My favorite photo is a picture of my then 20-month old daughter and her beloved father strolling through the farmer's market after a rainstorm.

THeir backs are to the camera and they are completely unaware of the photographer's presence. They are both looking in exactly the same direction and both of their back feet are lifted at exactly the same angle.

There is an easy intimacy between them, the result of their s spending the 40 hour work week together while I'm on the job.

Their brightly colored raincoats, pink and green, stand out against the dreary gray of wet concrete and shiny puddles.

I have so many precious photos of this twosome (and only 2 or 3 in which I appear). But this is my all time favorite. I have a framed 8" X 11" version framed.

This link does not do it justice...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/15376711@N00/977633740/

I never had a "normal" family picture; my dad always has a straight face, and mom likes to blink or lick her lips when she hears "2...3". Before our wedding day, my husband and I "warned" the photographer in advance; however, we were still getting the straight-face and half-eye-opened treatments. Then the photographer wanted to take some canned shots and asked my family, including grandma, to make funny faces, (good luck! I thought); fortunately, some of us are experienced in posing in canned shots, not only we made everyone laugh, I finally get a normal family picture!! This picture absolutely brings back good memory, and it melts my heart whenever I see my dad's smilely face in it.

my favorite photo is of my son on his fourth birthday at the academy of sciences. It was a weekday and we had the place practically to ourselves. He was mesmerized by the huge circular window peering into the aquarium.

It captures the day so well, youthful, peaceful and a lot of fun. I didn't realize it turned out so well until I had it printed. It's the first thing I see when I walk into my home. Such a wonderful memory to last a lifetime.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/44/242163268_3602957196.jpg

It's hard to pick a favorite, but since I have to, it has to be the picture of my husband from one of the first vacations we ever took together in our first year of dating. He's sitting on the porch of a casita we rented in Mexico with a bottle of mexican beer in one hand and guacamole chips in the other. His smile is from ear to ear. He looks so happy and relaxed and free, and one can almost feel the ocean breeze and warm sun when staring at the picture. The blue from the ocean is reflected in the photo and every time I look at this picture, it takes me back.

My favorite photo is of my husband and I standing together with St.Andrew's Golf Course in the background. The best thing for me about this picture is that I am in my first trimester of pregnancy with my first child and by the time we make it to the 18th hole to go take the picture you are supposed to take (the one everyone takes), I was about to throw up. I didn't, thank goodness, but we didn't take the picture. The one we did take turned out great and it will always remind me of a great time of life when everything was about to change. Currently it is unframed and is stuck in the corner of my dresser mirror.

kristijo - ha! i had to laugh when i read your comment b/c my husband and i recently took the photo at the 18th hole of st. andrew's! and i'm pretty sure he has one of himself from years ago, when he first visited the old course.

I have a photograph of my parents from the early 1990s (when they were in their 50's). They are sitting in the sunshine, on their patio on beat up lawn chairs. My dad has a huge grin on his face (perfected by a toothpick sticking out of his smile), his arm is around my mom, who has an inverted flowerpot basket (with purple bow) ontop of her head, a perfect hat!
My mom's health has deteriorated immensely in the last few years, so it is SO nice to see them both happy and healthy and loving life!
Everytime my two year old daughter sees the picture, she giggles and proclaims Amah-Abba - HAT!
Just makes me smile and realize how precious life, famiily and happiness is!!!

My favorite photo is of my two boys. My youngest son is just a few weeks old in the picture. They are laying down on our bed in their pj's just calming looking at each other. Every time I see the picture I feel like they are already the best of friends and it makes me so happy to think they'll have each other to go through life together.

My favorite photo is a bit on the selfish side as it is my first family picture taken by my brother in-law. I had my first baby in December, one week before Christmas, and I have to admit I was completely overwhelmed. One day near Easter, I realized that I had no pictures of my baby, my husband, and me as a family. I asked my brother in-law to take some pictures of us in our backyard and he got lucky! We all are not looking the same way but he happened to catch our dog “kissing” our baby! It is a great shot as you can see his tongue on her cheek! To date that is my favorite picture!

My favorite photo in my home is one of my then 6-month old son and his daddy. My son is sitting on my husband's lap & my husband is kissing his forehead and it is just the most beautiful photo of the two of them!!! It is in a place that I walk by everyday and every time I see it it just makes me smile and reminds me that nothing is more important than love!!!

