Once again I’m inviting you to help me choose my best photographs from the past year! I’ve posted 42 of my favorite images from 2022 below, in chronological order. After you look through these, please use the form at the bottom of this post to list your ten favorites.
Please don’t post your votes in the comments, or send them by email, because they won’t be counted! Use the form at the bottom of this post instead.
The voting is closed! I’ll be posting the results soon.
You don’t have to list your ten favorites in any order; just pick up to ten images. (The numbers are in the captions underneath the photographs. Also, you can click on the images to see them larger.) Once the votes are in I’ll post the top ten or twelve on this blog.
The voting deadline is Wednesday, 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’ve rarely had to exercise this power because my readers have excellent taste. 🙂
Thanks for your input — I appreciate your help!
Claudia and I did lots of traveling this year. We spent many weeks in Death Valley in January and March, rafted down the Grand Canyon in April, did a pack trip into the Sierra backcountry in August, and then I went to New Zealand in October. Plus we visited some of our favorite locations in the redwoods, Oregon Coast, eastern Sierra, and, of course, Yosemite. I didn’t actually photograph that much in Yosemite Valley this year, which maybe isn’t that surprising with all the travel I just mentioned. But I spent a week photographing Yosemite Valley after a December snowstorm, which was great.
In the middle of all that, our house nearly burned down during the Oak Fire. But we were very fortunate, and our house is still standing. So it was a memorable year in many ways, but when we look back, most of those memories will be great ones.
I hope 2022 brought you great memories as well, and Claudia and I wish you lots of joy and happiness in 2023. Happy New Year!
— Michael Frye
1. Sandstorm sunrise, Death Valley NP, California
2. Luminous ravine, Death Valley NP, California
3. Sandhill cranes and a foggy sunrise, San Joaquin Valley, California
4. Curves and waves, sand dunes, Death Valley NP, California
5. Dunes in a sandstorm, Death Valley NP, California
6. Curves at dusk, Death Valley NP, California
7. Last light on sand dunes, Death Valley NP, California
8. Dogwood, mist, and the Merced River, Yosemite NP, California
9. Dust storm, Grand Canyon NP, Arizona
10. Ribbon of water, Colorado River, Grand Canyon NP, Arizona
11. Dappled light along the Colorado River, Grand Canyon NP, Arizona
12. Rapid and reflections, Colorado River, Grand Canyon NP, Arizona
13. Foggy coastline, northern Calfornia
14. Tree shadows, rainbow, and waterfall, California
15. Thunderstorm over the Central Valley, California
16. Waterfall with backlit spray, Sierra Nevada, California
17. Mist, peaks, and creek at sunset, Sierra Nevada, California
18. Morning rainbow over a high-country lake, Sierra Nevada, California
19. Rocky tarn at sunrise, Sierra Nevada, California
20. Rainbow and rapids below a waterfall, Idaho
21. Backlit geyser, Yellowstone NP, Wyoming
22. Aurora borealis reflected in a thermal pool, Yellowstone NP, Wyoming
23. Castle Geyser by moonlight, Yellowstone NP, Wyoming
24. Mist and trees, Yellowstone NP, Wyoming
25. Stormy sunset, Yellowstone NP, Wyoming
26. Terraces and cloud reflections, Yellowstone NP, Wyoming
27. Layers of fog, Yellowstone NP, Wyoming
28. Sunrise at a glacial lake, New Zealand
29. Aoraki/Mt. Cook at sunrise, New Zealand
30. Boulders at sunrise, New Zealand
31. Cloud-draped mountains, New Zealand
32. Sea stacks and receding wave, Oregon Coast
33. Rain squall over the Pacific Ocean, Oregon Coast
34. Crashing wave in late-afternoon light, Oregon Coast
35. Sea stacks at sunset, Oregon
36. Moonlit clouds over El Capitan, Yosemite NP, California
37. Reflections in the Merced River, winter, Yosemite NP, California
38. Ice and tree reflections, Yosemite NP, California
39. Cottonwoods in late-afternoon light, Yosemite NP, California
40. Fog and distant peaks at sunrise, Sierra Nevada foothills, California
41. Melting ice, pine needles, and reflections, Yosemite NP, California
42. View toward the foggy Central Valley from the Sierra Nevada foothills, California
The voting is closed! I’ll be posting the results soon.
