Top Photos of 2012

chrismoore

Hi, each year around this time I start a thread inviting shooters to post their top photos of the year. Feel free to make it a sticky for a month or so It is great to see others' hard work and fabulous images of the year! So I'll start with mine and please add your own....

Honorable Mention: Ocean Dreams<br>
Beautiful soft light and incoming tide at sunrise on a unique stretch of Florida's Atlantic coast.<br>
<img src="http://www.exploringlightphotography.com/Portfolio/Coastlines/i-vLX38Pk/0/L/Ocean Dreams-L.jpg&quot; border="0"></img>

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10. Mystic Waters<br>
Fierce winds provoke crashing waves on the shore of St. Mary's Lake at sunset.<br>
<img src="http://www.exploringlightphotography.com/Portfolio/Mountains-and-Lakes/i-pgSB2nF/7/L/Mystic Waters-L.jpg&quot; border="0"></img>

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9. Years Gone By<br>
Five minute exposure captures cloud streaks behind a gnarled Whitebark Pine, illuminated by a full moon.<br>
<img src="http://www.exploringlightphotography.com/Portfolio/Forests-and-Trees/i-Mk5G8DJ/5/L/Years Gone By-L.jpg&quot; border="0"></img>

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8. The Dreamer Awakens<br>
As the moon sets, the glow from the rising sun reflects off crashing waves and rough surf on a windy morning.<br>
<img src="http://www.exploringlightphotography.com/Portfolio/Mountains-and-Lakes/i-rtXZNrQ/6/L/The Dreamer Awakens-L.jpg&quot; border="0"></img>

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7. Endless<br>
Cascades through the meadow of Glacier Park towards a vibrant sunrise and mountains beyond.<br>
<img src="http://www.exploringlightphotography.com/Portfolio/Mountains-and-Lakes/i-HXGnbX6/6/L/Endless-L.jpg&quot; border="0"></img>
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6. Fading Glow<br>
The sun sets on a calm evening over St. Mary's Lake in Glacier Park.<br>
<img src="http://www.exploringlightphotography.com/Portfolio/Mountains-and-Lakes/i-H5dn9Wj/7/L/Fading Glow-L.jpg&quot; border="0"></img>


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5. Beyond the Invisible<br>
A large joshua tree frames the summer constellation of the Milky Way, photographed in the wilderness of Death Valley. Single exposure of f/2.8, ISO 4000, 30 seconds.<br>
<img src="http://www.exploringlightphotography.com/Portfolio/Deserts-and-Valleys/i-R8BvrKz/7/L/Beyond the Invisible-L.jpg&quot; border="0"></img>


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4. In the Beginning<br>
Clouds split the late afternoon light on a smoky day on Glacier's St. Mary's Lake.<br>
<img src="http://www.exploringlightphotography.com/Portfolio/Mountains-and-Lakes/i-93hDbCp/5/L/Lonely-L.jpg&quot; border="0"></img>

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3. Desert Passage<br>
Reflected light of sunset on the salt lined flats of Death Valley.<br>
<img src="http://www.exploringlightphotography.com/Portfolio/Deserts-and-Valleys/i-b3KWqkS/6/L/Desert Passage 2-L.jpg&quot; border="0"></img>


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2. Last Refuge<br>
A lone sagebrush and distant dunes in Eureka Valley.<br>
<img src="http://www.exploringlightphotography.com/Portfolio/Deserts-and-Valleys/i-dHQK7Kt/8/L/Last Refuge 2-L.jpg&quot; border="0"></img>


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And my favorite, 1. Soft morning light on Mt. Tom after a snowfall in the Sierra Mountains.<br>
<img src="http://www.exploringlightphotography.com/Portfolio/Mountains-and-Lakes/i-9s8X9Ss/9/L/Mountain Light-L.jpg&quot; border="0"></img>

FlyNavy

Wow!!!! Nice work.

kdog

FlyNavy wrote: »

Wow!!!! Nice work.

Stellar collection of photos this year, Chris.

Earache

Killer - Inspiring
They're all tied for #1 for me!

wfeller

First class!

endurodog

All are great but #4 takes it for me. Great stuff

Mike J

Wow. Like'em all but 5,4, and 1 are killer.

jasonstone

*clunk*
that was the sound of my jaw hitting the ground!

incredible collection - a worth top 10... i wish i could go back through all my photos and find one that grabbed me half as much as any of these!

spacefuzz

I agree, thats some great work!

bnickeson

Phenomenal stuff as always Chris!

