Happy New Year!
It’s become a New Year’s tradition on this blog to pick my best images from the past year, and once again I’m inviting you to help me make these difficult choices. I’ve posted 45 of my best photographs from 2020 below, in chronological order. After you look through these, please use the form at the bottom of this post to list your ten favorites.
That right – we’re doing things differently this year. 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.
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 Monday, January 4th, at midnight Pacific time.
The voting has closed! I’ll be posting the results soon.
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!
— Michael Frye
1. Sunset in a San Joaquin Valley marsh, California
2. Ice and reflections, Yosemite NP, California
3. Moon rising next to Half Dome, Yosemite NP, California
4. Geese landing, San Joaquin Valley, California
5. Sandhill cranes, sunrise, San Joaquin Valley, California
6. Snow geese in formation, San Joaquin Valley, California
7. Ross’s geese taking flight, San Joaquin Valley, California
8. Stream rivulet in salt flats, Death Valley NP, California
9. Sand pillows, Death Valley NP, California
10. Clouds and salt patterns , Death Valley NP, California
11. Rainbow over badlands, Death Valley NP, California
12. Red-winged blackbird, San Joaquin Valley, California
13. Redbud above a rapid in the Merced River, California
14. Thunderstorm over the San Joaquin Valley, California
15. Late-afternoon light in the Sierra Nevada foothills, California
16. Oak and grasslands at sunset, Sierra Nevada foothills, California
17. Spring colors, Mariposa County, California
18. Sunset, Tuolumne Meadows, Yosemite NP, California
19. Sun setting over an alpine lake, Yosemite NP, California
20. The Big Dipper and Comet NEOWISE over an alpine lake, Yosemite NP, California
21. Peak and clouds, Yosemite NP, California
22. Comet NEOWISE over moonlit sand dunes, Death Valley NP, California
23. Lightning at sunset, Mono Lake, California
24. Backlit aspens, northern Utah
25. Cottonwood and sandbar along the Green River, Dinosaur National Monument, Colorado
26. Aspens and oaks, Colorado
27. Forest glow, White River NF, Colorado
28. Aspens in yellow and gold, Colorado
29. First light on aspens, Grand Mesa-Uncompahgre-Gunnison NF, Colorado
30. Badlands and buttes, Utah
31. Dusk light, Grand Canyon NP, Arizona
32. Morning sunlight from the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, Arizona
33. Churning ocean, Oregon Coast
34. Fog and rocks, Oregon Coast
35. Sunset and sea stacks, Oregon Coast
36. Crashing wave, Oregon Coast
37. Alders in fog, Oregon
38. Snow geese at sunrise, Sacramento Valley, California
39. American kestrel, San Joaquin Valley, California
40. El Capitan and the Merced River at sunset, Yosemite NP, California
41. Sandhill crane takeoff, San Joaquin Valley, California
42. Northern harrier flying over a marsh in the fog, San Joaquin Valley, California
43. El Capitan at sunset from Tunnel View, Yosemite NP, California
44. Aleutian cackling geese at sunset, San Joaquin Valley, California
45. Eagle Peak, Yosemite NP, California
The voting has closed! I’ll be posting the results soon.
Related Posts: My Top Photographs of 2019; My Top Photographs of 2018; My Top Photographs of 2017
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.
Comment C’est trop cruel d’avoir à faire un choix. Vos clichés sont tellement exceptionnels. Soyez en remerciés. Meilleurs vœux
I would love a calendar with these!
Michael, another great year! Thanks for sharing “your picks” of your 2020 body of work. So hard to pick only ten…Marlin
NOPE! No Way! Absolutely not! I cannot pick 10 from this supernatural array of wondrous photos. AND thankfully, I don’t have to!
Just amazing…they bring tears to my eyes. I am so desperate to get back to my yearly park excursions to hike and photograph. Thank you for sharing.
I love them all, but since I have an especial love of moody and foggy, it wasn’t quite as difficult. I loved getting to see them all!
Michael,
Not only is this a great collection of 45 shots, it is a challenge to pick the 10 I prefer the most. And this is a challenge that helps me to learn ! As is the case with many of your blog posts I have to ask myself – “What have I learned? Why do I like this photo more than that photo since they are all very good?”
Thank for challenging me to explore what I like and why. This was a really good collection but why do I like some more than others? What can these photos do to help me develop my own style. Thanks Michael, you are a good teacher.
Another great year of photography. I love the collection!
Very difficult as so many have already said! 🙂 Loved all of the photos. Thank you for sharing!
Once again…. a tough task to pick only 10. Simply gorgeous collection!
All these pictures are astounding! I picked 10 to help in your task. We all look forward to seeing your photographs in 2021!
