Mini Challenge #375 -- Your best photos of the last 12 months-ish

npdemers

So I went looking through past mini-challenges, and found one from a couple years back. Simply: give us your favourite photos from the last year!

Any photo taken between September 1, 2023 and the end of the contest is good. Any topic, any style, anything goes. Feel free to explain why they're special to you, or let them speak for themselves.

You know the rules and so do I, but here's the link if you need a refresher: https://dgrin.com/discussion/248032/mini-challenge-un-official-rules#latest

Let's keep this as a 2-week mini, and end on Tuesday October 8, 6PM Pacific time.

I'm sure the real challenge will be narrowing it down to three photos each! Meanwhile, here's a few of mine:

Wood Duck, Burnaby Lake

Greater Yellowlegs, Reifel Bird Sanctuary

American Robin (with lunch), downtown Vancouver

grandmaR

Unfortunately I have taken very few photos in the last 12 months because I have had 3 back operations, and also I am currently unable to transfer photos from my phone to my computer. But I will give you two taken last fall, and one taken in August 2023.
1. MY AFO (ankle foot orthotic) which I wear to keep my foot flexed after it became paralyzed- August 2023

2. Candid photo of my son-in-law
   

3. The Veterans Day Parade
   

slpollett

Wow, you did make it hard!! I'll have to really think about my favorite photos from the last 12 months. So much has happened in my life this past year- in addition to 'regular' activities--my daughter got married and I took quite a few pics on that trip; we took a bucket list vacation (and I'm STILL sorting through all the photos I took on that one); we live in the zone of totality for the total solar eclipse that was in April of this year; we had a great wildflower season here, and more.

I'll edit this post to add my pics once I decide them, but here is a placeholder for now.

1. Lynx at Katmai National Park & Preserve, Alaska. August 31, 2024. I may actually keep this one entered. It's not the best photo I've ever taken, but right now it may be one of my favorite photos of all time. Why? When we went to Katmai National Park, I expected to see lots of bears and take lots of bear photographs. I did take over 3000 pics that trip and probably 2900 of them are bear photos, so yeah, I took lots of pics of bears. What I never expected to see on that trip was this lynx! We took a day tour to another portion of Katmai. This lynx was just casually walking down the road right in front of our bus. At Katmai, the animals have the right of way, so we got to enjoy this lynx in front of us for 15-20 minutes. Every now & then, it would turn around to look to see if we were still there (we were!) and wonder what in the heck we were doing behind it. I was sitting halfway back of the bus, zoomed through the (dirty) front windshield to take this photo. I was using the small point & shoot Canon that I took on this trip for my husband to use. I grabbed it from him for this shot because my big camera had my wide angle landscape lens on it. I didn't want to take the time to switch lenses because I didn't know how much time I had to get a photo.

2. Not a "Milk Mustache" but a "Clay Beard". Katmai National Park, south platform, August 29, 2024. I figured I had to post at least one bear pic from Katmai. I've barely started going through all my bear pics, but this one is hilarious to me. The clay at the river bottom is rich in nutrients, and the bears will frequently eat some of it. The viewing platforms at Katmai allow you to be very close to the bears. I guess I was maybe 6-10 feet from this one.

This one is NOT an entry, but I'm posting so you can see the viewing platform and how close one can be to the bears.

3. Texas Bluebonnets at Muleshoe Bend State Park, April 7, 2024. Muleshoe Bend is widely known as one of the more spectacular places to view our state flower in the spring. They have fields and fields and fields of these beauties. It smells so good, too!
   

Great mini topic. I can't wait to see everyone's favorite photos from the past year!

Sherry P.

npdemers

That lynx is gorgeous!

slpollett

@npdemers said:
That lynx is gorgeous!

Thank you!

bfluegie

Unlike for Sherry @slpollett, this one is a little easier for me. Mainly, I don't think I took as many pictures as Sherry did. Also, I'm posting my favorite photos of the last 12 months. If I went with the best I'd probably agonize over things until the last minute. But I know which ones make me smile.

1) Crater Lake Sunset, 12 October 2023

2) Total Solar Eclipse Diamond Ring, 8 April 2024

3) Aurora Over Lake Hudson, MI, 12 May 2024

slpollett

Ooooh, @bfluegie I love your aurora photo! I love it!

I almost posted an eclipse image, but we had cloud cover at the initial moment with the diamond. We spent the first few seconds commiserating that we were missing it and then lo and behold, the clouds parted long enough for the rest of totality. I didn't get any spectacular eclipse photos, so I went with the other big event in Texas that weekend and posted the wonderful scenery we were able to show our visiting friends before the eclipse.

Just sharing -- NOT an entry.

Sherry P.

bfluegie

Thanks @slpollett. I have always wanted to see the aurora but assumed I would have to take a big trip. Who knew it would come to me? I'm so glad the clouds cleared for you during the eclipse. That shot is great. Texas was my original choice but when my sister decided to visit a friend in Arkansas for the eclipse and I was invited I changed. Clouds and rain were predicted right up to the day before, at which point the forecast was clear to partly cloudy. We didn't see any clouds until the final partial phases. What a magical day!

npdemers

One day left! Let's see your fave pics!

npdemers

Just leaving this open a little bit longer...

npdemers

Okay, contest is closed. Results coming tomorrow!