Top 10 of 2015

Every year I publish my ten favorite images of the year.  They don’t always represent the best images, but they are my favorite for various reasons.  Catch up on my past years: 2014 2013 2012.

#10: Tillamook Rock Lighthouse-Ecola State Park, Oregon

I took this photo from Ecola State Park.  I like it because the sky was glowing a beautiful yellow that contrasted beautifully with the dark foreground.  It took almost no post-processing other than darkening up the shadows a touch.

#9:The Mission in San Jose del Cabo, Mexico

This is the only image from our Mexico trip that made the cut.  Although we were too early for the sunset, I was able to capture the glow hitting the top of the mission.

#8: Hoodoo City in Zion National Park, Utah

This is the first of many from my trip to Zion.  This shot was made before the sun set, but I like the composition enough with a little drama from the clouds to make the cut.

#7: The Narrows at Zion National Park, Utah

Although I loved this spot in the Narrows, I wasn’t wowed by any of my images.  This one ended up being the favorite.

#6: Upper Wallace Falls, Washington

I felt like I had to include this image since it has been my most popular image on instragram this year.  This image was also the hardest to get of the year as it required a pretty intensive morning hike in 23-degree weather.

#5: Sunset in Zion National Park, Utah

I like the clouds and orange sunset in this image.  It was taken from Hoodoo City.  While there is a lot of empty foreground, I actually like it because it adds scale to the mountain.

#4: Sunset from Ecola Point, Oregon

This is probably the image I planned the most for as I spent a lot of time scouting the location on the internet before my trip to Seaside.  Unfortunately the sun didn’t set where I wanted to.  I waited until well after dusk to capture the glow with a long exposure.

#3: Narrows in Zion National Park, Utah

This was my second favorite spot in the Narrows.  The morning sun cast a beautiful glow on the back wall and lit up the lone tree.  It also made me glad I hauled my heavy tripod on the long hike as I took it in about 3 feet of running water.

#2: Lower and Middle Wallace Falls, Washington 

I loved this view with the lower falls in the foreground and middle falls in the background.  I also loved the different tiers of flowing water on the lower falls that really added interest to the image for me.

#1: Watchman Sunset-Zion National Park, Utah

I am frankly shocked this image is my favorite of the year.  We spent hours standing on the narrow bridge waiting for the sunset and were disappointed as we watched all the clouds move out leaving a lackluster sunset.  There was just enough color in the sky that I was able to pull out some interest color and contrast.  This image is really about the composition and awesome fall foliage for me.  Despite the lackluster sunset, the contrast created by the bright yellow tree with all lines leading to that tree make me love the image.