I had a very fun, pretty productive year. I think my best of the year was my previously posted Matkatamiba Canyon shot. A runner-up: Tiger Wall, Yampa River, Colorado.
I suppose this is my favorite because it was the last day's shooting of my fall trip. And with fall being as great as it was this year in Colorado, it was a beautiful end to my best photo safari of the year.
Posted by John Mumaw on January 4, 2009 at 12:58 AM
I can tell already that this is going to be a visual feast!
What an honor to share this thread with some of the finest Western landscape photography that I've ever seen.
Three of my favorites from my favorite place to photograph...N.E. Arizona.
#1- 'Silent Gathering'
Posted by John Mumaw on January 4, 2009 at 1:01 AM
#2- 'Setting Hen Butte'
Posted by John Mumaw on January 4, 2009 at 1:03 AM
#3- 'Sunrise at the Rock Garden'
Posted by Phillip Noll on January 4, 2009 at 7:46 PM
HOLY MOLY!!! Your "Sunrise at the Rock Garden" is stupendous! What a beautiful range of colors, earlymorning light and unique geologic features. Very nice! I would love to see a 40x50" print of this!
Posted by Joshua Hardin on January 5, 2009 at 12:40 PM
The Rock Garden image is gorgeous John!
Here's a few from Colorado starting with the South Colony Lakes area in the Sangres. This is a slightly zoomed-in version of the one I've posted before.
Posted by Joshua Hardin on January 5, 2009 at 12:54 PM
My favorite wildlife shot of the year from the elk rut in RMNP.
Posted by Joshua Hardin on January 5, 2009 at 12:55 PM
A fall sunset in the San Juans.
Posted by Jack Brauer on January 5, 2009 at 2:35 PM
AWESOME STUFF!!!
Here's Sunrise on Sunlight Peak
Posted by Jack Brauer on January 5, 2009 at 2:36 PM
And one from New Zealand. I'm getting an 8' print of this for myself!
Kudos to Joshua H. for having the courage (and the suitable images) to follow John M's literal showstopper! The talent displayed here is, um, daunting! And inspiring!
Posted by Rene Pirolt on January 5, 2009 at 4:07 PM
Fantastic images, everyone!
Here is another from me....sorry, not a nature shot, but probably my absolute favorite shot of the year, considering the effort required to get this on LF.
Beautiful sparkly cityscape, Rene. I wonder... should we start a "Best OT of 2008" thread? I have a few that I'd like to post as well, and I'm sure many others do too. Whaddya think?
Don
Posted by John Williams on January 7, 2009 at 9:45 AM
Great to see the RMNP folk are doing a best of thread again! I made it out of the PNW to visit the RM area a couple times in 2008. One of my favorites was this Editor's Pick sunset that I took from the state park at Picacho Peak in March...
Posted by John Williams on January 7, 2009 at 9:46 AM
...and a second was of the amazing wildflower display in the La Plata Mountains in August.
Posted by bill meikle on January 7, 2009 at 11:02 AM
Golden and Redtail, collage.
Posted by bill meikle on January 7, 2009 at 11:02 AM
American Avocet
Posted by bill meikle on January 7, 2009 at 11:03 AM
Osprey
Posted by bill meikle on January 7, 2009 at 11:04 AM
Nice work John, love the sunset.
Posted by Mel Ladewig on January 7, 2009 at 6:00 PM
This will be quite the thread when everyone has entered their favorites.
Blue Lakes Basin - July 2008
Posted by Mel Ladewig on January 7, 2009 at 6:01 PM
Macey Lakes - Sangre de Cristo Wilderness - June 2008
Posted by Mel Ladewig on January 7, 2009 at 6:02 PM
Sentinel - The Dollhouse - Maze District of Canyonlands - May 2008
Posted by Mel Ladewig on January 7, 2009 at 6:08 PM
One last one from fall for me.
Old Stagecoach Road - Fall 2008
Posted by Jeremy Week on January 8, 2009 at 10:16 AM
Hey, looks like an awesome year for everyone!! Love this thread!
My favorites that I took are some ice Chasms.
Posted by Jeremy Week on January 8, 2009 at 10:17 AM
And #2
Posted by Joseph Padia on January 8, 2009 at 6:17 PM
Amazing stuff from everyone. Unfortunately, this is the only one that has had a place on my wall all year.
Posted by Grant Collier on January 9, 2009 at 9:26 PM
Lot's of purdy images...here's one of my faves, taken in late Oct.
Posted by Grant Collier on January 9, 2009 at 9:27 PM
And I'll have to include my moonbow shot, since I may never get another shot of one...
Posted by Grant Collier on January 9, 2009 at 9:28 PM
One from Cali...
Posted by Grant Collier on January 9, 2009 at 9:28 PM
And another night shot.
Posted by Guy Schmickle on January 10, 2009 at 12:52 PM
Wow! Some kick-butt images in this thread. Could make a great photography book with all these. My first full year of photography out here in the four corners area found me doing a lot of the iconic scenes, something I plan to change this coming year. First up....a Horseshoe Bend sunset.
Posted by Guy Schmickle on January 10, 2009 at 12:54 PM
With apologies to Rene for duplicating his Mesa Arch shot...this was one of my first shots of 2008 and still one of my favorites.
Posted by Guy Schmickle on January 10, 2009 at 12:56 PM
Finally, a shot from the San Juans...taken from the pond just below Clear Lake near Silverton.
Posted by Jim Caffrey on January 11, 2009 at 2:48 PM
Beautiful work everyone! Here's a shot of Valles Caldera taken in September
Not only my favorite image of '08, but maybe my favorite image I've ever taken.
