Happy New Year! To all my readers, thank you so much for your readership, support, and participation during the last year. I really appreciate how so many of you have taken time out of your busy schedules to read this blog and write thoughtful comments. I look forward to another great year in 2013!
It’s becoming a New Year’s tradition on this blog to pick out my best images from the past year, and once again I’m inviting you to help make these difficult choices. I’ve posted 50 of my best photographs from 2012 below, and after you look through these please post a comment listing your ten favorites. (Click on the images to see them larger.) Once the votes are in I’ll put the top ten or twelve on this blog, and submit the finalists to Jim Goldstein’s blog project, where he’ll be showcasing the best images of the year from over 100 photographers. The voting deadline is Friday, January 4th at midnight Pacific time.
As always I reserve the right to override the votes if one of my favorites gets panned. But I have yet to exercise this power — the last two years I thought your choices were so good I just went with the votes.
Thanks for your input — I appreciate your help with these difficult decisions!
—Michael Frye
1. Moonrise, Sierra foothills, Mariposa Country, CA, USA
2. Sandhill cranes and the setting moon, Central Valley, CA, USA
3. Ice and tree reflection, Yosemite NP, CA, USA
4. Misty sunset over Bridalveil Fall, Yosemite NP, CA, USA
5. Clearing storm, dusk, Tunnel View, Yosemite NP, CA, USA
6. Ross’s geese landing in the fog, Central Valley, CA, USA
7. Ross’s geese taking flight in the fog, Central Valley, CA, USA
8. Ross’s geese taking flight at sunset, Central Valley, CA, USA
9. Clearing storm, El Capitan and the Merced River, winter, Yosemite NP, CA, USA
10. Clearing winter storm, Three Brothers, Yosemite NP, CA, USA
11. Sunbeams on a small waterfall, Yosemite NP, CA, USA
12. Water and reflections in Bridalveil Creek, Yosemite NP, CA, USA
13. Coyote in Leidig Meadow, Yosemite NP, CA, USA
14. Windblown Horsetail Fall on a spring afternoon, Yosemite NP, CA, USA
15. Ponderosa pines in a blizzard, Yosemite NP, CA, USA
16. Sunbeams and morning mist from Tunnel View, Yosemite NP, CA, USA
17. Sun breaking through mist after a spring snowstorm, Tunnel View, Yosemite NP, CA, USA
18. Poppies and popcorn flowers in the Merced River Canyon, Stanislaus NF, Mariposa County, CA, USA
19. Redbuds and mossy oaks, Merced River Canyon, CA, USA
20. Clearing rainstorm from Tunnel View, Yosemite NP, CA, USA
21. Half Dome and Upper Yosemite Fall with a lunar rainbow, Yosemite NP, CA, USA
22. Sunset clouds, Tenaya Lake, Yosemite NP, CA, USA
23. Sequence showing the annular solar eclipse, May 20th, 2012, from Manzanita Lake, Lassen Volcanic NP
24. Sunbeams and redwoods, Del Norte Coast Redwoods SP, CA, USA
25. Sunrise illuminates North Peak from Greenstone Lake, Inyo NF, CA, USA
26. Reeds and cloud reflections, Inyo NF, CA, USA
27. Cloud formations over Tenaya Lake, Yosemite NP, CA, USA
28. Clouds and reflections at Tenaya Lake, Yosemite NP, CA, USA
29. Mt. Conness from Tenaya Lake at sunset, Yosemite NP, CA, USA
30. Sierra juniper and the Milky Way, Olmsted Point, Yosemite NP, CA, USA
31. Aspen reflections, Inyo NF, CA, USA
32. Water imitates Jackson Pollock, Inyo NF, CA, USA
33. Autumn aspens and pond, Inyo NF, CA, USA
34. Lodgepole pine reflected in beaver pond, Inyo NF, CA, USA
35. Misty creek with aspens, Inyo NF, CA, USA
36. Sunbeams reflected upward into mist, Rush Creek, June Lake Loop, Inyo NF, CA, USA
37. Aspen trunks, Lee Vining Canyon, Inyo NF, CA, USA
38. Aspens and dogwoods along Lee Vining Creek, Inyo NF, CA, USA
39. Aspen grove, late afternoon, Lee Vining Canyon, Inyo NF, CA, USA
40. Lone cloud at sunrise, Mono Lake, CA, USA
41. Autumn dogwoods at sunset, Yosemite NP, CA, USA
42. Oaks in an autumn snowstorm, Yosemite NP, CA, USA
43. Three Brothers and the Merced River after an autumn snowstorm, Yosemite NP, CA, USA
44. El Capitan and the Merced River after an autumn snowstorm, Yosemite NP, CA, USA
45. Oak, pines, and mist, El Capitan Meadow, Yosemite NP, CA, USA
46. Trees and mist underneath Bridalveil Fall, Yosemite NP, CA, USA
47. Pintail ducks taking flight in the fog, Merced NWR, CA, USA
48. Ross’s goose formation in the fog, Central Valley, CA, USA
49. Ross’s geese at sunset, Central Valley, CA, USA
50. Three Brothers reflected in the Merced River on a moonlit night, Yosemite NP, CA, USA
Related Posts: 2010: My Best Images; Top Ten Images of 2010; 2011: My Best Images; 2011: My Top Ten Images
Michael Frye is a professional photographer specializing in landscapes and nature. He is the author and photographer of The Photographer’s Guide to Yosemite, Yosemite Meditations, and Digital Landscape Photography: In the Footsteps of Ansel Adams and the Great Masters, plus the eBooks Light & Land: Landscapes in the Digital Darkroom, and Exposure for Outdoor Photography. He has written numerous magazine articles on the art and technique of photography, and his images have been published in over thirty countries around the world. Michael has lived either in or near Yosemite National Park since 1983, currently residing just outside the park in Mariposa, California.