The photo is actually in my sisters apartment in SF. Its of my mom when she was 5 years old. Standing on the steps of her house in Pennsylvania, with her winter gear on including this little pointy hat. I love it because even though my mother was so little, i can still see her in that tiny face. :)

My favorite photo is of all the kids that were in my wedding waiting for the ceremony to begin. We had 6 kids ranging from 3 to 10 years old and they're all sitting on a bench in their tuxes or dresses. Some laughing hysterically while others have a solemn look, worried about their "big role". It really gets at each kid's personality.

My favorite photo is part of a series of three photos of my husband and me from our engagement. The photo is at Chrissy Field in black and white and we are running down the beach. The photo shows a time in our lives that was simpler and energetic. When our son wakes us up in the middle of the night these days, I can see these photos from our bed and am reminded of that special time, but also that each season of life has its unique beauty.

My favorite photograph is of my youngest daughter when she's about 8. Her father has a friend who photographs children and they surprised me with photos of our girls.
This is a headshot in black and white of my daughter resting her chin on her forearm and looking candidly into the camera. It's special to me because every single freckle and beauty mark on her darling face shows up. As she has grown, her freckles have faded and been replaced by beauty, her openess is now more hesitant... for me
the photograph represents the innocence of being a child.

My favorite photo in my home is a really fun photo of my fiance, Lee and his family. Lee brought cans of silly string to his newphew's graduation. All of the older males in the family started running when the young boys started spraying the silly string. In the picture, I was able to capture the excitement and the moment that happened on the front lawn. Everytime I look at the picture, I laugh because I can almost hear the squeals of excitement that happened during a great family get together.

My favorite photo is a picture of my twin sister and me eating a box of cheerios, wearing plaid dresses, hair in pigtails, sitting on a huge white wicker chair in front of a fireplace. You see, we were about five at the time and my mother took pictures of us eating cheerios for a contest (I believe it was named the small fry contest...something like that). Needless to say, we were disqualified - only one kid per picture...My mother knew the rules but thought it would be just plain wrong to separate us and how could they discriminate? - I know, I know...it's really funny to me how my mother's mind worked. Well, I cherish the picture because it captures our innocence and happiness. It's one of the few pictures of us at that age that you could tell us apart because our personality is really apparent in the picture. I'm giggling with my arm shoved half way down the box and Lauren (my twin sister) has the sweetest look on her face - so kind hearted - that's my sister. The picture is blown up, poster board size in my living room. I'm 27 now and Lauren just found out that she is pregnant - Time goes by so quickly it seems and photographs are so important. It's so easy to look at that picture and be instantly transported back in time. They tell a story, they tell a piece of history, they capture a precious moment in time.

My favorite picture, by far, is one of my husband and daughter when she was about 9 months old. It was the first time I was able to capture the two of them genuinely smiling. They both have a twinkle in their eyes, and wonderful smiles...my daughter's was, of course, gummy. Whenever I look at it I giggle, because in order to get them to both smile I had to jump around the kitchen like a monkey!

My favorite picture is of my husband and our son. We are in the process of adopting him and he is such a welcome joy in our lives. The picture is of my son holding on to my husband's finger. My husband is out of the shot so it is only Max and my husband's hand, you can tell that Max is lovingly gazing at his daddy. It seems as if he is saying, "I have found my daddy, I am holding on and never letting go!" It makes my heart melt everytime I see it.

My favorite photo is of my younger brother and me. I must have been 6 and Geary about 3. Our family was not well off...often struggling to make ends meet. However, my dad insisted that we have our photos taken to send to his brothers and sisters in Japan. Fortunately a good friend of his (a struggling photographer/artist) was living with us at the time and offered to take our photos. I love one shot in particular that we were just giggling away...me with my front teeth missing and my little brother in his little sailor suit with the tad bit small sailor hat (he had a big head = Charlie Brownish). That photo just reminds me that even though we didn't have much, we have each other.

We had our favorite photo transformed into a mixed media collage on canvas by LA-based artist Michelle Caplan. (http://www.michellecaplan.com/)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/decor8/107398026/in/set-72157600188386090/

In the image (flickr link above) you'll immediately see the grandparents of my husband with their baby girl, my husband's mother. This was taken not too long after WW2 when their entire city was bombed in Germany, 80% of it gone. The courage they had amazed me. They only had bread and little food to feed their infant daughter, but the courage and warmth in their eyes, the smiles on their faces, this image warms my heart daily but more than that, reminds me to be strong, courageous, and that when all the chips are down, I have my family and they love me.

Layered into the image are vintage papers and things that Michelle incorporated that are very personal to both my husband and I. How we met, things we like, etc. So this "photo" became a piece of art that has deep personal meaning to our family.

