It’s a year in review, the best of 2023. For this week’s Lens-Artists Photo Challenge, we were asked to show no more than 12 of our favorite images from the past year. Wow, that’s a hard choice.
I couldn’t do it. Too many favorites. So I tried to narrow it down from the 112 I’d picked out of my files to just the ones I had never published. I still had far too many.
That’s probably because I’m STILL processing 2023 images and I find new favorites every day. I finally narrowed it down to 15. Culling those last 3 was especially painful, but those were the rules this week. So finally, here it is, my best 12. Unpublished, that is.
The feature image was obviously taken in Grand Teton National Park, under the most amazing lighting. The first big winter storm of the season was due to hit in less than 8 hours. You could see the front coming in. I had to keep moving so I wouldn’t be caught by it, but I got some amazing shots as I was passing through.
The day before, though, the light was horrible in Yellowstone. Yet that harsh, in-your-face glare made this photograph possible. I never would have seen it if I’d had good lighting on the bigger landscape.
I took the Icefields Parkway through Jasper and Banff on my way south from Alaska this year. I’ve included an image from each park. I wish I could have included more. These were the hardest images to narrow down.
My best photo session of the year, though, was Bandon, Oregon. Scenic views, tidal pools… A third of the images in this post are from Bandon, not to mention the photos included in the last two posts. It was a magic couple of days.
The next two images seem like a matched set to me, even though one was from Bandon and the other from Cape Perpetua. I just see them hanging on a wall together.
I was just SO happy to finally visit tide pools and see sea stars!
The landscape at Bandon is so varied, so many views. This next image looked like an alien planet to me, with the grey lighting and minimalist composition. Hard to believe it’s the same beach, and the same day, as the other landscape.
Another great photography day was winter solstice. I’ve included a couple of images from that day. From the base of the Sandia Mountains, I could see the ice blown onto one side of the trees lining the cliff, so I was excited for, and anticipating, this shot all the way up on the tram. I was not disappointed.
This last shot illustrates just how rugged and wild Albuquerque’s backyard wilderness really is.
What will 2024 bring? Ten days in and I’ve already got zen cranes and raptors hunting. I’m so excited to see what’s next! How about you?
Stunning images, Dianne! Truly beautiful. You have a marvelous eye for details and composition.
Thanks, Patti!
Oh gosh, no wonder you found your favourites hard to narrow down, if these wonderful shots are typical of them all (and I’m sure they are!) I also find that an impossible task and I confess I broke the 12 limit rule because the first post from an LAC host that I read didn’t mention it 😆 As I said, all of these are fantastic but if pushed to chose favourites among your favourites I would opt for the B&W shot, Sunwapta Falls, Yosemite and the last of your Bandon images, the ‘alien landscape’. And yes, I could easily imagine Captain Kirk and Mr Spock transporting down to that planet!!
Thanks, Sarah! There must have been an episode of Star Trek with a similar landscape, since we both can envision it so well! I noticed an uncanny similarity of shapes in the B&W and the Sunwapta Falls after I uploaded them side by side, that I never would have recognized otherwise. Interesting observation, must be something about that combination of shapes that catches the eye…
Love you favorites of 2023! Thank you for the tour of NP through your amazing images.
Oh my Dianne, what an incredible set of images. Truly extraordinary. You’ve captured the light so beautifully. If someone locked me in a room and wouldn’t let me out until I chose a favorite, I’d go with Yellowstone. But I’d be in that room a very long time!
Thank you, Tina! I couldn’t choose a favorite, really. In fact, it was torture narrowing it down to 12! I’m glad you liked the Yellowstone image, though. That’s the one I was most excited about when I “saw” it, because even though I was surrounded by tons of tourists taking pictures of the falls, there was only one other person who possibly might have noticed that little detail, and I knew it was going to be special!