These are my top 10:
3, 5, 8, 11, 14, 24, 26, 30, 32, 10
15, 43, and 46 are definitely my favorites. I love how 15 and 43 have this low-key thing going on. 46 just really appeals to me compositionally, and I love the light the trees have. These are the three that I’d LOVE to see as prints somehow.
13, the coyote, really stands out to me, too.
I think ultimately it comes down to being because 13, 15, 43, and 46 are all moments I’d really like to be there for and experience. That’s ultimately what draws me to a picture.
Beautiful collection.
My 10 favorites:
4
10
12
13
17
19
26
32
33
45
Geez, Michael, you don’t make this easy. 11 and 14 jump out at me because of the play of light on the water, both of these are well suited to B&W. 23 is spectacular because of the rare nature of the event (beating myself up that I wasn’t somewhere to see this :-). 19 and 45 are lovely compositions and terrific mood.
Boy, picking 10 out of 50 – not an easy thing to do, when they are all so good, but here goes – 9, 20, 21, 24, 26, 33, 37, 40, 43 and 50. Hope this helps.
This is a difficult decision because they are all so beautiful. Here are my 10 favorites:
4, 8, 10, 18, 22, 24, 26, 45, 49, 50
I like them all, but these are my favorites. 1,10,21,24,25,32,36,41,43,46
Hi Michael,
Great series. My favorites seem to show a bias toward the abstract for some reason. 😉
3
15
23
24
26
29
31
32
34
50
Kurt
Hello,
my choice for the top then is the following:
3, 5, 14, 21, 24, 32, 36, 39, 40, 49.
A happy and interesting new year!
Florian.
Beautiful work here Michael. Thanks for the privilege to choose.
10, 16, 24, 30, 38, 39, 42, 43, 44, 46
Tim
Change 10 to 50, in above list!
8. Ross’s geese taking flight at sunset, Central Valley, CA, USA
18. Poppies and popcorn flowers in the Merced River Canyon, Stanislaus NF, Mariposa County, CA, USA
19. Redbuds and mossy oaks, Merced River Canyon, CA, USA
26. Reeds and cloud reflections, Inyo NF, CA, USA
29. Mt. Conness from Tenaya Lake at sunset, Yosemite NP, CA, USA
36. Sunbeams reflected upward into mist, Rush Creek, June Lake Loop, Inyo NF, CA, USA
38. Aspens and dogwoods along Lee Vining Creek, Inyo NF, CA, USA
41. Autumn dogwoods at sunset, Yosemite NP, CA, USA
46. Trees and mist underneath Bridalveil Fall, Yosemite NP, CA, USA
50. Three Brothers reflected in the Merced River on a moonlit night, Yosemite NP, CA, USA
What a tough choice! Here are my favourites:
5, 8, 10, 14, 18, 21, 30, 39, 41 & 50
And here are my husband’s – a different perspective:
4, 7, 10, 18, 27, 29, 30, 37, 42 & 44
My picks are,4,9,10,22,30,39,44,45,46,50. Thanks for your view on nature. You are a talented man. Have a prosperous new year.
Wow! too many awesome photos. This is going to take me several times looking at them all before I can choose tmy favorites. It will be difficult to eliminate any of them.
Carol
I’ve loved seeing these over the year! These are my faves (in order):
50, 30, 43, 44, 27, 21, 42, 26, 15, 3.
Deb
I was delighted that we got to pick 10, not just one. However, my first list had 16, so I had to go over them again. Here is the final list for me: 39, 29, 50, 41, 25, 19, 18, 34, 9, 1
This was fun and interesting. My picks:
10, 18, 27, 30, 34, 36, 44, 45, 46, 50
Very hard to pick and somehow it seemed wrong not to pick some I really loved when you first posted them. Thank you for a year of beauty and artistry.
50 – the best!
1
4
10
11
22
24
40
44
48
Wow – you had quite a year!
46 is simply stunning!
Also like 14,21,24, 41, 49
difficult decision but here it is (no special order) 1, 5, 14, 20, 21, 25, 29, 30, 36, 50
I think my favorite is number 5, 2nd fav is number 1 and I had 13 to begin with but had to choose 10. the others I had were 8, 12 and 19
Great images! My top ten picks are: 3 11 23 24 26 30 32 35 46 50.
Hello Michael,
Congratulations on having such a nice line up for 2012. I have listed my preference below but not in any kind of priority. See you soon.
1. Moonrise, Sierra foothills, Mariposa Country, CA, USA
10. Clearing winter storm, Three Brothers, Yosemite NP, CA, USA
20. Clearing rainstorm from Tunnel View, Yosemite NP, CA, USA
27. Cloud formations over Tenaya Lake, Yosemite NP, CA, USA
30. Sierra juniper and the Milky Way, Olmsted Point, Yosemite NP, CA, USA
11. Sunbeams on a small waterfall, Yosemite NP, CA, USA
12. Water and reflections in Bridalveil Creek, Yosemite NP, CA, USA
9. Clearing storm, El Capitan and the Merced River, winter, Yosemite NP, CA, USA
24. Sunbeams and redwoods, Del Norte Coast Redwoods SP, CA, USA
50. Three Brothers reflected in the Merced River on a moonlit night, Yosemite NP, CA, USA
Best Regards,
Ronald J. Saunders
4, 10, 19, 20,22,27,36,42,45,49
I think that number 27 is the top,
5, 10, 13, 18, 23, 24, 27, 29, 43, and 50
Beautiful work Michael, and quite a productive year. In no particular order:
4
6
10 (&43,50 all 3-Brothers should be top ten, but probably won’t make it because of repetition)
13
14
21
24
33
39
42
My pics:
1,4,8,10,18,21,37,41,43,50
heavenly. Thank you so much for sharing, and allowing us to engage in choosing… hard choices!