I think anything that is so visible in the home should hold positive energy and be a source of inspiration to you. I tossed
images that no longer did that for me, replacing them with cherished ones that ground me and bring me joy.

Holly

the most beautiful photo of my son was taken when he was 9 months old. I was in SF (before I moved here) with a friend and he was sitting on my lap. I held up a camera and snapped a picture of his face. the picture is a close up of his face and his blue eyes. his face takes up the whole thing but what is great is that his eyes are so clear you can actaully see my reflection in them taking the picture!

this picture is a family treasure now that I call "here in your perfect eyes". I am a single mom and every time I wonder if I did the right thing leaving, I see this picture and realize that my son is my world. :)

My favorite picture is a picture of my best friend on the Millennium Bridge in London. She’s screaming, struggling to control the umbrella I got for her from the dollar store before our trip. It was raining and windy that day. We had just left the Tate Modern. She’s holding a bright orange bag from the gift store. The umbrella was so weak it was blown backward by the wind. Our other friend refused to let her buy a new umbrella from a touristy shop for £7 since at home “we can get it for $5!” So instead, she tried to cover herself with the broken umbrella and shuffled as fast as she could across the bridge. I still giggle every time I think of that day. It was cloudy, wet, fun and frustrating. I love that picture because it always takes me back to the day, right on the Millennium Bridge.

I was 19 weeks pregnant with identical twin girls when the doctor told me they had Twin-to-Twin Transfusion Syndrome. A rare disease of the blood flow between the fetuses . . . fatal for both if left untreated. I was introduced to a perinatologist at UCSD Medical Center who had undergone extensive training and study of this condition and described a laser surgery that could be performed to correct the flow of blood. I would be the second person to have the procedure done in Southern California. After three and a half months of bed rest, my twin daughters were born at 34 weeks. They weighed 5lbs each and were absolutely perfect and healthy. When I first laid eyes on their angelic faces, the first thing I did was count their toes.
My favorite picture taken not too long after they were born: their feet, with all "twenty toes".

Walking across a lawn in a park, from the parking lot to a family barbecue, my niece (5) is holding my nephew's hand (2). There's no one around them, and she is leading him back to their mother. Holding his hand in her right hand, she is also holding two balloons in her left hand. The photo captures the joy in her face as she looks up at the blue and pink balloons in the background of the grey sky. Although she is being the responsible big sister, she is still just a baby herself.

My favorite photo is of my 2 beloved daschunds, Babs and Buster. During a water ski tournament in 2004 they sat perched in front of me watching carefully as I ate a sandwich--naturally food obsessed little beasts! The picture, looking down at them, captures their dreamy eyes gazing up and tongues literally wrapping around their snouts (at exactly the same time). This was of course a miracle shot considering how fast those little tongues can move.

Babs, my longhaired sweetheart, passed in April of this year and Buster, the talker and perpetual kisser, followed shortly in July. Born mere hours apart in August of 1991 and never apart for more than 2 days, I guess those 3 months were just too much for poor Buster to stand without his sister. My little sweetie-pies, this picture is my absolute favorite.

Our house is filled with photos (travel photos from our trips to Europe, pictures of our 16 month old daughter, pictures taken by friends at weddings and other major occasions), but my absolute favorite is a picture of my mom, my aunt and my uncle, taken when they were probably 7, 5 and 4. It's in black and white, and they're wearing their grubby play clothes and all lined up in front of my grandpa's cool 1950s car. My grandpa had it blown up to 16x20 or so, and duct taped it on to a cardboard mat/frame. He had it hanging in his study, probably from the moment it was developed, and when he passed away a few years ago, it was the only thing I wanted. We now have it in our bedroom, and whenever I ask my daughter where her grandma (my mom) is, she immediately points to the picture. I love it.

my favourite one is a picture with my 2 children (3 years and 1 year). The didn't want to smile for the picture, and they were forced to do it. The result is a very hilarous expression. I keep the picture in the bathroom, near the mirror. Every morning I start the day with a laugh. ciao da venezia

it makes me smile and, for some reason, reminds me to be carefree. that's why it's my favorite.

it sits in a plain frame, next to a penguin and a bowl of lemons. it's a black and white picture of my great-uncle jack shot sometime in the 1940s (i think) in chicago. i didn't really know him but in knew of him. he was a fascinating guy.

he's wearing a beret and has the stub of a cigarette jutting out of the corner of his mouth. his hand is a little blurry. he's sporting a tiny hint of a smirk...like a mischevious 1/2 smile or something...and it makes me wonder what he was doing and what he was thinking when the picture was taken.

i found the picture several years ago when my mom was going through some of my aunt joby's belongings. she was married to jack and she had just passed away. i fell in love with it immediately and i was happy when it became mine. my sister julie has asked for a copy because it makes her smile too. i need to get that copy made for her. maybe it can become her favorite picture as well.

