The polls are closed, the votes are in, and here are my top ten photographs of 2012!

I thought last year’s response was amazing, but this year it was even better: 240 people looked through my initial selection of 50 images and posted their picks here on the blog, Facebook, Google+, and by email. A big thank you to all of you who took the time to look through these photographs and voice your opinions — I really appreciate your help with this! And thanks also to my wonderful assistant Claudia who tallied the votes.

To express our gratitude to all of you we’ve decided to give away another print to one of the voters. We assigned each person who voted a number, and used a random number generator to pick the recipient. And the winner is… Frank Field! Frank will receive a signed, numbered, matted 16×20 print of his choice from among the 50 original selections. Congratulations Frank!

So here’s the list of the ten images which received the most picks, and the number of votes they each received:

&#160 1. Image # 50, Three Brothers reflected in the Merced River on a moonlit night, 150 votes

&#160 2. Image # 10, Clearing winter storm, Three Brothers, 104 votes

&#160 3. Image # 30, Sierra juniper and the Milky Way, Olmsted Point, 103 votes

&#160 4. Image # 21, Half Dome and Upper Yosemite Fall with a lunar rainbow, 91 votes

&#160 5. Image # 24, Sunbeams and redwoods, Del Norte Coast Redwoods, 88 votes

&#160 6. Image # 46, Trees and mist underneath Bridalveil Fall, 79 votes

&#160 7. (tie) Image # 18, Poppies and popcorn flowers in the Merced River Canyon, 67 votes

&#160 7. (tie) Image # 26, Reeds and cloud reflections, 67 votes

&#160 9. (tie) Image # 4, Misty sunset over Bridalveil Fall, 66 votes

&#160 9. (tie) Image # 44, El Capitan and the Merced River after an autumn snowstorm, 66 votes

Just out of the running was Image # 19, Redbuds and mossy oaks, Merced River Canyon, with 62 votes.

I’m sorry if some of your favorites didn’t make the final cut — some of my favorites didn’t make it either! But it’s always hard to be objective about your own work, which is one of the reasons I asked for your opinions. I think the selection here, chosen by all of you, is very strong. Nice work everyone! I’ll be submitting this post shortly to Jim Goldstein’s blog project.

Again, thank you so much for your participation. This has been really fun for me, and I hope you’ve enjoyed it too. Here are the top ten images:

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


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

# 10, Clearing winter storm, Three Brothers, 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


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


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

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


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

# 46, Trees and mist underneath Bridalveil Fall, 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


Reeds and cloud reflections, Inyo NF, CA, USA

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


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

# 4, Misty sunset over Bridalveil Fall, 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


— Michael Frye

Related Posts: 2012: Picking My Best Images; 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.