1, 10, 15,
18, 19, 30,
38, 42, 43,
45
Michael,
Tough decisions, there all great.
These are my faves
10 9 21 23 24 30 33 43 44 50
I’ve been with Michael during one of his winter workshops to some of these same viewpoints, so I understand a bit more now what it takes to extract a really good photo from the moments he has captured. No as easy as he makes it look. Thanks, Michael, for another opportunity to review in my mind some of the elements you taught. My top 10 picks, in no particular order are:
6, 19, 23, 24, 27, 30, 31, 42, 44, 50
only 10? You’re kidding, right?
I’ll give you a few.
I like simple compositions and I think #26 stands out for me. Excellent simple composition and great light.
46 also falls into this catagory.
I like all three of the three brother shots, with the last one, 50, being the one that stands out for me, followed by 43.
So, that’s 5. I am just overwhelmed by the quantity of excellent shots.
Looked again. Lets include 9, 4, 35, 34 and 42 as I think snow/mist and Yosemite are magical.
OK. I got 10 and I am still on overload. At least I could eliminate a few from consideration as I do not like bird photos. My personal bias. Seen to many, I guess. It is painful to sit through a hundred bird photos at camera club.
I would be happy to claim any one of these (with the affore mentioned bird exception) as mine and consider my year a success. To have so many is amazing. Thanks for sharing and straining my brain on this first day of 2013.
Aram
Happy New Year Michael:
Wow, tough choices….really enjoy looking at all of these….tough to make a decision, however I prefer the images that took the most amount of set up and hunting for unusual subject matter, very creative.
10
41 +
23
19
3
12+
25
30+
50+
44
Probably #30 & #50 are my first choices.
Thanks for this opportunity to view phenomenal talent.
One of your older students!
Gary Albertson
Another great set of photos. Here are ten I really liked, but I am sure if I looked at them again it would probably change.
3, 7, 12, 19, 26, 29, 30, 37, 38, 45
Here are my favorites:
1,3,16,24,25,33,36,41,45,46
Thanks for the opportunity of voting.
I hope you will tell the “winners” on your blog.
Mel
A beautiful collection! Difficult choices, but here is my selection:
First my favorite #45 then from there in no specific order 9, 10, 12, 18, 24, 29, 41, 43, and 46.
You make it really tough to pick just 10, but here are my choices (not in order of preference):
12
20
25
26
31
32
33
34
37
50
Not easy to only pick 10 but I did my best. 🙂
In no particular order….
5,9,11,18,21,23,24,30,39,50
Difficult for me to narrow to 16, then it really got hard. 🙂 But finally, 5, 9, 10, 20, 21, 22, 26, 30, 46, and 50. Thanks for sharing. Happy New Year!
It was tough, but I chose: 4, 13, 14, 21, 26, 29, 30, 45, 46, 49.
Happy New Year!
Michael, #50 is my favorite (I guess you saved the best for last), followed by – in no particular order – 21, 38 & 39 (I have a weakness for autumn aspens) and 41.
My choice for your top ten are: 3, 10, 21, 23, 27, 29, 39, 45, 46, 50.
Happy New Year!
Thank you for sharing so many beautiful images! My most favorite is 50, Three Brothers reflected in the Merced River on a moonlit night, because it brings together the top 3 elements I love most…reflections, night and winter scenes. I so appreciate the effort that goes into representing these scenes at their best possible. My next nine favorites are 1,2,12,13,24,30,32,34,38. I can’t wait to see the top 10!
My pick: 4,16, 18, 19, 23, 24, 38, 45, 46, 50
50, 46, and 4 are my top picks, just gorgeous pictures… oh my goodness!!!
50, 10, 18, 23, 24 in that order.
Beautiful set of photos!
My ten favorites are: 2, 7, 10, 18, 23, 24, 26, 39, 45 and 49.
Wishing you a wonderful year 2013!
My favs are
3,5,8,9,11,12,13,19,24,49
Hard to choose as last year but here is my selection :
2
3
5
11
14
24
39
46
49
50
Great selection of images, Michael. I think my favorites, as a group, are your bird images from the refuge as they are different from the Yosemite-type images that I associate with you. And “Clearing Storm, Tunnel View”, what a jaw-dropper!
Tough choices as usual. Here are my favorites.
4
7
10
13
15
24
35
43
45
49
My favorites are # 5,10,18,25,26,30,45,46 and 50.
I look forward to this every year. I remember seeing these pictures through out the year and picking 10 out of 50 is not easy. I’m sure it was difficult for you to pick 50 out of the thousands you’ve probably taken throughout 2012.
My selections are:
4
5
9
10
18
21
23
24
35
50
50 being my number one pick. Love the surreal mood and lighting.
Thanks for sharing Michael. Yosemite is one of my favorite places on earth & your photos take me there. You are truly a blessing to many.
My top 10:
13
19
39
21
27
29
30
34
41
43
Hi, Mikael..;so beautiful as usual…so difficult to choose, but : 4 ,9 ,10, 11, 12 ,14 ,20 ,21 , 27 ,30…But I love all of them !
Beautiful work!
3, 8, 16, 22, 24, 29, 39, 41, 46, 50
wow, you don’t make it easy Michael! Different images for different reasons. Some because you have taken unique and beautiful shots of familiar Yosemite places and cast them in a new light, some for wonderful composition and color and some because I love the expressive mood. Favorites are: 10,23, 27, 28,30, 35, 43, 44, 46 and 50. Anxious to see what you pick.
10
15
18
19
21
24
26
41
42
50
How can I turn off the comments? The messages keep emailing me.
Sean, you must have checked the box that says ” Notify me of followup comments via e-mail.” I think you can turn this off by going to the bottom of this post and clicking the word “manage” where it says “You are subscribed to this entry. Manage your subscriptions.”
