughan & Fiona Staples

I waited far too long before finally trying this comic book series. I don’t know why. Probably because I heard it was a love story of sorts about a couple just trying to live a quiet life. And yet there’s so much more to it. I sometimes find it difficult to describe the things I most enjoy, and I’m finding that to be the case here. Just try it. It’s one of the best comic book stories I’ve read in a very long time.

Favorite Movies

Dune (Part 1)

I thought this was such a great interpretation of the book, or the first part of it, anyway. It had that same slow but deliberate build up, was very well acted with a great soundtrack and incredible visuals. I can’t wait to see part 2.

WarGames

This was a favorite when it came out and I enjoyed it once again in this rewatch. It’s one of several movies that got me into computers. It’s funny that I watched the 25th anniversary edition of the film 39 years after watching the original.

Ladyhawke

Another rewatch of a classic that I loved when it first came out and thoroughly enjoyed once again. This one was a fantasy love story set in a medieval sort of period.

Labyrinth

And one more classic rewatch from the ’80s. Another fantasy film but of a very different sort, this time with Jim Henson’s folks creating the creatures that populate the film.

Logan

This was my second viewing of Logan. I grew up with the Marvel mutant comic books and Wolverine and the X-Men were some of my favorites. So the final story of Wolverine is sure to get my attention. Thankfully, the movie does the story justice.

Favorite Anime & Animated Movies

RahXephon

It seems most of my favorite video content this year were rewatches, often from when I was much younger. Such is the case with this science fiction anime series. I loved how integral sound and music was to the story.

Fena: Pirate Princess

I didn’t watch a lot of anime this year, so this series makes it into my favorites due to lack of competition. That being said, I did very much enjoy the series, one full of action, adventure, mystery and romance. Granted, it didn’t quite stick the ending, but the rest was a lot of fun.

Have you read any of these books or watched any of the movies? What were some of your favorites this year. Let me know in the comments below.

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Quarterly Look Back - 4th Quarter 2022 /  by Todd Henson

What?!?! We’re just about at the end of the 4th quarter and of the entire year? You’ve got to be kidding me. I feel completely dizzy, as if someone’s been spinning me round and round and just let me go. And speaking of going, where did the year go? I know this is all cliche, asking where the year went at the end of each year. But this year I genuinely feel that way, as if I’m just being pulled along for the ride. I wish I saw it changing anytime soon. Perhaps I just need to work harder at being in, and appreciating, the present moment.

How about you? How do you feel at the end of this year, and how has your year been? What do you do to better relax and appreciate all you have, versus allowing schedules and pressures to get you down? Leave a comment way down below and let me know.

And now on to the far more positive side of the quarter (and year): a look back at some of the things I did manage to accomplish, the photos I created, books I read, music I listened to. I hope you find something below to entertain you.

Photography

Other aspects of this quarter may have been stressful, but not photography. I thoroughly enjoyed each and every outing and all the time on the computer processing the images (I’m really enjoying the new computer). My folks and I made a trip to see relatives in Massachusetts, and then later to see the colorful Ginkgo Grove at Blandy Experimental Farm. My father and I went on a number of hikes and I went on at least one solo hike. Photographing busy and dense forest scenes has been a real challenge for me and yet this quarter I felt as if I were beginning to make some sense of them. I even had some fun creating a series of abstract images taking advantage of the colors of autumn. All in all, I had a great photographic quarter.

Please take a look back through this quarter’s posts and photographs.