My favorite picture in my home is a beautiful old black and white photograph of my fiancee's family when his mother was 4 or 5 years old. His Grandfather was the mayor at the time and the family was riding in an old convertible in a parade. It's a candid shot with all 5 of the children hanging out of the back of the car while their parents are riding in the front. The photograph is both personal and a little piece of history, and to me captures the energy and love of their big crazy family.

My favorite portrait in our home is a photo that was taken by Nancy herself -of our then 8 1/2 month old daughter, Lauryn. I loved this particular shot, because it was so candid--yet the still shot said a lot! A simple photo had so much character! Lauryn just started crawling and Nancy captured the moment as Lauryn looked up at the camera. It always brings a smile to my face when I see the photo. Its amazing how there is so much life in a perfect SHOT!

I have two beautiful kids, so I'm laughing to myself about how bad a mom I am that I'm picking a photo without them in it, but here we go... My favorite photo is actually of our family dog, Murphy, who's sitting out in the grass of our yard wearing fuzzy bunny ears last Easter. Murphy is a 90lb lab/pointer mix, white with black spots and a black ear, and he completely personifies the quintessential family dog. He gets drawn on by chalk, paint or markers at least once a week (the white coat is a great canvas), gamely chases bubbles in the yard, knows which toys are his and which are my kids' (never chews the wrong ones, thank goodness) and is honestly the sweetest, most gentle guy in the world. We dress him up every Halloween (so far he's been a princess and a pirate) but this past Easter was just classic, since my Mom had sent bunny ear headbands for the kids and we tried one on him. In this photo, he's sitting in the sun with the ears on, looking utterly humiliated but still such a good sport, knowing the "photo shoot" will be over soon and he'll be showered with kisses and pets from all of us.

There is a black and white portrait of my grandmother taken shortly before her wedding which I always held up in my mind as the epitome of style and elegance. This photograph and all the stories she’s told me about growing up in San Francisco in the thirties and forties – riding the cable cars in hat and gloves, inviting young sailors who were on leave from the war home for a good meal with her family, attending beautiful candlelit balls among centuries-old redwood trees – these instilled in me a magical image of my grandmother and her youth. I grew up looking at that photograph every day, thinking how fabulously glamorous my grandmother was (and is).

My favorite photo is a set. I've never been able to decide which I like more.

When my niece was about five years old I made one of my rare visits back to the family farm. She was watching her dad (my brother) work with the horses – her blunt cut blonde hair sticking out of her white cowgirl hat.

I got down to her level and asked her to look away from the camera. Being a child whose parents taught her to say "cheese" whenever in view of a camera (something I hate!!) she was confused by my request and made a sour face just as I snapped the shutter.

"Lakyn!" I blurted, "What a face!" This cracked her up. She lifted her cowgirl hat and I snapped the shutter again.

I have sequential pictures of a darling little girl with a sour puss, and all out joyful laughter – framed in a white hat against a bright blue Nebraska summer sky.

They've always been my favorite photos.

Now, my dear friend Kimberly is trying to convince me that I’m a good enough photographer to take her wedding photos. As part of her argument she told me that she remembers the first time she walked into my apartment (when she was my new neighbor across the hall) she saw those two pictures of my niece and immediately loved my 'eye'.

If I win, I’m sending Nancy to take photos of Kimberly and her fiance since I can't be there until December!

I have a new favorite photo! I love this photo so much it is on my fridge, my desktop and I've shared it with almost everyone I know.

The picture is a closeup of a dragonfly grasping a microphone. I took it after the SF Marathon. My boyfriend's band was playing the afterparty when I noticed the funny scene.

The picture is so clear. You can see every detail of the dragonfly and the microphone head. I can't help but giggle every time I look at it for it seems at any moment, the dragonfly will bust out in song (apparently the mic. was not on!)...."Skyrockets in flight...afternoon delight".

my favorite picture in my home is one of my grandpa taken in 1939. i was recently back home in illinois, helping my grandma (who is 91) clean out her basement. we were going through some old family photos when i spotted this picture. it is a black and white picture, but it had been colored by hand when it was developed. my grandpa is in the middle of the frame, walking away from an old farmhouse. his hand is near his mouth working a toothpick. he is looking directly at the camera. behind him is farmland and an old red barn. i asked my grandma who took the picture. she laughed. grandma said that she had taken the picture, and it was probably the only picture she has ever taken in her life. this picture is my favorite because it reminds me of my roots...where i grew up, my family, and unknown artistic talent.