Sorry about all the emails — lots of comments!
My favorites are:
24, 26, 30, 44, 45, and 46.
Jeff : )
Definitely a hard task with so many awesome images! Here are my choices:
#’s 3, 10, 19, 21, 24, 27, 31, 38, 39, and 50.
Happy New Year!
5, 9, 10, 13, 20, 22, 24, 30, 50, 37
Amazing shots!!!!
Too many favorites, I am a big fan, and very inspired by your work. I constantly tell people you are the 2nd Ansel Adams of Yosemite. My favorites are 3 5 9 14 16 21 24 26 30 39 41 46 50.
Happy New Year!
John Moya
I love soo many!!!!
since others gave you a list…here’s my LIST:)
3,4,5,8,9,10,13,14,20,21,22,24,30,38,39,41,44,46,49,50
I don’t think you ever take bad pictures:)
Thanks for sharing:)
That way to many pictures to chose from. I selected the pictures that stand out in my opinion. I know that are less than 10 pictures but I really wanted to chose only pictures that stand out: 5, 12, 13, 14, 16, 21, 46, 50.
#50 really hits the mood of Winter.
5,9,10,16,30,39,43,44,45,50
my choice for the top then is the following:
10-18-21-24-26-30-44-45-46-50
But I love all of them !
Very beautiful series. Very difficult to choose only 10. But here they are:
17, 19, 24, 33, 35, 36, 44, 45 ,46 and 50.
A very happy newyear !
Oh, this was an impossible task. I really need to give you my top 20, but here goes with ten:
4, 10, 19, 23, 26, 27, 30, 44, 49, 50
Some really great ones are on the cutting room floor!
Hi Michael,
this was tough, as I love them all, so I had my husband help me….
here are my picks :
#44 ( my absolute favorite)
#1, 4 , 9, 12, 16, 18, 30, 46, 50
thanks for sharing!
Linda
OK, it’s very tempting to second-guess myself and do a second (and then third?!) run-through to see if there are others that grab me, but… here’s the list that spoke to me on just a single pass… so more emotional response than anything else:
1, 8, 11, 24, 46, 29
1, 3, 10, 11, 21, 24, 28, 37, 43, 50
Had to do a lot of picking and choosing, but for what it’s worth, 3-10-43 and 50 were clear standouts for me.
What a gorgeous collection of work!
#13 is my favorite. The rest, in no prticular order are:
14, 18, 19, 21, 24, 37, 45, 46, 50.
They’re all amazing, as usual.
so many great photos michael! i have 11 picks. 9, 10, 11, 12, 21, 22, 26, 29, 49, and 50
50, 43, 32, 30, 29, 21, 18, 12, 10, 5
All inspire me to get out there with my camera
My favorites: 2,3,10,12,15,24,26,30,31,45
Best,
Scott
Great shots! My favorites: 1, 8, 10, 13, 19, 25, 26, 29, 38, 43
Such a wonderful collection – you’re very fortunate to be living in such impressive surroundings. I enjoy your work and look forward to more! All the best, Jon
Beautiful photos! My favorites are 13, 9, 10, 39, 41,50, 21, 30, 24, 19.
You make it hard to choose! I would be proud to have any of them hanging on my walls but my favorites are:
4, 8, 10, 12, 18, 26, 29, 34, 42, 50.
Hi,
9-12-24-26-30-34-41-42-43-46
Great work Michael…
I’ll vote for…2, 4, 10, 18, 24, 26, 34, 39, 41, 43
Michael,
My Top 10 Picks for 2012 are: 2, 8, 10, 11, 12, 14, 16, 33, 46 and 50.
Thanks again for your contributions and dedication to this wonderful endeavor of outdoor photography, for the great private workshop w/you in June, and for giving us an opportunity to weigh in on your favorites of the year.
Happy New Year!
Starting with my #1 favorite in decending order are:
50, 30, 26, 23, 21, 19, 13, 12, 41 & 31.
7,10,13,19,21,24,29,35,41,44
Michael, thanks for the opportunity to cast our votes. Every one of your photos is exceptional – you are truly a master of your craft.
My top 10 picks (in order, favorite first): 22, 40, 9, 10, 44, 18, 21, 30, 50, 41
Happy New Year!
Okay my favs are:
33, 30, 27, 26, 19, 18, 15, 8, 3, 46
10, 13, 21, 24, 29, 39, 41, 44, 45, 50
While the exercise isn’t, the process is good and gives a deeper appreciation of the photos. Thanks for doing this.
If you are open to new ideas, I used polldaddy on a similar exercise on my blog and it made it easier for both parties.
46, 50, 26, 49 – you had a productive, great 2012!
Michael,
I like all the pictures, especially the variety. However, because I love Yosemite I’m attracted to those, a lot! Here are my selections. It was tough choosing. It will be interesting to see what the final ten are.
1. 50
2. 16
3. 44
4. 43
5. 26
6. 48
7. 35
8. 18
9. 15
10. 13
Hard to choose Michael. But here’s my choices
1. 50
2. 30
3. 21
4. 14
5. 15
6. 27
Michael…There are so many wonderful photos here, but these are my favorites…
4, 5, 10, 13, 21, 23, 26, 43, 46, 50
By the way, thank you for your Yosemite app. My friends and I used it to filter our shots on a recent trip. The rainbow at the bottom of the upper falls was incredible!
Once again you make it very difficult to choose only 10! So many that I find catching my artistic eye rather than just the normal awe inspiring shots of the local landscape. I had to make a list and pare it down several times to get to only 10. My final decision factors was “which shots would I want to show someone else who doesn’t know your work or maybe never been to our area. This is what I came up with:
5 – Love – classic Yosemite shot
8 – Makes me want to be there taking flight
11 – Love, Love, Love this shot best! Fantastic lighting.