Holidays

Happy Halloween - 2022

Merry Christmas - 2022

Mostly Photos

Venus’ Pride

Violet Wood Sorrel

Fungi and Ferns

A Field of Webs

Two Views of Huntley Meadows Woodlands

A Day for Abstracts in the Forest

Appreciating the Boardwalk

Random Thoughts

Determination & Perseverance

Reviews

Gift Ideas for Nature & Outdoor Photographers (updated repost)

Trip Report

Views From Mount Sugarloaf (Massachusetts) on a Clear Day

The Glowing Golds of the Ginkgo Grove

A Walk Through the Autumnal Woods of Prince William Forest Park

Variations on a Theme

October on Aquia Creek

Reading

I finished fewer books this quarter. I’d really been on a roll earlier in the year, but I wasn’t able to continue the pace. I’ve increasingly found myself less able to concentrate in the evenings after work so I’ve spent a little more time watching videos than reading, and when I do read it’s most often in the form of audiobooks. I’m working on trying to relax faster when I get home so I can spend more time reading. We’ll see how this next quarter goes. Thankfully, though, I’ve mostly enjoyed everything I’ve read.

The books I consumed this quarter (paper, ebook, and audio).

The full list of books: The Wall of Storms (Dandelion Dynasty 2) by Ken Liu, Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, The Lottery and Other Stories by Shirley Jackson, The Last Seance: Tales of the Supernatural by Agatha Christie, Black Mouth by Ronald Malfi, Gallows Hill by Darcy Coates, Foundation by Isaac Asimov, Peril at End House by Agatha Christie, The Lost Metal (Mistborn) by Brandon Sanderson, The Children on the Hill by Jennifer McMahon, Flight Risk (Booking Agents 2) by Cherie Priest, Hercule Poirot’s Christmas by Agatha Christie, Midwinter Murder: Fireside Tales from the Queen of Mystery by Agatha Christie, A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, and Foundation and Empire by Isaac Asimov.

Of these my favorites were:

The Children on the Hill by Jennifer McMahon

I was very pleasantly surprised by this book, one I received in a giveaway through goodreads. This is a mystery/thriller with hints of the supernatural. It’s told in varying perspectives, both from different characters and from different times, weaving together parts of the past with the present and with parts of a book written about events in the past. This was my favorite read of the quarter.

The Lost Metal (Mistborn) by Brandon Sanderson

This was the final book of the 2nd era of the Mistborn set of series. The first era series was more of a traditional epic fantasy series. This 2nd era series plays out in the same world but many years later after the population has progressed to the point of inventing industrial processes. The 3rd era will be further in their future. My favorite of the entire series so far is still the very first book of the 1st era. But The Lost Metal ended up as my favorite of the 2nd era series. I don’t think it’s all that common that I prefer the final book of a series.

The Wall of Storms (Dandelion Dynasty 2) by Ken Liu

The books in the Dandelion Dynasty series are very long and full of characters so it takes me time to get through them. I think I enjoyed this second volume more than the first. The first, at times, felt like a retelling of history, perhaps to quickly get us up to speed. In this volume there seemed more depth of character, and I enjoyed that. I already have book 3 and I look forward to it.

Black Mouth by Ronald Malfi

It was only in the past year of two that I first started reading Ronald Malfi’s books, most of which seem to have horror elements. I’m really enjoying his style and his stories. This one brought back vibes of Stephen King’s It, where a group of kids must return to their childhood hometown as adults to confront a terrible evil once again. That said, it was a very different read than It.

Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

Along with Dracula, this is one of the two classics of horror that I’ve always enjoyed. I came to both through movies first and only later read, and reread, the original novels. I love how different the books are from the movies and I suspect I’ll continue to reread them through the years.

Movies & Anime

The movies I watched this quarter.

As I mentioned above, I watched more movies than usual this quarter. At some point I’d decided I wanted to watch the entire series of X-Men related movies in the order they were released, so this was the quarter I started that. So far I’ve watched X-Men, X2: X-Men United, X-Men: The Last Stand, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, X-Men: First Class, The Wolverine, X-Men: Days of Future Past, X-Men: Apocalypse, Logan, X-Men: Dark Phoenix, and The New Mutants. I’ve been really enjoying this. Some of these I watched for the first time while others have been rewatches, and while some are obviously better than others I’m getting a lot of enjoyment watching them close together so they gel well in my mind and continue from one to another.