2012 wasn't my best year as I was only able to make one extended trip due to a professional engineering exam that occupied the second half of the year. But I got superb conditions at Mount Rainier and a couple spaceweather shots to fill out the year.


Honorable Mention: Controlled Chaos

Hundreds of thousands of snow geese take off nearly simultaneously at Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge in Missouri.




10. The Beast Approaches

Panorama of a massive high precipitation supercell in western Minnesota on a storm chase this past June.




9. The Transit of Venus

The sun sets as Venus transits across for the last time in our lifetimes.




8. The Ascent

The Milky Way begins to dip lower in the sky on a late night over Mount Rainier. You can see the lights of hikers beginning their ascent to the summit.




7. Final Flight

Some of the last geese on the lake take flight after sunset at Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge.




6. Celestial Symphony

An incredible lower-latitude display of northern lights after an X-class flare struck Earth's magnetic field. This was taken just a short drive north of Omaha, far below where the northern lights are usually seen. The beams extended only a few degrees short of being overhead and was probably the second or third best display in 20 years.




5. Pathway to Paradise

An incredible wildflower bloom occurred at Mount Rainier this year and I was lucky enough to time my visit right to enjoy the peak. This was taken in the meadows above Paradise on the south side of the mountain.




4. Aurora Gazer

Self-portrait panorama during another incredible northern lights show in the Badlands of South Dakota this past June. This was the first great display of auroras I'd ever seen and was treated to a show the entire night.




3. Why I Chase

After a long, tough, frustrating 2012 storm chasing season, I finally had a day pay off in June. I captured this cycling wall cloud just before sunset in the plains of eastern South Dakota. It was a beautiful scene to just stand under and marvel.




2. Come Alive

I returned to Mount Rainier this year to hopefully capture a brilliant Milky Way over the mountain with fog rolling in the valley. Turned out most of the time there was a lot more fog than I could deal with, but it broke for about five minutes late one night and revealed this stunning scene in the pitch black.




1. The Awakening

After having my primary spot fogged in for sunrise (seeing a pattern here?) I went just barely outside the confines of Mount Rainier National Park and found one of the best wildflower patches I'd seen. The sun rising over a distant mountain set everything aglow.

chrismoore

Thanks, everyone. Brett those are some killer shots! Some of the best storm shots I think I have ever seen. "The Awakening" strikes me as one that would make a really great print.

Mark Papke

Amazing work, Chris!!

Mark Papke

All of your pictures are truly awe inspiring, I can only hope to be as good someday.
Here are some of my best for 2012

Mark Papke

Wow, excellent photos. Everyone of them are awesome.

Secluded Valley

Wow! There are some excellent photos in this thread so far. Here are a few of my favorite photos from 2012 in no particular order.

6. "Time for a swim" It may not be the best photo, but how often do you get to see a bear swim.


5. "Rainbow"


4. "Rocky Mountain Iris"


3. "Lower Schwabacher Sunrise"


2. "Sunset at Great Fountain Geyser"


1. "Sawmill in Black & White" I absolutely love geysers and will spend all day watching and photographing geysers erupting.


Kristine

mbonocore

chrismoore wrote: »

Hi, each year around this time I start a thread inviting shooters to post their top photos of the year. Feel free to make it a sticky for a month or so It is great to see others' hard work and fabulous images of the year! So I'll start with mine and please add your own....

5. Beyond the Invisible<br>
A large joshua tree frames the summer constellation of the Milky Way, photographed in the wilderness of Death Valley. Single exposure of f/2.8, ISO 4000, 30 seconds.<br>

Wow, Chris, I love these photos...but I am a sucker for deserts and Milky Way photos, so beyond the invisible has my vote

AMAZING work!

mbonocore

bnickeson wrote: »

Phenomenal stuff as always Chris!

2012 wasn't my best year

2012 wasn't your best year???? Man, I want to see what you consider a good year...excellent work Brett!

I will put together my best shots this weekend, but going to be hard to compete with everyone on this post!