My favorite photo is one of me and some Scottish friends on the Honey Run Covered Bridge. They aren't my favorite people in the world (though I'm fond of them) and it isn't my favorite place (good memories there though). No - It's the strange quality of light in the photo that makes it my favorite. The sunlight shone through the old rickety wooden boards and captured us all in a surreal moment, all standing close to each other, but all really in our own worlds. It's a cool, strange photo.

I have a large, black and white photo hanging in my apartment that visitors either immediately adore or despise. it's a very contrasty print, predominantly blackened by shadows and framed by a door. out of this door steps a child's leg and foot. I love the photo because to me it symbolizes so many things. That leap between childhood and adulthood...a tentative step into an unknown, brand new experiences, girlhood lost. Alas, I don't know who the photographer is; the framed photograph was purchased at a silent auction, on a cheese-eating, wine swilling evening and I never went back to the gallery again....

My fave photo by far is of my daughter, Zoey, then 10 months old. I took it on a road trip to Del Mar. We were at the beach and she was fascinated with the sand. It is a close up shot of her face; she is looking down and the light is filtering through the fringe of her eyelashes. Her little Mexican striped shirt has fallen to one side and something about the vulnerability of her bare shoulder, baby plump and pink, sends a surge of joy and longing and raw love through me and that is the essence of motherhood.

It's one that I took of my brother, Josh. He was on his way to a new job in Japan just after graduating from college. I was taking a B&W photo class at the time of his visit, and he asked me to take some photos of him in his Calvins for him to use to get a modeling gig while he was abroad. We went to Sea Ranch in San Francisco for the photoshoot, and I shot two rolls of film. I somehow lost one roll, but the other roll I printed and developed some gorgeous images. There is one image of Josh climbing up a rock looking directly into the viewer's eyes. Several months after this photoshoot, he was hit by a car in Japan and killed. I miss him terribly, but am so thankful for these last photos of him, which truly depict his beautiful soul.

my favorite photo in my home is of my boyfriend and his three "brothers". they are standing in front of a home that was gutted by a raging fire...a fire that they bravely tried to put out. my heart goes out to the family that lost their home but i rejoice in the fact ed came home safe (smelling of smoke--but safe).

each day when he ventures off to work a piece of me wonders if he will return home to his daughter and i safe and sound. more then anything this photo reminds me of the heroic things he does daily that i never witness. i live with a hero and i am so thankful to be reminded of that daily with such a special picture.

A door in an abandoned adobe house in Magdalena, NM. The windows are boarded up and the #5 above the door is upside down. The textures of the adobe, wood and the shadows on the wall are gorgeous. There were many such homes when I was child in New Mexico and many similar homes which were still inhabited and in good repair. The picture recalls a way of life that is melting away.

At home above my desk, I have a series of photos of my two brothers and I that were taken one summer in the mid-eighties. In my favorite photo, I am standing next to my little brother, Stephen, my arm draped around his shoulders, next to the old mustard-colored house where we spent most of our childhood. We're deeply tanned, our long legs sticking out from our K-Mart shorts. In those days, we spend entire summers outdoors and didn't worry about sunscreen. Or what we looked like. Or how we would be in the world. We existed in our own bubble of sweltering hot days, forts built from scrap wood, wormy apples picked from a forgotten orchard. It was before we learned to be afraid of things. Before we understood money and how the world turns. Before Stephen witnessed the death of his classmates.

It was summer. Heaven, really.

My favorite and most cherished photograph is a sepia toned picture of my father's family, with my then young father, in front of their home in the Philippines, taken in the 1940's. He was the youngest in a family of thirteen children. Smiles light their faces as they stand in front of this tiny little house and it's evident how much they all love each other. It captures their openess to the world and all of it's possiblities. Many of my father's siblings left home to make a different life for themselves, all of them went on to college and post graduate degrees, with the exception of my Aunt Teodora, the only girl and the eldest, who sacrificed her education to raise her younger brothers when my grandmother passed away at a very early age.

The photograph sits in a very simple dark wood frame and hangs in my hallway where I pass it everyday. It reminds me of my father, who passed away recently, and our humble roots and how love endures. It makes me grateful for everything I have been blessed with, and affirms my belief that with love, hard work and determination we can live the life we've dreamed of.