Two of my favorites are X-Men, where it all began, and X-Men: Days of Future Past, a storyline I also enjoyed from the original comic books when I was a kid. It’s always fun trying to remember how the original comic book stories played out and which characters were actually in them as compared to what they chose to do for the movies. My favorite of all these movies, without a doubt, is Logan. Though a very violent movie it was also very different from any of the other Marvel mutant movies, with a very personal story. And for a movie about mutants with superhuman powers, this was the most human movie of them all.

For Halloween I decided to rewatch the horror movie, A Nightmare on Elm Street, which was one of my favorites when it first came out in 1984. It’s interesting looking back at it now. I still really enjoyed it but I wonder how much of that was nostalgia.

And I watched a teen action-drama called Nerve, about a somewhat twisted game where folks agree to perform in the real world whatever daring action the online audience has voted on, recording the entire thing on their phones and competing to become the most popular player and winner of this iteration of the game. Of course, things quickly get out of hand.

Music

It seems every quarter is a great quarter for listening to music, and I always have a very difficult time picking just a small number of songs to share with you. There are so many I discover, listen to, and love each quarter. Some quarters I spend more time than others watching music videos and this quarter I did a lot of watching and listening, and below are some of the songs I listened to and enjoyed the most.

LYRRE - North Star

LYRRE is a very new band from Kraków, Poland. They say they merge the old and the new, medieval with modern, legendary with cinematic. I really like the sound and feel of their song, North Star, making great use of the droning sounds of the hurdy-gurdy mixed with a rock beat and almost haunting vocals. I look forward to hearing more from this band.

dArtagnan - Felsenfest

dArtagnan is back with more of their brand of musketeer rock mixing traditional and modern instruments. This particular video happens to be a lyric video so you can follow along with the song. Keep in mind, this is a German band singing in German, but I think their music can be appreciated regardless of whether or not you speak the language.

Alan Gogoll - Mulberry Mouse

Alan Gogoll is an absolutely incredible acoustic guitarist from Australia. Mulberry Mouse is a magical tune with some percussive elements and loads of fast harmonics. A truly inspiring guitarist, one I was introduced to by a good friend and musician.

Wintersun - Sons of Winter and Stars

Intense! Aggressive, dark, epic, harsh, melodic, some great harmonizing, progressive elements to songwriting, incredible musicianship, and a marathon runner of a drummer. With many bands and/or songs I often find harsh vocals too much for my taste but in this case I’m onboard. Wintersun is a Finnish band I discovered recently because their drummer became the full-time drummer for Nightwish, and now their bassist plays with them as well.

 

Life

It’s been an interesting quarter. The biggest change over typical quarters was a trip with my folks to Massachusetts to see relatives. We had car trouble on the first day after we’d passed into New York when suddenly the entire car started shaking and vibrating as I drove, most especially when turning the steering wheel at highway speeds. We were able to get to the hotel and the next morning spent a number of hours finding and visiting a repair shop that could see it right then. Thankfully it all worked out and after having some control arms replaced (and the battery which happened to die at the same time) we were back on the road with no more harm done than a bit of stress and some time.

Later that night, after we’d already unloaded the car into the hotel room in Massachusetts my father went up to the room to grab something and discovered the door lock no longer functioned. One of the risks of all these new high tech gadgets like card slot door locks. So we had to load everything up and move to another room. Thankfully there were extra rooms available and the hotel did give us a nice discount for the inconvenience. With no further mishaps we went on to enjoy the rest of the stay and the visits with multiple groups of relatives.

All in all I’d say I’ve had a reasonably good quarter. I have felt a bit more stressed in some regards and struggle to relax after work, but things like that sometimes come and go. Hopefully it’ll go before too much longer. But beyond that it’s been good so I really can’t complain. How about you? How has your quarter been? I hope you’ve had a great one. Let me now in the comments below.

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