Related Posts: My Top Photographs of 2021; My Top Photographs of 2020; My Top Photographs of 2019
Michael Frye is a professional photographer specializing in landscapes and nature. He is the author or principal photographer of The Photographer’s Guide to Yosemite, Yosemite Meditations, Yosemite Meditations for Women, Yosemite Meditations for Adventurers, and Digital Landscape Photography: In the Footsteps of Ansel Adams and the Great Masters. He has also written three eBooks: Light & Land: Landscapes in the Digital Darkroom, Exposure for Outdoor Photography, and Landscapes in Lightroom: The Essential Step-by-Step Guide. Michael 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.
1=17. Mist, peaks, and creek at sunset, Sierra Nevada, California
2=29. Aoraki/Mt. Cook at sunrise, New Zealand
3=36. Moonlit clouds over El Capitan, Yosemite NP, California
4=37. Reflections in the Merced River, winter, Yosemite NP, California
5=21. . Backlit geyser, Yellowstone NP, Wyoming
6=40. Fog and distant peaks at sunrise, Sierra Nevada foothills, California
7=10. Ribbon of water, Colorado River, Grand Canyon NP, Arizona
8=35. . Sea stacks at sunset, Oregon
9=6. Curves at dusk, Death Valley NP, California
10=39. Cottonwoods in late-afternoon light, Yosemite NP, California
Beautiful photos!
I appreciate the comments Beth, but you need to use the form above if you want your votes to count!
You really make this difficult, Michael! Ten?!! However, I did narrow it down to 19 and then had to leave 9 of those behind! Blessed New Year – DO publish that book!
Thanks very much Mary!
Difficult choices! My picks tend to favor shots that are the type I seek, or places I have been, and inspire me. With that in mind, if I win the drawing, I’d love to hang #28 in my collection! It would be strong catalyst for a trip “down under”!
Win or not, thanks for the push.
They are all very beautiful. It was difficult to choose. 🙂
Tough choices to pick out just 10 out of all these wonderful image Michael. As always, very inspiring work. Happy New Year to you and I’m glad your house escaped the fire there. Looking forward to seeing more of your work in 2023.
Thanks so much Ted, and Happy New Year to you!
Well that’s why I ask your help choosing – thanks for voting!
Michael, a very productive and successful year. Too many images to select only 10. I would buy them all if I could. Maybe you might do a book someday?
Thanks very much Dave! Someday maybe.
Hard to choose. Simply stunning!
Just WOW, Michael. Yes, a book…
Thanks so much June!
Very well done and beautiful as usual, congratulations! Seems like a lot more traveling this year.
Yes indeed, I did a lot of traveling this year, which was fun. Thanks!
Oh man…such great photos and so hard to choose! Congrats on such a wonderful year of photography Michael!
Thanks so much Sean! I appreciate all the help I can get with making these decisions. 🙂
Micahel, that was a great year! I hope we weren’t supposed to put the top ten in any sort of order…it would have taken too long and the choices would have been tough! Fun choosing my top ten though.
Thanks Jody! No particular order required. We just count the total number of votes each image gets, so you don’t need to rank your choices.
Another year of incredible images Michael. Even though you are a little light on the nocturnal images this time around, I still found plenty to fall in love with!
Thanks Lance! Now that you mention it, this selection is a little light on nighttime images. Just four I think? But those are some of my favorites, and I think they’ll get a lot of votes.
My congratulations to such a fantastic collection of images. As others have already mentioned, it was not easy to pick 10. It took me while but eventually narrowed it down. I wish you and Claudia a happy new year 2023!
Stefan, glad you were able to narrow it down, and thanks for helping make the selections!
2, 6, 13, 14, 23, 25, 28, 29, 30, 35
I always love your work but this year’s crop of images is amazing! I picked ten but if pushed it would be difficult to select only a few as your best. If I had to I would pick #6 Curves at dusk. It is beautiful, a bit surreal, and more like an abstract work of art.
