Year in Pictures Out: This picture was taken late in 2006, so it missed the previous Year in Space Pictures, and wasn't eligible this year. But it's as good as any photo I've seen of the space shuttle launching.

Year in Sports Pictures - Out: This is one of the photos I fought for throughout the process of editing the pictures down for the the Year in Sports Pictures edit. I love how far away this guy has been flung from his surfboard and how he is being held back by that small strap. I felt it was a great moment that was frozen at the right time. But as we got down to our final round, I finally had to let it go because it just wasn't holding up to the caliber of the other pictures in our final edit.

Year in Pictures - Out: When we did the first rough edit for the year in sports pictures, we found we had a lot of baseball photos. It became increasingly difficult to edit them down, but we didn't want to seem like we were partial to baseball. This was one of the last ones to go. I like it because the photographer saw something different. Instead of just focusing on game action, it gives the viewer a sense of place and it's timeless. It could have been taken anywhere, at anytime, at any major league game.

Year in Pictures Out: I really enjoy the quality of the light, the texture and the moment of matching lightness of step between the girl and dog seen in this image. I thought it would be a nice tranquil pause among the news images in Year in Pictures.

Year in Pictures Out: There's a limit to how many spacewalking images can join the Year in Pictures. This one didn't make it, but it's still a great view.

Year in Sports Pictures - Out: I think some of us always tend to have a weakness for certain types of images. I have a weakness for really 'pretty' pictures. I like for vibrant colors and moody lighting, it is just something that my eyes have always been drawn to. This picture has both of those things and I immediately loved it. Plus how often do you see really nice pictures of ping pong.

Year in Pictures Out: Careful framing kept the suspension lines out of this picture and added a sense of weight to the hanging steel. The result is some rather dark humor.

Year in Pictures - OUT: This photo didn't make it into "The Year in Pictures" but it was one of my favorites showing the horrors of the war in Iraq. The pained expression on his face, the blood splattered on his body - It's heartbreaking.

Year in Pictures Out: While I commented that this image was a "hands down" choice for The Week in Pictures back in Sept., it was outvoted just shy of making it into the Year in Pictures. Still, I feel that the compositional balance and the serene, free-flowing atmosphere created by the woman's calm, yet imploring expression, the organic horizon and the texture of her hair genlty blowing in the wind and the soft cotton between her fingers takes this image to the level of the Year in Pictures. Do you think it should have made the cut? http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22200921

Year in Pictures Out: I wonder at Josie's motivation - perhaps it was simply the instinct to climb. Having scaled a ladder that leads no further, the goat has reached a point of decision. Eye contact with the photographer suspends this moment, humorously recognizing a common question in life: Having found myself here, what do I do now?

Year in Pictures Out: While this image is pretty simple in composition, it's that calm and simplicity that draws me to it. Unlike some uncomplicated images, I don't find this one boring. The pattern of the beams across the top and side of the bridge draw me into the cloudlike world beyond, and the softness of the fog doesn't let me eye follow the line of the bridge out of the frame, but instead I circle around trying to discover where the mist ends and the reality of the structure begins, and the bird adds a perfect balance. Do you think this image would have held up to those chosen for the Year in Pictures? http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22200921

Year in Sports Pictures - Out: What do I say about this photo, I just couldnt help but laugh the minute I saw it. I applaud the photographer for framing this image and firing it off at the right moment. But whenever I see it, I can't help but think that the one sumo wrestler is inspecting the other's mawashi and telling him "dude pull it a little to the left, no one wants to see that much skin."

Year in Pictures Out: At times, we struggle to fit the lighter, fuzzier moments in life into the Year in Pictures because there are so many compelling images from the more serious and sweeping news stories that happen all year. I thought this photo was worth including because it's not just about the cute critters, but it's also a great moment of connection between man and beast and the photograph is technically and compositionally good.

Year in Pictures Out: Its interesting how often we notice themes when we begin looking critically at photos for our Year in Pictures edit. I like that photojournalists working in diverse locations around the globe see and respond to similar visual topics. For me, its another data point in the big idea that we are more similar than we are different. We saw a lot of boys diving in the river pictures in 2007. I lobbied for this one because I like how it almost looks like a time-lapse photo of one boys jump. I wish it had made the final edit.

Year in Pictures - Out: This is one of those memorable photos where everything came together in the midst of a fast-moving event. The light, the emotion, the composition, the moment...it's all there. When I first came across this photo while editing a slideshow of the event, it was immediate to me that this would be the iconic image of the bombing in Algiers. It made me feel like I was witnessing the event - the sign of a great photograph.

Year in Pictures Out: When I first saw this picture, I didn't realize at first that the people were sitting atop the train. It might be a nice way to travel, as long as there are no low bridges and the driver doesn't corner too fast.

Year in Pictures - Out: When I was looking back on 2007 and thinking about all the images that I had seen throughout the year, this was one of the pictures that immediately came to mind. Initially I saw the wreckage of the plane but as my eyes moved further into the picture, I noticed the man sitting, still strapped into the seat amongst the pieces that used to be his plane. Maybe the fact that he survived amongst all that destruction is what really attracts me to this photo. Unfortunately, this again was another one of those images that just didn't hold up to the caliber of the other photos in the edit.

Now that's a snow castle! This is the kind of thing you dream of building when you're a little kid. What did you dream you could build out of snow?

This is a really cute monkey, but I guess I have to wonder about the $4000 playroom and the legal fees that were undoubtedly spent on this custody battle. Do Americans go overboard providing for their pets?

This looks like a serious challenge for a picture editor! Do you think you could take 95,000 pictures and put them together to make them look like another picture?

An old tradition has grown in scale to include massive modern technology.

I look at this picture and wonder how the Chinese can build all these ships without the giant cranes and scaffolding that you see in images of modern shipyards in South Korea, Japan and Germany. I know the Egyptians built the pyramids without cranes, but they weren't exactly competing in a global economy. Anyone know how the Chinese shipbuilders do this?

A very somber picture from our Najing Massacre Remembered slide show. I was drawn to the haunting statue looming over the child in the background. I wonder if he realizes yet what this place represents.

We constantly see images coming out of Iraq, but they are mostly about the war. It is a nice change of pace to see this nice moment between an Iraqi woman and her child.

I can't figure out what these women are doing. Why would someone hire a professional mourner?