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

Moonrise, Sierra foothills, Mariposa Country, CA, USA

1. Moonrise, Sierra foothills, Mariposa Country, CA, USA


Sandhill cranes and the setting moon, Central Valley, CA, USA

2. Sandhill cranes and the setting moon, Central Valley, CA, USA


Ice and tree reflection, Yosemite NP, CA, USA

3. Ice and tree reflection, Yosemite NP, CA, USA


Misty sunset over Bridalveil Fall, Yosemite NP, CA, USA

4. Misty sunset over Bridalveil Fall, Yosemite NP, CA, USA


Clearing storm, dusk, Tunnel View, Yosemite NP, CA, USA

5. Clearing storm, dusk, Tunnel View, Yosemite NP, CA, USA


Ross's geese landing in the fog, Central Valley, CA, USA

6. Ross’s geese landing in the fog, Central Valley, CA, USA


Ross's geese taking flight in the fog, Central Valley, CA, USA

7. Ross’s geese taking flight in the fog, Central Valley, CA, USA


Ross's geese taking flight at sunset, Central Valley, CA, USA

8. Ross’s geese taking flight at sunset, Central Valley, CA, USA


Clearing storm, El Capitan and the Merced River, winter, Yosemite NP, CA, USA

9. Clearing storm, El Capitan and the Merced River, winter, Yosemite NP, CA, USA


Clearing winter storm, Three Brothers, Yosemite NP, CA, USA

10. Clearing winter storm, Three Brothers, Yosemite NP, CA, USA


Sunbeams on a small waterfall, Yosemite NP, CA, USA

11. Sunbeams on a small waterfall, Yosemite NP, CA, USA


Water and reflections in Bridalveil Creek, Yosemite NP, CA, USA

12. Water and reflections in Bridalveil Creek, Yosemite NP, CA, USA


Coyote in Leidig Meadow, Yosemite NP, CA, USA

13. Coyote in Leidig Meadow, Yosemite NP, CA, USA


Windblown Horsetail Fall on a spring afternoon, Yosemite NP, CA, USA

14. Windblown Horsetail Fall on a spring afternoon, Yosemite NP, CA, USA


Ponderosa pines in a blizzard, Yosemite NP, CA, USA

15. Ponderosa pines in a blizzard, Yosemite NP, CA, USA


Sunbeams and morning mist from Tunnel View, Yosemite NP, CA, USA

16. Sunbeams and morning mist from Tunnel View, Yosemite NP, CA, USA


Sun breaking through mist after a spring snowstorm, Tunnel View, Yosemite NP, CA, USA

17. Sun breaking through mist after a spring snowstorm, Tunnel View, Yosemite NP, CA, USA


Poppies and popcorn flowers in the Merced River Canyon, Stanislaus NF, Mariposa County, CA, USA

18. Poppies and popcorn flowers in the Merced River Canyon, Stanislaus NF, Mariposa County, CA, USA


Redbuds and mossy oaks, Merced River Canyon, CA, USA

19. Redbuds and mossy oaks, Merced River Canyon, CA, USA


Clearing rainstorm from Tunnel View, Yosemite NP, CA, USA

20. Clearing rainstorm from Tunnel View, Yosemite NP, CA, USA


Half Dome and Upper Yosemite Fall with a lunar rainbow, Yosemite NP, CA, USA

21. Half Dome and Upper Yosemite Fall with a lunar rainbow, Yosemite NP, CA, USA


Sunset clouds, Tenaya Lake, Yosemite NP, CA, USA

22. Sunset clouds, Tenaya Lake, Yosemite NP, CA, USA


Sequence showing the annular solar eclipse, May 20th, 2012, from Manzanita Lake, Lassen Volcanic NP

