There are plenty of roundups of the year's best photography, but we want to gather 2012's best photos -- that are sitting on your cell phone. James Estrin, New York Times Lens blogger, will look at your photographs a announce his favorites on Wednesday, December 26th.
Note: The slideshow below only displays the most recent submissions. Look below for the full archive of photos.
Charles Maraia
Pilings in the Hudson River on the west side as the flooding from Sandy.
Brian LaRossa
Taken in Park Slope the day Sandy hit; before she had done any damage.
Irene Gallo
Times Square
Casey
Month or so ago, I was in my parents' backyard as the family cat, Bandit, napped. I placed my phone on a table and zoomed in. He woke up and crept toward me. Very friendly cat that unfortunately had a stroke, so he's much sweeter than he looks these days. I know it's a pet photo, breaks the rules, but I was just impressed that this was not touched-up, looks terrifying.
Sarah Pachelli
...because summer sunsets in NYC are pretty much the most magical thing ever.
(taken on the Staten Island ferry)
Kevin Kehler
What is left of the board walk in far Rockawy
Brandon Emerick
This was indicative of what my entire 25 year record collection looked like after my apartment was submerged by Sandy.
Margaret DeVico
I took this photo on Thursday, November 1st, which was the first day I was able to leave my Hoboken apartment after Sandy. It's inside Saint Peter and Paul's Church on Hudson Street at about 9:00AM. I charged my phone and my laptop for the first time since the storm hit, and while I was there I was given hot coffee and a breakfast sandwich by a random stranger. I left around 10:00AM, and by then there was a large group of people waiting for an open outlet.
Kaylah pantaleon
Gas shortage in Yonkers, NY! 2012.
Brandon Emerick
This is what it looked like in Red Hook during the Sandy blackout snowstorm.
Michael Davidson
Took while in the PATH to Newark NJ. Love to shoot people sleeping on train. I love that this young man is dressed for success head to toe :)
martin bretzin
Taken off the coast of ft lauderdale, florida. Just graduated college and started my career in the yachting industry. Not necessarily a journalistic topic but proud to show that even in my demographic (age under 25) I can find a great job in todays economy.
Blaze Nowara
A few days after Sandy I took this photo in Long Branch, NJ (Monmouth County). I like the composition and the simplicity of the photograph regardless of the devastating story it tells.
Kevin kehler
Taking a subway ride with a Pigeon. Sometimes pigeons don't fly everywhere
Allegra
When/Where: Immediately post-Sandy on Riverside Drive.
Why: Using my 11 month old puppy Tango for scale, I wanted to show my friends how Sandy impacted my neighborhood, the Upper West Side: wind more than water.
I like it because the photo tells that story AND more personally, I was pretty psyched about this sit-stay - he would usually come and lick the camera. And the photo also speaks to my puppy's love of sticks, but that's not so universally newsworthy!
Dennis Lee
This photo was taken in Columbus, OH where I was visiting an old friend this summer. We spotted a praying mantis on a bush in front of his apartment and as I tried to take a picture of it, it leaped onto my iPhone. The actual photo was taken by my friend at that moment. It came out really well, I believe it didn't even need cropping. We'd joked that Apple would would buy this image. Thanks!
Jo-Ellen Trilling
This photo was taken at home of Christmas tree ornaments ( repainted) with an added caption. The monkeys were purchased at the Union Square Christmas Market. I took it because I am an editorial artist. The objects are a gift for my son-in-law Jeremiah Goulka who writes political commentary. I like it because it's funny but a necessary sentiment.
Kevin Turner
I took this photo at New York Road Runners' official kick off to the doomed 2012 ING NYC Marathon. I was registered to run the race for the first time and on that day, I remember feeling so much excitement.
Paul Brozo
This is a shot of Hoboken looking down from the Heights of Jersey City the morning after Hurricane Sandy hit. The water came all the way up to the hill we live on, about a mile from the Hudson's western banks. Notice the two semi trucks trying to drive through, water reaching halfway up their sides. We also found out that by zooming in, you can see a man trapped inside the black SUV. We were shocked at the depth of the water so far inland against the eerie backdrop of a dark Freedom Tower. (Pic #2 in subsequent post.)
