In an era of the World Wide Web, with the immediacy of television that instantly brings us images of the news of the day complete with sound and motion, one might be tempted to believe the power and impact of the conventional photograph has become diluted, that the best days of still photography are behind us.

But to borrow a phrase, the death of the medium has been greatly exaggerated.

Indeed, it is the very nature of still photographs–of moments, hopefully the right moments–captured and frozen forever for us to linger over, that continues to stir our emotions, capture our imaginations as much as they did in the earliest days of the medium.

During the past 12 months, Pat Christman and John Cross have made thousands of images of the people, places and events in south-central Minnesota. They have recorded some of the best of times and some of the worst, some of our most important residents and many more average folks, as The Free Press has brought the news of the day to readers.

Given time, all photographs, even the most rudimentary family snapshots, gain added significance as a visual record of the way things were at that

split second, the closest we can get to retrieving our past.

Over the long haul, the significance of these moments captured during the past year will only be determined by the passage of time.

But as 2008 looms, they remain favorites of our photographers.

And worth a second look.

Click here listen to John Cross and Pat Christman talk about their favorite photographs from 2007.