21 – Love
27 – I Love B&W photos and this one just pulled me right in!
30 – Love this amazing shot.
39 – Classic Aspen shot.
41 – Another one with excellent lighting.
44 – El Cap, what more can I say, it’s perfect.
50 – Love this one over #10, although they are both great shots, the moonlight wins out!
Can’t wait to see how many I pick get chosen!
Happy New Year!
I love them all! But the favorites are:
#4 mysterious which you like to do and caught the color in the clouds
#9
#10 more mystery
#14 love B&W great contrast
#21 vibrant, caught the rainbow
#23 clever time consuming
#25 a moment of sun breaking through, such patience
#26 you are forever teaching composition
#30 Exciting
#46 love how you catch weather
Glad to have met you in Cook’s Meadow at the golden tree. Your wonderful instructions made my trip .
Happy New Year!
4. misty sunset over b. fall
11. sunbeams on a small waterfall
12. water and reflections
13. coyote
17. sun breaking through
19. redbuds and mossy oaks
30. sierra juniper
37. aspen trunks
42. oaks in an autumn snowstorm
47. pintail ducks
Congratulations on a great year. Here are my favorites:
10, 11, 14, 27, 38, 39, 40, 46, 50
Thanks for your always eloquent blog/email. Thoroughly enjoyable reading and very inspiring.
My favorites:
4, 9, 10, 11, 18, 19, 27, 30, 33, 38, 42
My favorite images: 5,10, 13, 19, 21, 29, 33, 38, 44, 50
My top favorite is 50. Others that I like are 5, 16, 23, 26, 29, 30 46
In numerical order: 5, 13, 16, 21, 27, 34, 39, 44, 49, and 50. I think 50 is my favorite, but that could change with the day – they are all incredible!
Faves:
1
10
13
15
20
22
27
42
43
45
Great collection of images My selection is #’s 50-46-43-27-31-24-19-16-10-4
Beautiful work Michael! My picks would be 30, 31, 46 and 50
This was super tough but I narrowed my choices down to (in chronological, not preferential) order: 10, 16, 20, 21, 22, 27, 30, 39, 41, and 44. Looking forward to which one gets the top slot, all are beautiful!
A beautiful collection- 5-10-21-23-27-30-31-39-46-50
Wow! Tough to choose, but I’ll give it a go. I’m guessing I’d choose differently tomorrow they are all so good!
11, 13, 15, 18, 19, 24, 27, 30, 31 … but then I’m stumped because I want 43, 44, 45 AND 46.
Does a Baker’s Dozen work? Sigh. Maybe I can sleep on it and eliminate. Very doubtful, though. I’d probably only add more!
As everyone already stated, they all are beautiful. So here goes my top ten!!
4
8
14
18
35
42
44
45
49
50
Looks like a great year Michael! Here are my picks of your top photos:
9, 10, 12, 20, 21, 31, 37,42, 45, 50
21
30
50
3
26
31
44
5
8
10
I think 15 is my favorite, for its blend of suggestion (tree trunks in the shadows), definition (pine needles in the light), texture (driving snow lines) and mood (because I’m unlikely to witness that scene myself).
11
12
15
23
27
30
39
44
46
50
Thanks for your blog, Michael.
It has helped me a lot to develop my photographic eye. As there is no Yosemite NP around I just go out as often as possible to experience places in my backyard.
My favs (in no particular order):
10 Clearing winter storm, 11 Sunbeams in a waterfall, 13 Coyote,
22 Sunset clouds, 26 Reeds & cloud reflections, 32 Pollock imitation,
36 Sunbeams reflected upwards, 40 Lone cloud, 44 El Capitan after autumn snowstorm 45 Oak, pines & mist
Hi Michael,
Happy New Year!
Can’t get enough of the waterfalls in Yosemite and the juniper and stars is a great shot (#30).
Here is my top ten:
14, 46, 30, 11, 10, 4, 5, 15, 27, 50
Cheers,
Stewart
50,3,2,27,44,46,38,5,12,15
What a fabulous year for photos Michael.
Love them all and a magnificant job.
John
You’ve spent the time & photographed some amazing views.
4, 10, 12, 18, 30, 32, 37, 39, 44, 50
8, 24, 34, 41 & 42 are my 5 favorites. They are all beautiful and well done. Thanks for sharing.
My favorites are 8, 23, 26, 30, 31, 37,
Very tough to choose, but I think my 10 favorites are:
1, 10, 11, 18, 19, 27, 38, 39, 44, 50
No question about number 50!
I have a noticeable bias in favor of the colors, composition and incredible beauty of your monolithic landscapes, which has lingered since I first saw your work, years ago. With this limitation in mind, my favorites are: 4, 5, 9, 10, 22, 30, 42, 44 and 50. Congratulations on the spectacular photography, and I look forward to seeing more of your work!
Hi Michael,
Thank you for you blog.
I enjoy both your writing, and photos, plus I usually learn some excellent tips!
The best was very easy, that is # 50, but the others were pretty difficult for me to rate in a top 10 order.
Here are my picks:
1 – # 50
2 – # 30
3 – # 5
4 – # 26
5 – # 29
6 – # 11
7 – # 23
8 – # 20
9 – # 21
10-# 3
Take Care.
Paolo
Tough to choose and love them all. My personal top ten:
1
50
15
21
46
6
12
19
42
23
Congratulations Michael on another great year of photos! My favorites from your collection are (in no specific order):
1
2
3
7
10
26 – I really like the lovely simplicity of this image
34
44
49 – I love the engaging abstract nature of this image
50
I was also amazed at the wonderfully crisp reflections that you are able to capture from up in Yosemite…when I visit I’m never able to find those. (the advantage of living so close I guess).
Here’s to a another great year of light and photos in 2013.
Great images! Keep up the inspirational, quality work.