Taylor Roig
This is a non edited picture from my terrace in east Harlem, my view from the 30th floor. I love the contrast of the snow with the sunset... I just get a feeling of warmth and comfort from the picture. I can't explain it...
Matthew Yanchuk
It's a haunting shot taken from Smith St in Brooklyn.
Rachael Zur
Homeless man in Midtown
susan w
D.C. just before the election. Commodifying man of the year!
George
This is a photo of my favorite bridge in NY and the one that has the least exposure. I guess cause its a train bridge. Its even got a great name. Hell Gate Bridge. It was taken from Astoria Park during sunset. 2 bridges, one ship one river and a sunset.
Matt L
Zucotti Park, 10/14. 'Nuff said.
Dorian
I took this in Greenwich Village, on W. 10th St., a few days after power was restored there. It with a touch of ironic humor and a (likely) knowing reference to a horror show of yore, talked of Sandy.
susan w.
Sandy, inland. Anthropomorphism among killer trees run rampant: this one just lay down for 20 winks.
Carol Davis
After losing power for 10 days after Sandy, I took this photo of my husband just seconds after the lights came on. He found a way to keep warm. Count the cats!
Kevin Turner
This is a screenshot that I took as the announcements from the Supreme Court regarding the Affordable Care Act came rolling in. There was a lot of confusion that morning as news outlets scrambled to analyze the ruling.
Gary Eckstein
My wife and I rode our bikes to Red Hook the day after Sandy. I took this shot of the still flooded Beard Street on my iPhone. The high water mark is still visible on the warehouse where receding water from inside the Fairway apparently damaged the bottom of the security gate.
Kayan Lam
We had to throw away my sister's piano had to thrown out post storm sandy.
Yolande
This is one of the window displays at the 2012 Macy's Flower Show taken from the sidewalk. All the displays were beautiful, made up of bright flowers, plants and Brazilian samba costumes. This was my first time seeing the Macy's flower showed. Loved it.
Edward E. Crouse
Monroe St between Wabash Ave and Michigan Ave, Chicago, Ill. May 21, 2012. I was marching with National Lawyers' Guild legal observers to get their view of things. The faces, however blurry, render the shapes of the municipal (and in this case international) control of protests and first amendment rights.
Paul Brozo
This is a shot of Hoboken the morning after Hurricane Sandy hit. You can see the City of Hoboken sign in the center along with other badly damaged and immersed signs. This is at the innermost edge of the city, about a mile from the Hudson. Prior to this shot being taken, a man was trapped inside the black SUV. We were shocked at the depth of the water so far inland. More pictures upon request.
Jeff Pappas
Album release " A Viberatto B ". Jimmy Goodman plays Kingston NY
Conor McDonough
Super storm Sandy overflows the Gowanus Canal at 2nd Street in Brooklyn.
Jeff Pappas
Holiday Decorations and old brick , Albany NY
Edward E. Crouse
130 E Randolph St, Chicago, Ill., September 4, 2012. Near the close of a muddled election season in which America's wars were scarcely mentioned, groups such as Veterans for Peace, the Gay Liberation Front, and Occupy Chicago reminded citizens of the stakes of drone strikes and other military actions. After a march through downtown, these coffins were left in front of the president's campaign headquarters. The crowd scattered slowly without publicly announcing that the coffins would stay until the police or building security took them away. Not nearly as packed as the NATO protests, but important nonetheless.
People feeding their neighbors on Avenue C, the Friday after Superstorm Sandy.
Lucky to be in an unaffected neighborhood, I rode my bike downtown to check up on a friend who'd stayed in her apartment. Even though I'd heard about it on WNYC, I was shocked by the devastation I saw in the far east village. This scene of neighbors feeding neighbors in the face of no power, heat, or water sums up everything that I love about New York and New Yorkers.
This photo was taken in Downtown Brooklyn near Brooklyn Academy of Music. It is the a mural that I helped paint by the Artist Barry McGee (Twist). We worked for about a week and a half straight, 11-12 hrs a day to get this finished. I like the photo because I took it on the final day and it shows how much work it took the get it finished.