23. Sequence showing the annular solar eclipse, May 20th, 2012, from Manzanita Lake, Lassen Volcanic NP


Sunbeams and redwoods, Del Norte Coast Redwoods SP, CA, USA

24. Sunbeams and redwoods, Del Norte Coast Redwoods SP, CA, USA


Sunrise illuminates North Peak from Greenstone Lake, Inyo NF, CA, USA

25. Sunrise illuminates North Peak from Greenstone Lake, Inyo NF, CA, USA


Reeds and cloud reflections, Inyo NF, CA, USA

26. Reeds and cloud reflections, Inyo NF, CA, USA


Cloud formations over Tenaya Lake, Yosemite NP, CA, USA

27. Cloud formations over Tenaya Lake, Yosemite NP, CA, USA


Clouds and reflections at Tenaya Lake, Yosemite NP, CA, USA

28. Clouds and reflections at Tenaya Lake, Yosemite NP, CA, USA


Mt. Conness from Tenaya Lake at sunset, Yosemite NP, CA, USA

29. Mt. Conness from Tenaya Lake at sunset, Yosemite NP, CA, USA


Sierra juniper and the Milky Way, Olmsted Point, Yosemite NP, CA, USA

30. Sierra juniper and the Milky Way, Olmsted Point, Yosemite NP, CA, USA


Aspen reflections, Inyo NF, CA, USA

31. Aspen reflections, Inyo NF, CA, USA


Water imitates Jackson Pollock, Inyo NF, CA, USA

32. Water imitates Jackson Pollock, Inyo NF, CA, USA


Autumn aspens and pond, Inyo NF, CA, USA

33. Autumn aspens and pond, Inyo NF, CA, USA


Lodgepole pine reflected in beaver pond, Inyo NF, CA, USA

34. Lodgepole pine reflected in beaver pond, Inyo NF, CA, USA


Misty creek with aspens, Inyo NF, CA, USA

35. Misty creek with aspens, Inyo NF, CA, USA


Sunbeams reflected upward into mist, Rush Creek, June Lake Loop, Inyo NF, CA, USA

36. Sunbeams reflected upward into mist, Rush Creek, June Lake Loop, Inyo NF, CA, USA


Aspen trunks, Lee Vining Canyon, Inyo NF, CA, USA

37. Aspen trunks, Lee Vining Canyon, Inyo NF, CA, USA


Aspens and dogwoods along Lee Vining Creek, Inyo NF, CA, USA

38. Aspens and dogwoods along Lee Vining Creek, Inyo NF, CA, USA


Aspen grove, late afternoon, Lee Vining Canyon, Inyo NF, CA, USA

39. Aspen grove, late afternoon, Lee Vining Canyon, Inyo NF, CA, USA


Lone cloud at sunrise, Mono Lake, CA, USA

40. Lone cloud at sunrise, Mono Lake, CA, USA


Autumn dogwoods at sunset, Yosemite NP, CA, USA

41. Autumn dogwoods at sunset, Yosemite NP, CA, USA


Oaks in an autumn snowstorm, Yosemite NP, CA, USA

42. Oaks in an autumn snowstorm, Yosemite NP, CA, USA


Three Brothers and the Merced River after an autumn snowstorm, Yosemite NP, CA, USA

43. Three Brothers and the Merced River after an autumn snowstorm, Yosemite NP, CA, USA


El Capitan 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


Oak, pines, and mist, El Capitan Meadow, Yosemite NP, CA, USA

45. Oak, pines, and mist, El Capitan Meadow, Yosemite NP, CA, USA


Trees and mist underneath Bridalveil Fall, Yosemite NP, CA, USA

46. Trees and mist underneath Bridalveil Fall, Yosemite NP, CA, USA


Pintail ducks taking flight in the fog, Merced NWR, CA, USA

47. Pintail ducks taking flight in the fog, Merced NWR, CA, USA


Ross's goose formation in the fog, Central Valley, CA, USA

48. Ross’s goose formation in the fog, Central Valley, CA, USA


Ross's geese at sunset, Central Valley, CA, USA

49. Ross’s geese at sunset, Central Valley, CA, USA


Three Brothers reflected in the Merced River on a moonlit night, Yosemite NP, 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 YosemiteYosemite 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.