4, 5, 9, 13, 15, 16, 17, 26, 33, 46
My favorite is 46 – great composition, light, and evoked mood.
Oh you make it soooooo difficult to select just 10 images.
Here are my picks for your top 10 images of 2012:
11,14,17,24,26,29,36,42,45 & 50.
I love them all!
Tough choices!
10,14,19,21,23,26,29,44,46,50
Thanks for sharing these with us
Enjoyed going through and choosing my favourites. Will keep my list and compare to the final selection as I did last year, seem to remember I got 6/10.
My selection: 1,10,20,21,24,30,36,34,41,50
Good luck!
Wow… tough choices…
#7 — I like the pattern, the light, the eye following from the static geese on the ground to the ones in flight.
#14 – I would never have thought of Horsetail in B&W; it’s always so much about sunset color. I think it’s the negative space anchoring it…
#15 – Just the right shutter speed to *feel* like a blizzard. I get cold looking at it 🙂
#19 – The combination of sidelight and the green/purple. I think I would have missed this completely — looked and said “too busy” and walked on, but perhaps the side-lit branches give it structure?
#22 – Very cool. I had to look twice to recognize the setting, but this captures the feel of the place so well…
#26 – Zen 🙂
#45 – I think the depth/texture thing… the backlight is very good at picking out the layers.
#46 – Great shot. I think my favorite of the bunch. The trees framing the fall, ,but the tonal values fall just right to balance the trees, the fall, and the mist.
#49 – Just a brilliant shot of something that might have been stale. I love the motion.
I guess that’s not ten 🙂
-eric
I like most of them but some of favorites are:
10, 24, 29, 30, 35, 37, 41, 42, 43 and 50
Hi Michael
Well i’m going to post before I change my mind again, here goes: 4,13,14,15,22,26,27,36,42 and 45. 15 is exceptional, reminds me of a fine art pencil drawn study. Could have picked many more. Looking forward to more images and blogs this year.
Graham
Michael, I like then all but 11, 18 and 19 jump out at me.
Beautiful pictures! This was hard, but……
Favorite is #18, followed by, in order of preference: 4, 24, 41, 17
and 1, 19, 15, 32 and 29.
In numerical order: 1, 4, 15, 17, 18, 19, 24, 29, 32, 41.
All are great pics, here are my choices (in no particular order)
50, 32, 23, 30, 39, 5, 24, 13, 1, 5
4, 14, 18, 19, 36.
Nice reminder to encapsulate my own year’s worth of photos…
16,29,32,34,40,42,43,44,46,48
4, 16, 18, 24, 27, 31, 34, 43, 46, 49
What a great collection of sensually appealing photos, Michael. You do such a tremendous job of capturing the variations of light and getting to places at the best time of day or night and in the best, most interesting weather. Congratulations. Was difficult to choose only 10. My preferences tend to be photos that have at least a touch of color – color is important to me. Not particularly fond of birds. After looking over your list of 50 I did finally get my list down to 10.
My choices in no particular order are: 9, 10, 12, 19, 24, 29, 38, 41, 46, and 50. Couldn’t decide between 10 and 50, and 24 and 41 so included them all.
Carol
7,10,11,14,18,24,29,30,49,50
so hard to get the 10 pics that r the best…18 is by far my favorit!!!!love the colors and the flowers!!!!!!the rest r in no order…24,21,19,13,28,41,49,50,48
Well they are all simply breathtaking…I couldn’t do 10 because I choose ALL of them as my favorite but my top 3 are 18, 24, 21…you have certainly found your gift and thank you for sharing it with all of us!
In no particular order of merit although #10 and #50 are spectacular!
9, 10, 14, 21, 23, 27, 29, 30, 46, 50.
I honestly would have been delighted to have taken any of the 50! Happy New Year Michael.
My favorite images are: 4, 5, 10, 12, 21, 38, 41, 43, 44, 50 in no particular order. Such beautiful work!
Michael, wishing a very Happy New Year to you and your family.
Many more than 10, but you set the rules.
1, 3, 4, 10, 12, 13, 21, 23, 46, 50
Thanks for the opportunity to view this collection.
It’s hard to decide which are my favorite top 10 but these are my choices in order
1) pic 50
2) pic 10
3) pic 5
4) pic 4
5) pic 9
6) pic 13
7) pic 29
8) pic 24
9) pic 41
10) pic 43
Thanks for asking our opinion Michael.
Michael,
Thanks for helping set me off in the right direction (again) exactly a year ago! I’m not particularly active on the blog, but read it religiuosly.
Favorites: 2, 4, 5, 10, 14, 18, 21, 36, 46, 50
All the best in 2013!
Michael,
I would have been thrilled to have called any of these my own. Really outstanding. For me, 14 and 15 stand apart, and 13, 46 and 50 are next in class. In my view, these represent subjects photographed countless times, but here remain distinctive. Others that I view as certainly worthy of a wall are 10, 11, 12, 21, 23, 24, 29, 30, 33, 36, 39, 43 and 45.
Happy new year.
Happy New Year Michael. 23 and 5 are my favorite. 5 because how it captures so many of the icons of Yosemite and 23 the eclipse sequence. 3, 30, 19, 10, 12, 45, 4, and 29 … make up 10. That was tough … they were all great! t
Great photos Michael
My top 10 favorites are: 3,4,6,13, 16, 30, 33, 35, 42, 46
Happy New Year!
Beautiful pictures!!!
I liked 5,29,41 and 50 the most but they are all wonderful shots. They are vivid and very striking when you first glance at them. Their depth and mystery allures you right into the picture. They also show mystic and clarity. They captured my attention at first glance, I found myself looking deeper into the pictures wanting to see more. You have a wonderful talent!