1. Taken in March. I was walking along Broadway heading to 73rd Street one afternoon when a flatbed truck went by with a cheap, gilded replica of Michelangelo's David on it.
This was taken in July 7, 2012 at Joey Harrison's Surf Club in Ortly Beach when the Amish Outlaws were playing. It's a tradition for our group to leave the kids home one night and have a crazy night with the Outlaws at the Surf Club every summer. However, the Surf Club was severly damaged in the storm and I dont know if we will be able to go back next summer. I love this picture because we are tan and happy. It totally shows that even though we are in our 40s "down the shore everything's all right..."
I took this picture while volunteering with Doctors Without Borders in Rockaway. We entered a volunteer-run relief center that was housed in a community center attached to Saint Francis De Sales church. This was their massive and well-organized supply room.
I love this- even before I read the description, I knew it was good. You can feel it in the type of debris on the boots, the very fact of the boots, and in the way we look at our own feet through a camera. Thank you for your service, and for this wonderful photo that reveals so much character. I had an art teacher that taught me, "if you have to explain it, you didn't do your job"- well, by that standard, you definitely did your job as a photographer! Knowing the context is subsequent to the experience of looking at this image. Maybe it's the fact that the debris seems white, on black work boots w/ levi's, and the floor beneath is clean by contrast. So much character in these boots. This is my favorite photo thus far! (On page 10...) I'm sharing it on facebook!
This photo was taken on Dyckman Street, between Sherman & Broadway. There was something really mysterious & thought-provoking about the Andy Warhol-esque, blonde-ifying of two notable women of color: Frida Khalo & Harriet Tubman, contrasted with the defiant, anti-stop-and-frisk quote by Dister, a notable uptown artist & muralist.
The picture was taken from Washington Square Park looking south. The elemets in the sky and the various religious symbols just lined up. All under the view of the new 1 world trade center
"Mishap on West Houston street" I was riding my bike going west on Houston street, few days before Easter 2012. This sight on the street cought my eye, WOW!!!. An instant installation!!! I am an artist, could not pass on this one Got of my bike and dug out my I phone.... Click.
November 6th. Temporary voting stations were set up along the Rockaway peninsula. People were left without heat and electric, some didn't even have homes, but they came out to vote.
Rockaway Beach and what is left of the boardwalk. I like this photo because the subject's view is still the same. The man made structure may be gone, but the sea will always be there.
This was the boathouse in Prospect Park on a late fall evening. I loved the reflection of the lights in the water, and the dark trees in the foreground.
This photo was taken from a moving vehicle somewhere in Idaho. There were no filters, no photoshopping, etc. Just the capturing a still and beautiful mountain scape, and the road in motion.
It was my first time touring through the area. More often than not there were 6-10 hours drives between every gig. The difference? When the landscape is consistently beautiful, and the roads are empty and the sky and terrain changes dramatically every hour... sitting on your butt for hours on end becomes the most magical thing.
I live and work in the city part time and my husband lives full time in PA where we're building. This photo was taken March 13th when my angora goat Izzy had the first babies on our 'farm'. My husband named her Cheetos. These goats are our first 'livestock' animals. I'm raising them for their mohair. When I look at this picture I still get a big grin on my face. Goat babies are awesome.
In her apartment in Coney Island, my grandma showed me how to make this pie crust. The next day was Sandy. Grandma still can't go home but I think I remember how to make this crust. I asked her to show me again but she says she doesn't remember anymore. I think Sandy was very stressful for the really old people in a lot of ways that don't show up in pictures.
I was walking on the boardwalk in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, at sunset. This is before Sandy and the entire beach was a party, with windsurfers, volley ball players, joggers - people out celebrating the beautiful day.
I love the colors in this photo, the motion of the jogger, the feeling of joy.
Growing up in NYC, we NEVER walked through Washington Square Park at night. Visiting this summer, my husband (an Englishman), looked askance and insisted. Then we heard the music. Not only was the park safe and busy, but a young composer was playing his baby grand and selling........his CDs!
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