As the holidays unfold, most of us will find ourselves partaking in one ritual or another, that's tied to the season. These rituals run the gamut—for some there might be a communal dinner with family and friends; a trip to another state or country, from where the family originates; for others living in more enviable climes, there might be a Sunday afternoon on the beach flying kites. For me and many of my friends who grew up here in New York, the holidays were always the perfect time to spend days bopping from gallery, to museum, to gallery, catching up on all of the wonderful art offering that this city has to offer.

As the skies get grayer and the temperature drops, there is perhaps no better way to stay warm and combat the cabin fever than by getting out and seeing some great photography. Here are a few shows that you might want to include in your own end-of-year art ritual, as you reflect on the months that have passed and the new year to come.

Entering the Nethermead by Joseph O. Holmes

Joseph O. Holmes: The Urban Wilderness
Opening Reception: Friday, December 10, 6:00 - 8:00 p.m.
On view through January 23, 2011
Jen Bekman Gallery
6 Spring Street (between Elizabeth + Bowery)
New York, NY 10012

As we mentioned earlier Joseph O. Holmes, who holds a dear place in the JBP family's hearts, will be having his first solo show at Jen Bekman Gallery. Stop by the opening and enjoy these astoundingly beautiful renderings of winter in Brooklyn's Prospect Park, as captured by Joe.

Ernesto Alonso, Señor Telenovela by Stefan Ruiz

Stefan Ruiz: The Factory of Dreams
On view through December 13, 2010
F.L.O.A.T. Gallery
539 Atlantic Avenue
Brooklyn, NY, 11217

Though we've mentioned it before, there's no harm in reminding you again about photographer and former HHS! panelists Stefan Ruiz's captivating show up at Brooklyn's F.L.O.A.T. Gallery. The show—a collection of photographs taken over the course of six years at Mexico City's most prolific telenovela producer. Televisa Studios—will be coming down next week, so be sure to check it out!

HumanKind: A Juried Invitational Photo Show
Opening Reception: December 17, 7:00 p.m.
On view through January 20, 2011
The powerHouse Arena
37 Main Street
Brooklyn, NY 11201

This exhibition, presented by The New York Photo Festival, which we are huge fans and supporters of will feature 120 photographs that interrogate the human experience from social, personal and cultural vantages.

I Will Not Make Any More Boring Art, 1971 by John Baldessari

John Baldessari: Pure Beauty
On view through January 9, 2011
Metropolitan Museum of Art
1000 Fifth Avenue
New York, New York 10028

No holiday museum-going would be complete without a look back at some acclaimed masters, and without a stop at the Met—an incredible structure, filled to its gills with important works. The Baldessari show allows you to kill two birds with one stone, seeing many rarely shown photo-based works from the man who played a large role in American conceptualism and exploring mass-media through the photographic image, at one of New York's most beautiful museums.

Victoria Rubio Diez by Consuelo Mendez

Secrets of Inspiring Women
Pictory Magazine

If for whatever reason you really can't make it out to see some shows, a host of websites, blogs and tumblrs are equipping themselves with gallery interfaces and layouts that bring expertly curated and arranged shows to you. Just reaching its one-year birthday, online invitational photo publication Pictory Magazine invites photographers to submit a photograph and accompanying story related to a new prompt that they release each month. Most recently, Pictory has released an extremely compelling issue, Secrets of Inspiring Women, viewable for free, and written up by NPR's Picture Show. We look forward to seeing even more from this wonderful startup and we hope that those of you itchy to photograph over the Holidays will send some of those photos on for consideration by Pictory.

Stay tuned for more photography shows to add to your own holiday routines!