They’re all great, but here’s my favorites:
9,10,14,15,37,38,44,45,46,50
How to decide but here goes:
44,50,2,3,14,18,23,31,33,42
Such a tough choice. I love your work – especially the reflections. However, after considerable thought & comparison, I have settled on the following as my top 10:
8, 9, 10, 20, 21, 24, 26, 44, 46 & 50. I would have to say my favorite is # 50.
Congratulations on a most successful year of photos. Can’t wait to see what you create in 2013.
10, 14-16, 18, 20, 26, 27, 41, 46.
A very difficult decision to narrow it down to 10:
4,9,10,13,20,26,30,43,44,50
Great collection of photographs and wonderful to see them all in one viewing. My favourites are 4,10,30,31,33,36,39,42,45,49
Great year Michael
5,9,10,16,18,21,24,31,41,50
Difficult, as always. Thanks for sharing your work.
7, 11, 12, 13, 19, 21, 24, 46, 49, 50
Michael, You certainly don’t make this easy for us 🙂
My choices would be: 5, 8, 12, 19, 21. 23, 30, 32, 38, 50
We’re trying to get up for your show in February. See you then I hope.
50, 3, 12, 13, 20, 21, 23, 44, 19, 29
All are gorgeous. If only I could capture at least one.
Great work, Michael. I would pick 2, 3, 4, 19 and 42 for the favorites.
These are the most breathtakingly gorgeous photos. I had a difficult time choosing just 11. These are my favorites:
3, 4, 9, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25, 43, 44, 50
Can’t imagine anything more beautiful coming in 2013.
Well, that was just cruel. Ten was not enough. The more times I went thru trying to eliminate my overage, the more I wanted to add. After much gnashing of teeth:
1,13,15,19,30,33,40,46,47,50
Great photos. My picks – 4, 5, 8, 10, 19, 29, 30, 41, 45, and 50
Michael –
Happy New Year to you and your family.
I’m probably going to be a contrarian, but here are my votes:
3, 12, 16, 23, 24, 26, 45, 46, 47, 42.
I think that each shows a different side of your work that deserves a closer look.
Frank
Exquisite set of images to choose from. Hard decisions!
My choices are: 3, 29, 21, 14, 26, 18, 5, 41, 34, 27
<3 following your posts on Facebook!
I enjoy your blog.
My favorites in the collection are 4, 13, 14, 15, 17, 24, 30, 32, 33 and 46.
Have a great new year.
Best wishes to you and your family for 2013. What a wonderful collection of images.Choosing favorites is not made easy, however mine are, 10,13,14,19,23,26,27,30,39,50.
Peter
18, 22, 26, and 30 are my favorites. 18 is so intensely colorful. 30 looks like something i would dream or have written a poem about…
Beautiful pictures and very difficult to pick my favorites. I have no expertise in photography but enjoy talents of those like you. My picks are12,18,21,22,23,24,29,30,41,43,44,50.
I’m not a professional photographer so I’m not looking at these from a technical or level of difficulties type of way. I pretended that Michael had told me I could have 10 of his pictures. Which pictures would I want to hang in my home and look at for a very long time? I looked for pictures that resonated with me, drew me in and excited me. I also forced myself to be diverse in my choices. I might love 5 pictures from Tunnel View but if I were hanging them all in one room it would start to look like too much of the same thing. So with these criteria in mind I chose #s 6, 11, 14, 15, 20, 26, 30, 37, 41 and 43. Another beautiful year of work Michael!
I chose as if I was buying them, is 20 ok? 🙂 It took awhile to whittle it down to 10. You are a gifted person to capture the energy and emotion and your skill to capture the colors and details, it’s not easy to photograph with the camera what our eyes see. Thank you Michael for allowing me the honor of submitting my favorites. 10, 11, 18, 19, 21, 23, 24, 30, 44, 50 Happy New Year, can’t wait to see what 2013 brings you. Namaste
Thanks for keeping B&W alive: 11, 14, 15, and 48
These feel, for me, to be true to your origins / roots: 23, 29, and 50
Just simply beautiful: 3, 26, and 42
Thank you for sharing everything you do as an artist!
Happy New Year! Looking forward to 2013!
Some really tough choices, as as always, here to make. Those are in the order of how much a like them.
My first choice has to be 50, I just fell in love with this photograph when I saw it first time. Those clouds or fog, covering rocks- amazing!
I love the implied “gesture” in the dramatic tree in 30.
I also like geese at 7 and 49, but prefer 49 if I had to choose one.
From sun bursts in 24, 39 and 41, probably the first one, 24 is my favorite.
From abstracts in 11, 12, 15, 31 and 32, 12 is my favorite, is less obvious what you are looking at, has a nice line, and pleasing colors.
All the rest are beautiful, too, but not stunning, which just stop you at your tracks to look closer, like those I chose.
2,13,15,16,19,25,29 but theyre all grand!!!!
Hard to choose as they are all excellent! But since I’m partial to night photography my favorites are
30
50
Hello, I discovered your blog this year. Thanks for all the great posts and amazing photos! Here are my favorites:
2
8
13
16
18
27
30
31
44
50
Of these, #13 (coyote) and #30 (Milky Way) stand out the most.
In Order 1-10. 30,18,26,39,24,23,21,29,34,50. great work and such fun getting out there in the great outdoors all the time. can’t wait to see the work you do in 2013.
So hard to choose, but I narrowed it down to the ones that took my breath away more than others:
4,8,16,21,24,34,43,49,50
50 is my top favorite as I was also out that night and got a moonlight shot that is now my own favorite 🙂
1, because I love the foothills and the beautiful soft light.