Well done. The fact that it was so difficult to choose *only* ten shows how talented you are. Thank you for sharing not only your images but the how and why behind so many shots. Following you makes me a better photographer and for that I am extremely grateful.
I hope that you and your family have a safe and prosperous new year.
Thank you for bringing the light in our long year of the dark. I always look forward to you posting your latest outstanding photos and bringing us some scenery that we wish we could go see and photograph ourselves. Yes, so hard to pick only 10 best photos. BTW my favorite of the bunch was #18 the pink sunset in Yosemite – it showed positivity and that there is a light at the end of this long dark year.
Thank you for sharing these marvelous images.
Wonderful images. So difficult to choose just 10. Thank you for sharing these. It was fun to do this.
I enjoyed all your images, Michael. I think Eagle Peak is epic.
Muchael,
Nobody does it better.
As always Michael your work is superb..
I look forward to seeing your beautiful images and making choices every New Year’s eve. Thanks for doing this every year.
2, 7, 8, 11, 16, 18, 20, 22, 23, 41
Beautiful Collection!
Inspiring and filled with Hope!
Thank You, Michael, for sharing these.
It was really hard to pick 10 favorites, Michael. I love how the moon and half dome have a similar shape. Crashing Wave is completely unique. I have seen tons of crashing wave images but I don’t recall ever seeing a crashing wave in such gorgeous light. Your geese photograph collection only gets better and better. Whether it’s geese taking off, landing or in formation, they all evoke some sort of a strong symbolic emotion for me. I would never imagine making an impactful photograph with an Oak and Grasslands but you have captured that moment so beautifully. I love the versatility of these 45 photographs, there’s light, drama, minimalism, celestial events, iconic locations, geological formations, dunes and colorful flowers. Basically a visual buffet. Thank you for sharing your work and immense knowledge with all of us, Michael! Happy New Year!
Michael, your photography is so awesome with so many different subjects to choose from. I found it very difficult to choose only 10. I found the first five was easy but the next five I kept changing my mind. I learned a lot about your photos after looking at them so many times. I saw the photos with a different perspective after viewing them so many times.
Thank you for sharing. Happy New Year!
Thank you for allowing us to be a part of this selection, for expressed reasons so well put by the other above comments. Each image tells a story, is masterfully executed, and makes me feel. None deserve to be excluded, so again I struggle to narrow it down. I look forward to seeing the final cut.
As always, it wasn’t easy to pick just 10! They are all beautiful. Happy New Year, and all the best to you and Claudia for 2021.
Such a pleasure every year to pick from an amazing crop of photos. Bravo Michael anf Claudia for your superior image bank. Always great learning from each of your captures. Love it!
Like most comments it is a challenge to pick 10 – these are wonderful images and a demonstration of your talent and skill. It is not only the images but also the story of some of the images that you published in your blog posts, it is like we are on a trip with you and Claudia – and this year that was very rewarding to me, thank you again for posting these and allowing us to view them.
Very beautiful, inspiring images. Thank you so much for sharing your images and also for all the information and instruction that you share in so many ways.
Selecting 10, by far the most difficult thing I’ve done this year! 😉 Great work as usual.
Thank you so much for the taste of grander scapes in the midst of lockdown here. Just what I needed to keep the faith that better times will come, when I can return to such beautiful placces.
Exquisite works. Thanks as always for bringing such beauty to light.
I’m Commentor #29. My photo partner Jim H. are comparing his choices with mine so we can see where we agree. I’ve enjoyed seeing you top pix each year, Thanks
Bravo, bravo!! Favorite is moon rise over half-dome.
Absolutely stunning shots. So hard to only pick 10. Michael, your work is incredible. Thanks for allowing us the privilege to pick your shots with you.
Thanks so much for all your blogs throughout the year, complete with commentary and tips. It’s always a pleasure and education to follow them As usual, selecting 10 out of the 45 is such a difficult task, given the brilliance of your selection. Thanks again and have a wonderful safe and healthy 2021. Paul
These images are wonderful
I picked 10 but would have liked to pick at least 20. Another great year of photography for you, Michael! Happy New Year!
Really hard as usual to choose, but what I found especially interesting this year is that you seem to be heading in an abstract or graphic direction. I usually do notH choose a wildlife image but loved the blackbird image. Fascinating to see an artist grow his vision. Happy New Year!
Peace and good health in 2021! The choice this year seemed harder than ever!
So many inspiring images to choose from. A difficult but fun task.
Meeting you and attending one of your workshops is on my bucket list. Soon I hope. Thank you for sharing these spectacular images. Too many to chose just 10, quite a challenge.
8, 15, 16, 18, 20, 28, 33, 41, 43, 44
45 images. I like all 45. Very difficult to pic 10 out.