Each day, 95 million photographs are uploaded to Instagram alone. This insane amount of imagery living in the cloud makes it impossible to see all of them, and we know that we miss out on witnessing quite a few spectacular photographs. We are well aware that a small percentage of these are analog-based images; however, even if we assume .01% of these images uploaded every day are film-related, that is 3,467,500 images. With 2021 coming to a close we decided to present to you Analog Forever Magazine’s Top 40 images for your viewing pleasure. These images are curated by our staff and represent the images that made an impact on us throughout the last year. By no means do they represent the “best” images ever created, but are simply our favorites that we felt the need to shed some light on. Please enjoy our “Top 40” picks for 2021!

As you scroll through these images we encourage you to visit every one of these photographers’ websites to learn more about them and their work. We also challenge you to pick your favorite photograph and reach out to the artist who created it, with the goal of offering them encouragement or to simply say hello. I promise you this will be the best part of their day and you will make a profound difference in how we interact as a community. Please make sure to leave your comments at the bottom of this page and discuss which images are your favorites and why!

Michael Behlen’s Top 10

My photographic taste has changed a lot since I founded Analog Forever, over three years ago. This is definitely due to the influence of my amazing teammates here at AF, who have exposed me to so many amazing artists, styles, and processes that I never knew existed. The world is large and social media algorithms don’t always provide us with fresh new photographers to showcase. With this in mind, I am proud to share 10 photographs that if you didn’t see this year, you didn’t miss out because they are below for you to enjoy!

Michael Kirchoff’s Top 10

Last year saw a great deal of humanity peeling back from one another in the attempt to stem the tide of a rising worldwide pandemic. It lasted varying amounts of time depending on when and how one lived, but the result was the same for all. Tangible human contact and interaction were at a minimum. We (myself included) started to become more introverted and lost the desire to meet up with friends and loved ones like had never happened previously. Fast forward to 2021, and a relieved world begins opening up once more to reach out and forge new and reacquainted relationships. My Top 10 for this year simply provides a thematic display of our fellow humans and the different guises that exist between us. Some are literal, some are nostalgic, some are surreal, but all are a connection that we dearly need with each other.

Niniane Kelley’s Top 10

The tree outside my window is nearly bare, the ground covered by a thick layer of leaves which crunch beneath my feet, and somehow another year has slipped by. Time seems so odd these days, individual moments may seem ploddingly slow, while months upon months are gone in a flash. I don't set out with a theme in mind when I make these selections, but upon looking at the images I've chosen for this year's wrap-up there's a melancholic air that pervades the gallery. Time is frozen, time is lost, time moves on unceasingly. To steal some words from Paul Simon: “I have a photograph/Preserve your memories/They’re all that’s left you.”

Lisa Toboz’s Top 10

It’s difficult to narrow down the thousands of photos I’ve fallen in love with over the past year, but these 10 evocative images are near-and-dear to my heart because they all use photography to push creative boundaries, inspiring so many ways a photo can tell a story or evoke emotions or a memory that isn’t mine, but feels like it belongs to me. The best photos are the ones I want to climb into and walk around in: the ones that beckon me through unfamiliar, sometimes unsettling, always magical territory - the kind of photos that ask me to stay awhile before letting go.

ABOUT ANALOG FOREVER MAGAZINE

Founded in 2018, Analog Forever Magazine is an online and print publisher of contemporary analog photography. Our mission is simple: we want to provide a global audience to photographers who use analog processes and techniques for their photographic work by giving them a voice via a biannual print photography journal, online features and interviews, book reviews, and online exhibitions. Our goal is to highlight the best of the best from the analog photography industry including artists, projects, galleries, and curators.

RELATED ARTICLES