2, because, well, you know…
13, because it strongly evokes that specific place and that season
15, because of the abstract nature of the image
19, because of beautiful light and a connection to a type of landscape work that I love a great deal
24, because it is one of the best “sun beams through redwoods” shots that I’ve seen
30, because it reassured me that milky way photographs do not have to be trite 😉
37, because, we you know
43, because I really had to include at least one of your string of beautiful Three Brothers photographs
49, because it does a whole bunch of things with the “wildlife” genre that appeal to me
Initially I over-thought the selection process quite a bit, as several of us (you know who… 😉 went through the photographs and talked about them before dinner last Thursday. The next morning it occurred to me that so much of your photography is simply about observing and making photographs of the beautiful and the mysterious. So my selections ended up being based on simple, direct, gut-level instinct.
Beautiful work, Michael, and I feel fortunate to have been part of some of it.
Dan
Tough task, such wonderful images! My favs: 1,2,4,7,10,18,24,30,44,45 Choices were made on gut reaction without over-thinking anything; i.e. these are the ones that made me stop and admire the view… and wish I could have been there too!
I was just able to get lightroom and photoshop up and running again this afternoon. I had suffered a system smash which meant I needed to rebuild my system from scratch.
In testing out the system I ran though my photos from my last photo safari to New Mexico. This gave me my criteria for selection – I wish I had taken that photo.
I also found I was tired of Bridalveil Fals.
4. Misty sunset over Bridalveil Fall, Yosemite NP, CA, USA
16. Sunbeams and morning mist from Tunnel View, Yosemite NP, CA, USA.docx
17. Sun breaking through mist after a spring snowstorm, Tunnel View, Yosemite NP, CA, USA
24. Sunbeams and redwoods, Del Norte Coast Redwoods SP, CA, USA
30. Sierra juniper and the Milky Way, Olmsted Point, Yosemite NP, CA, USA
36. Sunbeams reflected upward into mist, Rush Creek, June Lake Loop, Inyo NF, CA, USA
41. Autumn dogwoods at sunset, Yosemite NP, CA, USA
43. Three Brothers and the Merced River after an autumn snowstorm, Yosemite NP, CA, USA
45. Oak, pines, and mist, El Capitan Meadow, Yosemite NP, CA, USA
46. Trees and mist underneath Bridalveil Fall, Yosemite NP, CA, USA
10. great composition, light, weather and feeling
13. well captured presence of a lone wolf
14. excellent tonal qualities and composition
21. technically a cool thing to do with a camera. nice composition and colors too.
24. beautiful misty light and silhouettes of trees
25. nice morning reflection of an alpine lake
27. great expressive B+W image of a big landscape
30. technically another cool thing to do with a camera. very nice imagery of tree, sky and stars
35. i like the impressionistic feel to the aspens on the creek with the mist and soft light
46. great capture of the falls, trees, mist and back/top light. this will look even better as a print
“… before dinner last Thursday.” Uh, Wednesday… 😉
All are wonderful Michael! My picks are:
#1
#4
#9
#13
#14
#18
#25
#33
#43
#50
Hi Michael,
I like i, 4, 46, 33, 30, 25. 21,
OK I’ll look for 3 more.
What a great idea. I have my 22 favorites posted on my web site. What I have learned this year is that I need to get out more and take photographs! A highlight of my photography last year was photographing and backpacking in January. Also spending my fifth summer in Tuolumne Meadows was splendid despite a dry summer.
Difficult to choose, but: 5, 9, 10, 24, 26, 30, 43, 45, 46, 50.
Thanks for sharing and inspiring!
Hi Michael,
Lots of great shots. My votes are (not in any order):
4, 8, 10, 13, 14, 22, 24, 26, 30, 50
Have a great 2013!
– Dave
8. 9. 10. 12. 18. 21. 22. 32. 39. 46. Beautiful work
5, 8, 13, 18, 21, 23, 24, 28, 30, 39 (24 & 30 are my absolute favorites!!)
Wonderful photos.
Hi Michael,
Very nice annual collection. My top 10 in order of preference are:
50, 5, 44, 43, 29, 20, 13, 10, 31, 8
This is always a enjoyable task.
Hi Michael,
My absolute favorite is 16, my number two is 30, and my number three is 50!
But my top 10 are: 1,3,16,30,20,21,24,30,39,50
Cheers,
Shaun. 🙂
Hello Michael!
My favorite is #14, Horsetail Fall. I love the emphasis of the light on the fall!
My ten favorites, in no particular order other then my explanation for #14, are:
9,13,14,20,21,24,35,39,47,50.
Interesting that you have fog in multiple Central Valley scenes. Must be a common occurrence because on my drive to Yosemite on December 26th from Bakersfield to Merced and my drive back to LA on the 30th, there was quite a bit of fog.
Thanks! Rob
5,6,18,23,30,31,43,44,49,50 are my favorite ones
Beautiful photos
Inspiring photos from a soul who sees beauty creatively in all aspects of nature. Thank you, Michael. In making my choices I noticed I favored two subjects: Three Brothers and Birds in Flight. In no particular order: 8, 10, 12, 23, 26, 41, 43, 44, 49, 50
Thanks so much to everyone who voted! I really appreciate that. We’re tallying the votes and will post the results soon.
There so beautiful , I pick them all hands down.
One shot of horse tail looked like you were up a bit. Do you mind tells us were the was and how to get there?
Thank you
Thanks Stan! All my Horsetail Fall photos are taken from the valley floor, at or near the two spots I describe in my Photographer’s Guide to Yosemite book and app. A distant view with a telephoto lens can look like it was taken from a high vantage point because you’re looking more across at the subject than up at it.
I like to have just one in a year as good as just one of his. Love looking at Photos.
Thank you Doug! I hope you make many wonderful images in the coming year. 🙂
#3.fascinating design
#4.I would have dropped my camera and just stared at the light.
#16. I can *feel* the cold.
#26.Very Zen, very balanced.
#30. OK, the word “cosmic” is overdone, but it’s still cosmic.
#46. I bought it 🙂
#49. I feel like I can hear the wings…
OK, so it’s only 7…
Thanks for your input Eric!