Fargo, North Dakota.

This week, I was disappointed to learn that the folks who created the Weekly Photo Challenge are closing it down. Since discovering the challenge shortly after I started Journeys with Johnbo in 2013, I looked forward to Fridays, and then Wednesdays, each week as they published the challenge and I endeavored to share photos from my gallery that spoke to the theme. In this final challenge, the group of challenge authors invited us to share our all-time favorite photographs. You can read their entire challenge post here. Following their lead, I present my personal all-time favorite images. The two draft horses in the opening image were captured as they awaited their work assignment of hauling a hay wagon at the Western Minnesota Steam Threshers Reunion.

One of the things about the challenge that I will miss most is the interaction with other photo challenge participants. Far and away my best source of new followers were those who discovered my humble travel journal through my challenge responses. More importantly, I discovered new friends who regularly comment on my posts. Tina Schell, de Wets Wild and others comment regularly and I consider them to be photography friends. I hope we continue to find places to connect and comment as we move forward. Shortly after acquiring a new camera and getting reacquainted with photography, I happened to cross the large bridge that traverses the railroad yard in Fargo. I saw a mile-long train of brand new oil cars no doubt destined to the newly discovered Bakken Oil Fields in western North Dakota.

Not all my favorite photos came from one of the four cameras I’ve adopted since restoring my interest in photography. The image above was captured by my Samsung cell phone. Nashville at night took on an extra glow with a sudden rain shower. Somewhere along the way, I decided that cell phone cameras are much more powerful than people give them credit. Along the way, I started a weekly feature here called Cellpic Sunday where the rule is that the image must be captured on a mobile device.

As of my review of images captured and stored in digital format, my gallery contains close to 30,000 images. That doesn’t include many of the RAW images captured to create my favorite type of photograph, the 3-image HDR. Using software, three images captured at three different exposures are melded into one image that provides greater detail in the darker areas of the image and tones down blown out highlights. The image above, also captured at the Steam Threshers Reunion features Old 353 as it is getting ready to take on passengers. Note the detail in the undercarriage below the engineer’s cab. It’s that great detail that I love about HDR images.

While I mostly shoot landscapes, I have ventured into action photography on occasion. My favorite action shot features a barrel rider at the National Senior Pro Rodeo in Buckeye, Arizona. I enjoy posting challenge photos to share. I’m not sure where my next challenge post will draw from, but I will be back next week with a new theme. In most browsers, you can click on the image in the gallery below to enlarge it and to scroll through the gallery.

John Steiner