I was not prepared for such a big response to the assignment asking for your best photos over the last twelve months.  Twenty-six contributors and even more links as some people used more than one post to share their best.  Some new faces among the list, too.

As I indicated, the meaning of Best was left to you, the photographers and bloggers, to determine.  There is no right or wrong to your interpretation.  However, after viewing them all, the word “best” has many more meanings to me.  Thank you all for taking the time to share Your Best!

As I have done in the past, I will present them to you in the order they were shared on the original post.  If more than one link, I will use the time the first link was shared. Click on the links to visit each person’s blog or other photo sharing site. Also, please, read the last couple of paragraphs.

Sybil of the Eastern Passage Passage blog was first on the scene with a collection of very artistic scenes.  Please, do yourself a favor and click on the first photo which opens up a large gallery view of her photos where you can admire them better.

Ted Griffith presented a set of stunningly beautiful flower photos which I predicted would be a hit among my readers.  It was! Notice the attention to focus, composition and detail.  Excellent, Ted!

Kathy of Lake Superior Spirit is the first of our multi-posters.  Not only does Kathy share her wonderful photography with us, the stories she weaves around them continually entertain and makes us think.  Not to mention her creative titles like Will the seal roll off the rock and into the sea? and Deeper and wider seeing in 2011.

Holly of Photo by Holly blog shows us how fast someone can learn photography from capturing the image to using software to enhance them to create art in the digital age.  Fantastic set of photos and commentary on each one.

Dawn from Sahlah, Photos and Thoughts blog proves once again that it is not the equipment but the photographer’s vision and use of the camera with them that creates good photographs. I am happy she took up the challenge of this assignment by way of Kathy’s blog. Besides, anyone who names a cat after a hockey player is okay in my book!

Teresita (aka ThePetalPusher) of the The Incredible Lightness of Seeing blog loves to capture the mood of a scene and is a very good student of the light.

Barbara of The Aspiring Photographer blog decided Favorites was better than Best as she shares with us a fine set of photos from her photographic journey of the last year.

Nye who is my most avid commenter here at Views Infinitum shares her best which are also her favorites in several categories.  I was happy to see she included her favorite photo of her daughter who is growing up before our eyes.

For someone who had a lot of health challenges over the last year, KD of A Half Hour A Day blog found solace in her photography.  She has a knack of capturing those special little moments in her and her family’s lives. Hope 2012 sees you back in the pink, KD!

Dawn King shares with us a variety of photos from her travels and life at home over the past year.  Not to mention she shares a life with the Farrah Fawcett of the dog world.  🙂

Scott Bishop of Life Normal blog shares a wonderful set of photos going from a street photo to the majestic beauty of Nepal’s mighty mountains. Would you like to climb Mount Everest (the real one not the Disney version)? Scott has a series of photos from his adventures there.

Now we come to Karen of Karma’s When I Feel Like It Blog who discovered she had a lot to share with us and it would take five posts (listed below) to do it.  I did say as many as one wants. 😀  Karen took to her dSLR camera like a kid to a new bike and learned how to use it over this time period.  It was a challenge at times for her (as it is for all of us) and she has done a wonderful job.

Best of, Part 1, Best of, Part 2, Best of, Part 3, Best of, Part 4, and Best of, Part 5.

Carol of Wanderings of an Elusive Mind blog shares photos of various subjects.  What I like about these photos was how she used different angles to tell us stories through her photographs. Using a variety of angles creates high impact photos.

Carsten of Just Another………blog blog tells us the best photos he selected we might have seen before.  Then I must apologize to him as most of these are new to me and they are very good indeed!  Especially the last one.

Guess who’s next?  Yep, tis me.  Of course, I had to share with you my best Disney photos from the past year.  Had a lot of neat opportunities from the Disney Dream cruise to spending a few days with other fan(atic) Disney photographers.  I tried to get another post up but ran out of time and will share that one towards the end of December, 2011.

Debbie of My Life in CNY blog shows us her award winning photography from the past year.  While only one of the photos she shows us won an award, they all look capable of doing so to me!  Great job!

It is a pleasure to introduce you to my friend, Howie, who is a retired policeman from New Jersey and is able to fully enjoy his hobby of wildlife photography by visiting a nearby National Wildlife refuge almost daily.  I truly envy him for this. Howie is the one I visited earlier this year.  He is a great guide and a good friend. He used a flickr set to share his photos and I hope you will take the time to see his wonderful outdoor photography.

Isa of Isa’s Threads of Life blog had a difficult time like some others in choosing her best photos to share.  How nice it was she presented us with photos not previously published and a lovely array they are, Isa!  Thank you!

Tracy (who keeps me on my toes around here) of Milkay Photography blog presents us with a set of photos and images showing us her skills and breadth of talent as a photographer.  However, she did not show the one photo I wanted.  Her in that red batching suit. 😉

Truel’s asked me if the photos could be from previously published blog posts.  I told him that was fine as many of my blog photos are what I consider my best.  I am so glad he asked.  His photos are accompanied by links to the posts where he first shared them.  A chronicle of his year in pictures.  Don’t miss his trip to Australia.

I have known Michael Summers for a few years now but it was not until last month at Walt Disney World during Pixelmania that we finally got to meet face to face. I have admired his vintage train photography for a long time.  So, I was not surprised when a few of you commented on his Google+ post with links to his best photos. Not only is Michael a talented photographer, he is a big Green Bay Packer fan. 🙂

It probably would not come as a surprise that another new comer, Joanie Eddis-Koch, is a fan of Walt Disney World which is how we connected on Google+.  She is also on flickr where she shares with us her best photos from 2011 which include some cool Star Wars characters and other very creative photos.

Karma’s sister, Jennifer, who’s Bread and Putter blog mixes in some technology with a lot of food and VERY good food, too, shares a sunset, her modest dog, a fabulous mouth watering food item and a couple of her favorite guys with us.

Birgitte who still calls her blog, My 2008 blog, knows her photographic self very well.  When she posts a photo(s), the comments almost immediately start mentioning how she has captured the light.  It pleased me then when she choose a set of photos from the past year which highlights this talent of hers.

Gerry of the famous Torch Lake Views blog does not know why she ended up with her batch of best of photos but I am sure glad she did.  While she would not call herself a photographer, she is a very creative person who sees interesting things in front of her camera all the time and shares them with us.  Gerry, don’t ever stop!

By way of Jennifer’s blog, the Modern Wench chimes in with her favorite photo of 2011 and I dare say she might have trumped us all with her single entry.  Thank you for joining in!

In reading and looking over all of these fabulous and I do mean fabulous photos you all choose to share, one thing kept coming to mind…I need to make these assignments tougher! 😀 In that vein, I have a question for you.  I would like to ask you all a favor. I want to know what assignments you would like to do next year. If you have any ideas or something you would like to see us do.  Leave me a comment here or send me an email via my Contact page.

For those of you participating in the Four Seasons assignment, the deadline is December 28, 2011.  To my fellow United States citizens, have a safe and wonderful Thanksgiving holiday.  I will be taking a break the next couple of days and will return with a new View on Monday.  Again, thank you all for being you!