{"id":24894,"date":"2016-12-31T12:31:31","date_gmt":"2016-12-31T18:31:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog-vm.journeyoflight.com\/?p=24894"},"modified":"2016-12-31T12:31:31","modified_gmt":"2016-12-31T18:31:31","slug":"top-10-favorite-images-from-2016","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blog-vm.journeyoflight.com\/2016\/12\/31\/top-10-favorite-images-from-2016\/","title":{"rendered":"Top 10 Favorite Images from 2016"},"content":{"rendered":"

As 2016 draws to a close, I hope everyone had a great year and I wish everyone a wonderful 2017. As is tradition, during this time I review and reflect upon my photography from the previous year and look forward to the next year. As usual, there are some that when I captured them I knew there would be my favorites and there are some that grew on me throughout the year to become my favorites. Throughout the year I was fortunate to travel to California, Washington, and Colorado and to some of my favorite locales in Nebraska.<\/p>\n

Before I being I always want to mention that the previous year\u2019s favorites are available from these posts: 2012<\/a>, 2013<\/a>, 2014<\/a>, and 2015<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Also, all the images from 2016 are available to view: Images from 2016<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As with every year, with each selection I consider the technical and aesthetic aspects, but also if they hold any special memory or meaning for me. The following images are in no particular order.<\/p>\n

\"Mountains<\/a>
Lake Nanita Reflection<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lake Nanita is found a fair distance in the wilderness of Rocky Mountain National Park<\/a>, approximately 10 miles from the trailhead. I first visited this beautiful lake a few years ago and wanted to return to photograph it again. While hiking up to the lake a storm blew into the area and dropped rain and hail almost making me turn back. Forging ahead, the sky began to clear and the wind stopped long enough for a still reflection to appear just as the last bit of sun illuminated the peaks.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
Stand Among the Snow<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On a cold, wintry day in the Wenatchee National Forest of Washington, I captured this stand of Aspens after a light snowfall. Although there is little color, I was drawn to the contrasts and shapes of the trees.<\/p>\n

\"Storm<\/a>
Storm Brewing<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I came across this wooden barn earlier in the year in Rocky Mountain<\/a> and captured this image: Twilight in the Kawuneeche Valley<\/a>. I wanted to return under different conditions and these dark stormy clouds proved to be a great backdrop to as contrast to the wooden color.<\/p>\n

\"Near<\/a>
Big Bull Moose<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While hiking through Rocky Mountain National Park<\/a>, this big Bull Moose meandered along the North Inlet stream giving me an opportunity to capture him crossing (from a safe distance of course). I loved being able to watch this large, magnificent creature wander about near this beautiful stream.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
Illuminated Dunes<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As with the aspens above, I love finding interesting shapes and contrasts in nature. The Great Sand Dunes prove to be a perfect place to isolate shapes and shadows created by sand. I particularly enjoy watching the rising sun create deep shadows and cast a warm glow across the landscape.<\/p>\n

\"Several<\/a>
Dusk Over Joshua Tree<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I first visited Joshua Tree National Park<\/a> in 2015. The desert landscape was starkly different from any other landscape I had previously photographed. I returned in May of 2016 to photograph and was greeted by flowers blooming from the recent rains. <\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
Pounce!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This fox was a visitor to my campsite in Rocky Mountain National Park<\/a> and I welcomed his playful nature. I watched as he searched out prey throughout the meadow and was thrilled to be able to capture him mid-pounce. <\/p>\n

\"For<\/a>
Cloud Ballet<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I love visiting the tundra area of Rocky Mountain National Park<\/a>. Here you can be above the world and watch for miles as clouds dance across the mountain tops and through the valleys. I also enjoyed how the late afternoon sun cast a warm glow over the landscape.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>
On the Shores of Lake McConaughy<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Unusually, I only have one Nebraska image in this year’s selection. I have wanted to photograph the largest lake in Nebraska<\/a>, Lake McConaughy, for quite sometime. In 2016 I made a point of stopping and captured this beautiful sunrise over the calm lake. I loved having the moon as a small detail in this composition.<\/p>\n

\"Light<\/a>
Grazed by Sunlight<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This second image from the Great Sand Dunes National Park<\/a> was one I passed on processing for several months. When I came back to it I loved how the shapes of the illuminated dunes mirrored the shapes of the mountains in the distance. I was glad that I give it a second look as it made it in my top 10 favorites for the year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As 2016 draws to a close, I hope everyone had a great year and I wish everyone a wonderful 2017. As is tradition, during this time I review and reflect upon my photography from the previous year and look forward to the next year. As usual, there are some that …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":24899,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[89,92,97,101,103,105,106,110,12,16,116,117,119,127,128,130,30,36,44,48,63,69],"tags":[161,166,186],"class_list":["post-24894","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-canyon","category-clouds","category-desert","category-fall","category-flowers","category-forest","category-fox","category-grasses","category-great-sand-dunes-national-park","category-joshua-tree-national-park","category-lake","category-lake-mcconaughy","category-landscape","category-moose","category-mountains","category-nature","category-photograph","category-rocky-mountain-national-park-colorado","category-spring","category-summer","category-washington","category-winter","tag-landscape","tag-nature","tag-wildlife","column","twocol","has-thumbnail"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog-vm.journeyoflight.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24894"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog-vm.journeyoflight.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog-vm.journeyoflight.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog-vm.journeyoflight.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog-vm.journeyoflight.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24894"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/blog-vm.journeyoflight.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24894\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog-vm.journeyoflight.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24899"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog-vm.journeyoflight.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24894"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog-vm.journeyoflight.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24894"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog-vm.journeyoflight.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24894"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}