When I was asked to share my favorite photos from the last year, I knew it was going to be a tough task — not because there were so many to pick from, but instead because there were so few.
With an ongoing pandemic and change in roles at the Daily American Republic over the last couple years, I just don’t get a chance to pick up the camera much anymore.
Regardless, I knew off the top of my head what my favorite photo from last year was.
The timing of the sunset and the luck of being on the right street at the right time made Halloween trick-or-treaters in west Poplar Bluff my favorite photo.
The photo depicts young Marni Ray and Hank Luecke walking along Prairie Rose Lane as their mothers, Summer Ray and Nikki Reece, follow along.
Another favorite photo is of a Department of Conservation fisheries technician warming himself by the campfire during the annual walleye survey on the Black River below the Clearwater Lake dam.
The photo was taken in early March, and I’ve gone on those surveys for several years.
We were waiting for it to get good and dark, and the guy just happened to be stoking the fire, so I whipped out my phone and took a few shots.
A Butler County 4-H tour to a local cattle farm in October was a fun event to cover, mostly because of the reactions of the children to seeing cows do what cows do.
The photo of the girls giggling in the ATV reminds me of the squeals and laughter that evening as they watched Michael Lance’s cows do their thing.
Also in October, I did a story on a new hiking trail at Wappapello Lake.
The fall colors weren’t quite peaked, but still looked nice.
As I was walking the trail for photos, a couple passed me and provided a good photo. Honestly, their bright clothes and the S-curve leading up the trail are what catches my eye.
For more photos, I dug into my personal stash, since I do like to get out on my own every now and then.
The pair of wood ducks stand out to me, simply because they are so darn skittish and hard to photograph.
They were photographed in mid-September at the Mingo National Wildlife Refuge with a 500mm lens. I was lucky enough to get off about a dozen shots before they busted out of there.
And finally, I’ve included a photo of a blue grosbeak, also taken at Mingo. I just love the bright blue colors and how he stands out against the green background.
I was cruising along Red Mill Drive looking for photo opportunities when I came upon the bird, sitting fat and happy on a nearby branch.
He wasn’t especially cautious, and I was able to get several photos before he moved along.
Paul Davis is a staff writer, photographer and outdoors editor for the Daily American Republic. He can be reached at pdavis.dar@gmail.com.