Well done and happy New Year!
Oops. Voted on the form just now. Thanks.
Thank you!
Thanks for the kind words Rick! And I’m glad you used the form – thanks for doing that. Happy New Year to you too!
#6 Agreed!
Congratulation of very good images. It was not easy to chose the best.
Happy New Year.
Thanks John, and Happy New Year to you!
What a great year you had photographically!! Congratulations.
My photography expeditions this year included Galapagos, Death Valley, Joshua Tree and Owens Valley. While I did not come away with images to rival yours, it was a pretty good year for me as well.
Happy New Year to you and Claudia!
Thanks CJ, and I’m glad to hear that you had such a good year, with lots of travel. Happy New Year!
All are great shots. Glad you were able to travel so much and create such art. No. 26 reminds me of Grand Prismatic Spring with cloud reflection. We were there in Sept and it reminded me of how it looked when we were there.
Thanks so much Roland! Yes, that’s Grand Prismatic Spring.
All wonderful Michael! Congrats! Tough to chose … but I definitely have personal favorites! Happy New Year!
Thanks so much Jim, and Happy New Year to you!
Happy New Year Michael and Claudia! Fabulous set of images as usual! All the best for 2023! Mike and Veronica
Thanks very much Mike, and Happy New Year to you and Veronica! Hope we get to see you in 2023.
It is very hard to pick the best 10 out of the 40 you presented. Ranking those ten was even harder. It is easy to think about what I liked about each photo and the mood the images projected to me.
Well I tried to make it hard. 🙂 Thanks for helping to narrow things down. Maybe too late to hear this, but you didn’t need to rank them. We just count the total number of votes each image gets.
So hard to choose. I have seen or spoken to you in years but I still faithfully follow your work. I hope to catch up with you at a workshop sometime soon.
Thanks Alan, and I hope to see you in a workshop soon as well.
Happy New Year! We have several of your pieces in our home and always love to see your new work! My favorite this year was #22! Stunning!!! Which geyser was that in Yellowstone?
Thanks Rosanna, and Happy New Year to you! 22 isn’t a geyser, so are you asking about 21? 21 is Cliff Geyser.
2022 was a really great year for you. Congratulations!
Thanks Brad – Happy New Year!
Michael this would be a great body of work for a lifetime, much less for one year. Congratulations and wishing you and your readers a healthy and Happy New Year.
Thanks so much Bill, and Happy New Year to you!
As others have stated, picking 10 images from this wonderful body of work is really difficult.
Awesome images Michael!
Thank you for your inspiration in 2022
Happy New Year to you and Claudia,
Thanks so much Don, and Happy New Year to you! Glad we got to share some adventures together this past year.
This is my favorite New Year’s Eve tradition. My second favorite is comparing my choices to those of your community. For the first time ever in doing this for several years I went through and had exactly 10! Congratulations on all of the travel. I was holding my breath the whole time the Oak Fire was burning near your home. So glad you & Claudia escaped house damage.
I’m glad you enjoy this Dawn! It’s fun for Claudia and me too, and we appreciate your participation.
Happy New Year! I love this annual tradition.
I count myself lucky to be with you on two of the trips, great photos and memories.
Wishing you and Claudia the very best in 2023.
Thanks for sharing.
Thanks Carmen, and Happy New Year to you! Claudia and I feel lucky to have shared adventures with you and Don this past year – it’s always great to have you with us.
Hi Michael,
Every year it is joy doing this, but the hard part is always to find enough pictures NOT to recommend!
My greetings and HAPPY NEW YEAR to Claudia and you,
Bob
Glad you enjoy this Bob, and Happy New Year to you too!
Great collection Michael! Every picture is special.
Best New Year greetings to you and Claudia.
jacob
Thanks so much Jacob, and Happy New Year!
I chose the 10, hit the submit button, but not sure if they sent. They are all wonderful! Hard decisions!
It did go through Pearl; thanks for voting!