Posted by Jim Caffrey on January 13, 2009 at 5:23 PM
Here is my Bosque Sunset image after some straightening
Posted by Jeff Hackett on January 18, 2009 at 7:16 PM
Awesome images everyone! My favorite of mine was chosen for December's homepage cover image so I won't post it here again, and it's probably IMO the best image I have... so far (gotta keep the door open)
This one here is from a December visit to California.
Posted by Jeff Hackett on January 18, 2009 at 7:18 PM
This is form the Sawtooth Mts in November. It was one of the better sunsets I had seen in a while.
Posted by Jeff Hackett on January 18, 2009 at 7:24 PM
And the last is one from the narrows in Zion NP.
Hope everybody gets some good ones in '09!
Posted by Don Grall on January 21, 2009 at 1:38 PM
This one started my year off .
Posted by Don Grall on January 21, 2009 at 1:42 PM
And another from the same trip.
Posted by Don Grall on January 21, 2009 at 1:51 PM
And here's a landscape
Posted by Erik Aagaard on January 21, 2009 at 10:29 PM
Here's one from Coal Bank Pass this July that I kind of like. Corn lilies are tough to photograph - depth of field becomes a major issue!
Posted by Erik Aagaard on January 21, 2009 at 10:31 PM
And here's one from Yankee Boy Basin, taken between rainshowers...
Posted by Erik Aagaard on January 21, 2009 at 10:33 PM
Finally, here's a wet boulder in a field of corn lilies on the way up to Yankee Boy Basin.
Posted by Erik Aagaard on January 21, 2009 at 10:34 PM
Wow - I'm glad I don't have to choose from all these! There's some stunning work here.
Posted by John Mumaw on January 22, 2009 at 10:21 AM
Posted by Kalin Wilson on January 29, 2009 at 1:37 AM
Outstanding work by everyone - as usual! I've really enjoyed watching this thread grow. I figured I better sneak a few of my favorites in before the end of the month. I'm still processing 2008, but I like the haul soo far! Happy New Year everyone!
Posted by Kalin Wilson on January 29, 2009 at 1:39 AM
Teton Sunrise from Schwabacker's Landing
Shen Hao, Fujinon 125mm
Posted by Kalin Wilson on January 29, 2009 at 1:41 AM
Shiprock Sunrise
Canon 20D, Tamron 28-75/f2.8
Posted by Kalin Wilson on January 29, 2009 at 1:46 AM
Just went through the posting again as I scrolled down for this last post. WOW !
I'm speechless.
Adam, I love the colors in your image! Lots of other incredible work too. Good luck Ritchie and Rene!
Posted by Kurt Budde on January 30, 2009 at 11:58 AM
Suppose I should throw my two in here. Dunno if anyone is even looking anymore
The first is from Iceberg lake in Glacier. We waited around for about 3 hours for the clouds to break - previously the lake was completely frozen over. It sure was fun watching car sized rocks fall from the sheer cliffs when the snow started to melt!
Posted by Kurt Budde on January 30, 2009 at 12:02 PM
This second one is from my 'go-to' spot. I live about 10 minutes drive+walk from this spot near Red Rock Crossing in Sedona. So, I pick and choose when I *really* want to shoot it. From seven months I've got 3 great shots. You'd be surprised how incredibly rare good light / conditions are here. Although, I suppose that is subjective because I don't consider the sunset glow every night to be good light at this point.
Either way, this is mid-day when we were socked in with an extremely wet low pressure system. 'They' were calling it 'deep moisture.' I hung around for about an hour waiting on the low clouds to break enough to take this shot.
Posted by Laurent Baig on February 2, 2009 at 3:43 PM
Discussion
62 repliesPost your favorite shots from last year, even if previously posted.
I sure hope this is as popular as previous month’s theme!
Mesa arch with a dash of snow!
(Oh yes, I did clone out the footprint)
Hey, Rene, this is where you stopped to chat.
What an honor to share this thread with some of the finest Western landscape photography that I've ever seen.
Three of my favorites from my favorite place to photograph...N.E. Arizona.
#1- 'Silent Gathering'
Here's a few from Colorado starting with the South Colony Lakes area in the Sangres. This is a slightly zoomed-in version of the one I've posted before.
Here's Sunrise on Sunlight Peak
Here is another from me....sorry, not a nature shot, but probably my absolute favorite shot of the year, considering the effort required to get this on LF.
Don
Blue Lakes Basin - July 2008
Old Stagecoach Road - Fall 2008
My favorites that I took are some ice Chasms.
This one here is from a December visit to California.
Hope everybody gets some good ones in '09!
An outstanding collection here!!
My favorite bird of the year...
Metate Arch, Devil's Garden - Escalante-Grand Staircase, Ut
Shen Hao, Fujinon 125mm
Shen Hao, Fujinon 125mm
Canon 20D, Tamron 28-75/f2.8
I'm speechless.
Adam, I love the colors in your image! Lots of other incredible work too. Good luck Ritchie and Rene!
"Bird of Prey"
Wing formations, Bisti Wilderness, NM
Canon 20D, Canon 10-22mm
The first is from Iceberg lake in Glacier. We waited around for about 3 hours for the clouds to break - previously the lake was completely frozen over. It sure was fun watching car sized rocks fall from the sheer cliffs when the snow started to melt!
Either way, this is mid-day when we were socked in with an extremely wet low pressure system. 'They' were calling it 'deep moisture.' I hung around for about an hour waiting on the low clouds to break enough to take this shot.