Top 10 Favorite Pictures from 2017
The video for this shot would have been higher up the list but this is a top ten photo countdown so the still will have to do. This made my list of top ten experiences of 2017 and the picture brings back the excitement of watching this alien stare me down. The video is even better because you can see it change color and it even darts across the screen for a new hiding spot at one point. The image quality here isn't great but the memory is the reason for this shot making the list.
A fun "before & after" for all you Wheel of Fortune fans, and the second animal shot in a row to start this list. Colorado has an abundance of wildlife and the mountain goats were the last of the large herbivores I needed to see. In July, I joined an expedition to the top of one of Colorado's easier fourteeners where I was joined by a herd of these fuzzy fellows for a short stretch. What started out as a handful turned into a herd of 13 that would follow me and my companions along the trail, literally five feet off the trail. They were kind enough to pose for a few pictures but I kept my distance unlike some selfie hungry teens determined to cuddle with the smaller ones.
Death Valley was a wonderful trip full of bizarre landscapes. The Mesquite Sand Dunes were the standout from a photographic perspective. While the field had been trampled throughout the day, clean sand like this was hard to find making for a limited number of usable shots. This would fuel my desire to visit Great Sand Dunes National Park where clean sand was all we saw. Nevertheless, I love the texture and the abstract combination of shadows and lines in this image. Shots like this are why I enjoy shooting sand dunes so much.
The pair of divi trees on Eagle Beach are favorites among photographers and it is easy to see why. The trees are loaded with character from the trunks that look like a fossilized taffy pull to the maze of branch bends holding the sharp green leaves. Originally I was disappointed in the hazy sky as the sun set but where a blue background might make this a pretty picture the white draws attention to the details that make these trees so captivating.
Good art makes you feel and every time I look at this image I get an eerie, lonesome sensation. The day could not have been more cheerful with a sunny, blue sky over the sandy beach but when the sun set and the bright blue sky faded, the results had a cliche Halloween feeling. All that is missing from this shot is a raven perched on the lower branch but you can feel an October breeze blow when you look at this picture.
Photographing Hanalei Pier was one of those perfect timing moments. Spontaneity led us to the beach where Sarah and I watched a band of rain showers soak the mountains in the background. The color images displayed an array of oranges and purples in the sky over deep green mountains but I felt this black and white image was stronger. Again I get a sense of loneliness with the flat sea and the deserted pier. The clouds are dramatic and the bright foam in the foreground does a nice job of balancing the image out.
One of the new additions to the website from this year, this piece is titled "Runnin' Down a Dream" after the Tom Petty song. It is a perfect driving song and this shot makes me picture myself driving a convertible through the tunnel and staring up at the ancient oaks covering the sky. The shot required me to lay down in the middle of the road that runs through the iconic Wormsloe Plantation oak tunnel where I was a buffet for microscopic bugs that packed an irritating bite. This image is one of three from the iconic road that made the website, check out the other two here and here.
I wanted to put the strip I made of four images showing the progression from total eclipse to the diamond ring seen in this image but thought that would be cheating. So instead I went with the single shot of the diamond ring as the first rays of sunlight were uncovered with the red beads along the side. Witnessing the eclipse in the line of totality might turn me into an eclipse chaser. If I were ranking my top social media images of the year this series would have won.
I could have filled this list with ten images from the Great Sand Dunes and called it a day but thought I would find a nice variety from the year. Believe it or not this was not a long exposure and other than a contrast bump this image was shot as is. The highlight in the foreground was created by the sun setting and the texture is the sand blowing over the dune. The hikers were some of the few brave souls in the park that afternoon as high winds brought punishing blasts of sand all day long.
You can find this image on the website titled "Hallelujah". Shot in Hawaii on the island of Oahu, Nu'uanu Pali lookout is located in the mountains between Honolulu and Kailua where it was always raining. It could be sunny and warm on both sides of the mountains but there was never a day there weren't clouds and rain hanging on the mountains. One day we stopped at the lookout where the northeast side of Oahu stretched out before us and I took this image. I love the layered hills leading up to the fog covered peak and the silhouettes of the forest along the edges of the mountains. Apparently this was the year I fell in love with black and white because four of the top six images were black and white.
Love them all but the solar eclipse photo is amazing and my favorite!
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