A wonderful collection, Michael! You had quite a year in terms of photography. Number 7 is my favorite overall. The light is gorgeous and it is fun to see a favorite place in a new way. Hope to see you and Claudia in the desert this winter. Happy New Year!
Thanks very much Sarah! And I’m glad you like that image. It was fun hiking out there and finding that view. I hope we see you and Ron this winter too; we’ve been thinking about when we might be able to get to DV. Hope you both have a great year in 2023!
Great images… as always. Curious as to when you were in Yellowstone. I was there in late September and had gloriously good weather – except that meant a lack of interesting clouds for photos…
Thanks Lisa! We were there the first two weeks of September.
Creative, unique work Michael. I really enjoy reading your blog and love the little wave of excitement every time you send out an email with new images! Hope to take a workshop from you someday. Have you ever photographed the Columbia River Gorge? Maybe a great workshop location.
Thanks very much Andrew for the kind words. I’ve never photographed the Columbia River Gorge, but have seen some beautiful photos from there, so I’d like to go sometime.
Happy new year to you and Claudia!! Wish you both a wonderful 2023!! I’m curious if thermal pool was Grand Prismatic in # 22. Such a great location you picked to capture the Aurora borealis reflected in the pool. Would love to attend one of your workshops in Yosemite.
22. Aurora borealis reflected in a thermal pool, Yellowstone NP, Wyoming
Thanks Rosanna, and Happy New Year to you! That wasn’t Grand Prismatic Spring.
Great pictures as stated by others. I look forward to viewing the pictures you send on your posts. Thank you.
Thanks very much Steve!
Wow! What a great year Michael. I had a hard time picking just 10.
Thanks so much Andre!
Michael, “magical” once again! All the best for 2023!
Marlin
Thanks Marlin, and all the best to you for 2023!
Lovely work. I think about doing a workshop with you every now and then… here’s to thinking 🙂
So hard to choose only 10! Wonderful images this year Michael! I look forward to this post every year! Thanks for including us!
Glad you enjoy this Claire, and thanks for voting!
If they could be grouped into sets of 4 for each selection, that would about do it! I always enjoy your photos and have a difficult time trying to choose the 10 favorites at the end of the year.
Thanks Nita! We have to narrow it down somehow, and thanks for helping to do that.
Great images Michael. I’ll also cast a vote for a future book of some form. You are at the top of the list of my favorite photographers, not just for your art but also for your teaching. I have learned so much from you. Thanks you for your time and effort.
I appreciate the kind words Dan, thank you!
Hi Michael. Boy, was it hard getting from 15 to 10! What a wonderful selection. Hope the New Year is a great one.
Thanks so much Michael, and I hope you have a great new year as well!
I loved all of them. The ones I chose are the ones that struck me as so unique. My number 1 of the California misty coastline just drew me into in a way that I could not resist. I wish I had enough money to buy all of my choices. Thank you master photographer for this opportunity to see such great work. As an amateur photographer it is fun to enjoy your work.
Thanks very much for all the kind words Jim! And thanks for voting.
I agree with others that you need to publish a book with a collection of your photographs! This year was another of great group of photographs. As always, I look forward to the reveal of what images were chosen by the group and seeing your work throughout 2023!
Thanks so much Andrea!
Thank you for asking for our votes, as others have commented it is hard to pick 10, I am looking forward to seeing how the votes turn out. I also think the idea of a book would be great.
Thanks very much Ian!
As usual you make this so hard for us because I really do love every one of these images. I tried not to overthink it, but still so difficult to only pick 10. You always find ways to make these iconic locations all your own. Truly, nature photography at its best!
Happy New Year!
Thanks for the kind words Elaine!
That was a fun exercise
Thanks for giving us a chance to help Michael. To be honest all are great and it was touch choosing..i can’t imagine how hard that would be for you 😄
Another set of magical images Michael, always difficult to just pick 10, but there are some signature images in the mix. Happy New Year, and thank you for your ongoing inspiration.
All amazing image Michael! Wow, what a great collection! Just voted and it was really tough picking just 10.
Happy New Year! What a wonderful set of images! I so much enjoy reviewing them.