Michael

mbonocore

Mark Papke, those are great shots! Love the crisp feel. Awesome work!

mbonocore

Great work Kristine! Really love that rainbow shot.

davev

Wow, I have a lot to learn.
Great shots in here so far, let me lower the stardards.

From the Hot Air Affair, Inflating.



My first and probably only Rocket launch.



Caracara.



Sunset in the Badlands.



The very elusive Bobcat.



The Wave.



and finally, sunset over Horseshoe Bend.



As always, Thanks for looking.

black mamba

Without a doubt, spending two weeks in Yellowstone was a real highpoint of my year. Of primary interest to me were the geyser basins and myriad other locations where geo-thermal activity was pronounced.

kdog

bnickeson wrote: »

2012 wasn't my best year as I was only able to make one extended trip due to a professional engineering exam that occupied the second half of the year. But I got superb conditions at Mount Rainier and a couple spaceweather shots to fill out the year.

Mark Papke wrote: »

All of your pictures are truly awe inspiring, I can only hope to be as good someday.
Here are some of my best for 2012

Secluded Valley wrote: »

Wow! There are some excellent photos in this thread so far. Here are a few of my favorite photos from 2012 in no particular order.
Kristine

davev wrote: »

Wow, I have a lot to learn.
Great shots in here so far, let me lower the stardards.

black mamba wrote: »

Without a doubt, spending two weeks in Yellowstone was a real highpoint of my year. Of primary interest to me were the geyser basins and myriad other locations where geo-thermal activity was pronounced.

Really great shots, folks. bow

anwmn1

Didn't shoot much in 2012 but here are 10 random landscapes from the year.

1. Mono Lake


2. Mono Lake II


3. Bristlecone


4. Wahweap Hoodoos


5. Alstrom Point


6. Lockett Meadow


7. Lockett Meadow II


8. Tonto Creek


9. Pinal Mountains


10. Pinal Mountains II

bnickeson

davev wrote: »

Sunset in the Badlands.



The very elusive Bobcat.

Holy WOW! Two of my favorites so far, love them!

davev

bnickeson wrote: »

Holy WOW! Two of my favorites so far, love them!

Thanks.

superduckz

This is one of the most humbling and awe inspiring threads I've ever paged through... Not that I mind but wow, I still have a lot to learn.

mbonocore

Great work everyone! Finally pulled some shots together to include. Ill have them up tonight!


Michael Bonocore
www.mb-photography-sf.com
www.facebook.com/mbonocore
plus.mb-photography-sf.com

denisegoldberg

Somehow I came up with a Top 13 for 2012 even though my goal was a top 10. I'll share the 10 that are landscape photos here - if you'd like to see the 3 flower images I'll include a link to my gallery at the end of this post.

In date sequence, starting early in the year...

1. reflections in smooth water, from the bridge to Plum Island in Newburyport, MA

2. trees along Jessup Path, Acadia National Park

3. looking, Schoodic Peninsula, Acadia National Park

4. high on Cadillac Mountain, Acadia National Park

5. Schwabacher Landing, Grand Teton National Park

6. Jenny Lake, Grand Teton National Park

7. Gem Lake, Rocky Mountain National Park

8. painted rocks, Schoodic Peninsula, Acadia National Park

9. sanderlings standing, Parker River National Wildlife Refuge

10. patterns in pools of water, Halibut Point State Park

The full gallery can be viewed at Denise's top 13 images, 2012.

--- Denise

mbonocore

Wow, beautiful photos Denise!


Michael Bonocore
www.mb-photography-sf.com
www.facebook.com/mbonocore
plus.mb-photography-sf.com

denisegoldberg

mbonocore wrote: »

Wow, beautiful photos Denise!

Thanks Michael!

--- Denise

scole

Here's my top ten of 2012:

1.) Big Four Mountain – South Fork Stillaguamish River Valley


2.) The Tree and the Log – Boundary Bay, British Columbia


3.) Early Bird’s Worm – Everett, Washington


4.) Pinnacles and Tree – Clear Fork Cowlitz River Valley


5.) Spreading – Lewis River Valley


6.) Brilliance at Boundary Bay, Boundary Bay, British Columbia


7.) Fall, Meet Winter – North Fork Skykomish River Valley


8.) Shuksan Arm and Mount Shuksan – North Cascades National Park


9.) Another Day – Yellowstone National Park


10.) Thorton Lakes Fall – North Cascades National Park