Every year it’s tougher to choose because your work is always grander, more diverse and inviting than the previous year.
Thank you for your art and for sharing your skills through education!
Happy New Year!
We have much to be thankful for–the worst of the Marshall Fire came within a mile of our our town-home complex. Smoke mitigation was minimal and insulation removal and replacement went smoothly.
It’s a privilege to see, experience, and treasure the beauty of the world.
Thank you for sharing these fine images and sharing your insights throughout the years.
Happy New Year Michael.
As always some great photos to choose from, thank you for sharing and allowing us to submit our choices ☺
I hope 2023 is a good year for you and your family. Best wishes from England
my vote is for #2. really liked it when you posted it.
Thanks Bob! If you want your vote to count you should use the form above at the end of the post. And you can pick up to ten.
#4 is first choice, #6 is 2nd choice
Thanks Jerry! If you want your vote to count you should use the form at the end of the post above. You can pick up to ten, and you don’t need to rank your choices. But I appreciate you letting me know your preferences.
Wow! As always, a very difficult choice to make. All are so perfect and beautiful captures. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to choose. Cheers tor the new year from Quebec in Canada! Love your photography!
Thanks so much Celine!
You are once again making very difficult on us to only select 10 images from your images. There are just sooooo many outstanding images to choose from. You had another fantastic year of photography. Congratulations. I love them all.
Thanks so much Richard! I really appreciate all the kind words. I hope you and Mimi are doing well.
4,6,10,12,13,15,22,23,26,36
Thanks Judy! If you want your vote to count you should use the form at the end of the post above. You can pick up to ten, and you don’t need to rank your choices. But I appreciate you letting me know your preferences.
Voted, but really tough decisions to pick just ten. Beautiful work all!
Thanks very much Fred!
Great photos as always Michael! I am drawn to the nighttime shots and 11 & 22 are among my favorites, but many beautiful photos. Thanks for all that you do
Happy New Years!
Thanks very much Billy, and Happy New Year!
Great shots! Happy New Year.
Thank you Richard – Happy New Year to you!
I vote for all of them! You “moved the needle” with your selections this year – I love them all. Each has a fascinating perspective. It was very difficult to narrow my vote down to only 10. Happy New Year!
Thanks so much Judy, and Happy New Year to you!
You are the new Ansel Adams of this Century! Happy New Year and keep having that beautiful View of the World!…
Thanks Walter – Happy New Year!
All so amazing. As usual very hard to only pick a few. I now have a home in Jackson, WY so give me a call if you are coming this way. Maybe you can find some great images here this year.
Rosalis Estes
Rosalisestes@gmail.com
On January 4, 2023 at 9:00 pm
Rosalis, thanks for the kind words, and the kind offer! We might make it out there sometime.
I am so excited I just scored a slot in your Out of Olympic workshop! Maybe some of your photos from the Out of Olympic workshop will be candidates for 2023!
That’s great Milton – I look forward to seeing you there!
Your images are breathtaking to me. I love each one for different reasons so I can’t choose to vote. You are my inspiration in my photography.
Thank you for sharing your spectacular vision in your photography. Details colors textures and light in every image. Thank you
Thanks so much to the kind words Sherry!
Aloha, Michael, well done as always. I was inspired to go back and look at the photos you emailed over the year, and I found a few there I liked as well. Perhaps some you won awards for, and couldn’t include. It is such an honor to see your photos and your thought process in making them. I might just have to order a print this year. Mahalo, and consider coming to Kauai to photograph soon! Mahalo nui loa!
Thanks very much Barbara. I do have to narrow things down, even for the initial nominees, so many images get left out.
Would you say that light and atmosphere are your main motivating factors? If so, are they equal.
There is always so much to see in all your photographs. Thank you for sharing them.
Well, maybe. Light and atmosphere are certainly important in a lot of my images. Mostly I’m trying to capture a mood or convey a feeling, and that involves every aspect of the art and craft of photography – light, weather, composition, timing, camera controls, processing, and more.
Thank you for sharing heaven on earth photography!
Thanks so much Diana!