(I’ve closed comments on this post, since the voting deadline has passed. You can see the final selections here. Thanks to all of you who voted!)
Happy New Year!
Like champagne, Auld Land Syne, and the Tournament of Roses Parade, 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 35 of my best photographs from 2017 below, in chronological order. After you look through these, please post a comment listing your ten favorites.
You don’t have to list your ten favorites in any order, or even name them – just numbers will do. (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 on this blog, and submit the final group to Jim Goldstein’s blog project, where he’ll be showcasing the best images of the year from over 300 photographers. The voting deadline is this Tuesday, January 2nd, 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!
— Michael Frye
1. Ross’s geese at sunrise, San Joaquin Valley, CA, USA
2. Half Dome, North Dome, and Yosemite Valley at sunrise, Yosemite NP, CA, USA
3. Oaks, mist, and snow, Yosemite NP, CA, USA
4. Reflections in the Merced River, winter, Yosemite NP, CA, USA
5. Sunset over Yosemite Valley with Cathedral Rocks, El Capitan, and Horsetail Fall, Yosemite NP, CA, USA
6. Sunset from Twenty Mule Team Canyon, Death Valley NP, CA, USA
7. Wildflowers in the Temblor Range, with desert candles, blazing stars, tansy phacelia, and hillside daisies, Carrizo Plain NM, CA, USA
8. Endless flowers, Carrizo Plain NM, CA, USA
9. Wind and sand, Mesquite Flat Dunes, Death Valley NP, CA, USA
10. Milky Way over sand dunes, Death Valley NP, CA, USA
11. Sand dune, Death Valley NP, CA, USA
12. Dogwood along the Merced River, Yosemite NP, CA, USA
13. Wind-blown spray above Horsetail Fall, Yosemite NP, CA, USA
14. Half Dome and oaks in flooded Leidig Meadow, Yosemite NP, CA, USA
15. Swirling dogwood blossoms, Yosemite NP, CA, USA
16. Dogwood branches hanging over the Merced River, Yosemite NP, CA, USA
17. Dogwoods in fog, Yosemite NP, CA, USA
18. Moon setting over Yosemite Valley and Horsetail Fall, Yosemite NP, CA, USA
19. Sun rising over a field of lupines, Redwood NP, CA, USA
20. Clouds and sea stacks at sunset, Crescent City, CA, USA
21. Double rainbow from Tunnel View, Yosemite NP, CA, USA
22. Sunset in El Capitan Meadow with oaks, pines, azaleas, and Lower Cathedral Rock, Yosemite NP, CA, USA
23. Reflections in melting ice, Saddlebag Lake, Inyo NF, CA, USA
24. Clouds and Milky Way reflected in Tenaya Lake, Yosemite NP, CA, USA
25. Solar eclipse sequence, Sawtooth Mountains, ID, USA
26. Milky Way over Grand Prismatic Spring, Yellowstone NP, WY, USA
27. Great Fountain Geyser and the Milky Way, Yellowstone NP, WY, USA
28. Autumn hillside with aspen and spruce trees, Pike-San Isabel NF, CO, USA
29. Maroon Bells in autumn, White River NF, CO, USA
30. Spruce, firs, and aspens after an autumn snowstorm, Medicine Bow-Routt NF, CO, USA
31. Aspens in fog, White River NF, CO, USA
32. Aspens and ferns, autumn, Gunnison NF, CO, USA
33. Backlit aspens, Toiyabe NF, CA, USA
34. Aspens and pines, Tioyabe NF, CA, USA
35. Reeds and aspen leaves, Inyo NF, CA, USA
Related Posts: My Top Photographs of 2016; My Top Photographs of 2015; My Top Photographs of 2014
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.
(I’ve closed comments on this post, since the voting deadline has passed. You can see the final selections here. Thanks to all of you who voted!)
Feliz año nuevo Michael. Your photographs are simply the best. I believe the number 5 (Sunset over Yosemite Valley) is going to be the winer this year. I am saving money so that I can purchase this beautiful piece of art from you some day. These are my 10 choices, and I wish you the best always.
mARTin
5,8,11,14,21,22,25,29,31,35
My choices are: 35,13,4,5,16
Happy New Year from Antigua!
My choices are:
1, 4, 5, 8, 10, 14, 21, 24, 25, 32
Happy New Year Michael & Claudia. The Sunset Over Yosemite Valley is my all time favorite of your images. In fact, it hangs on the wall in front of me. I really like #4 & #35 as well. I’m a big fan of the subtle. The rest were a difficult choice but, here are my favorites:
4,5,11,14,16,18,30,31,33,35
Another great year!
My choices…
4, 6, 11, 15, 16, 23, 27, 30, 34, 35
Michael, you are such a fantastic landscape photographer! I would have taken just about any of these as my best photograph of the year. Hard decisions to narrow it to ten, but here goes:
7, 10, 11, 13, 17, 25, 27, 29, 32, 35
Best wishes to you and Claudia for a happy and healthy New Year.
Another set of excellent images.
My choices: 1, 4, 5, 7, 10, 15, 24, 25, 26, and 35.
Happy New Year to you and Claudia.
Al
I believe the beauty of these places are captured so eloquently in your photographs…they’re all beautiful. Congrats.!
I choose: 8,9,10,13,19,26,28,31,32 & 35. -Denise
There are many marvelous images but 9, 19 and 24 pop for me.Thank you for sharing your posts throughout the year.
4, 5, 6, 10, 13, 14, 21, 25, 34, 35
I am a bit biased towards #5 since it is hanging on my living room wall, so you’ll have to forgive me for voting it as my #1. My 10 in order of preference:
5, 14, 2, 4, 13, 18, 24, 29, 10, 9.
Michael,
As always your eyes, patience, and attention to detail has paid off.
My Choices:
4, 10, 14, 22, 24, 25, 26, 28, 29, 35
All are just gorgeous and unique in their own ways. My favorites are:
2, 4, 5, 8, 10, 26, 24,25, 29 (Sunset over Yosemite Valley is my favorite, however).
A very beautiful collection, Michael, as it is every year. I will go with 11, 12 and 15. And, of course, many thanks for all your posts throughout the year, and a fantastic Yosemite app. Happy new Year!
Lot’s of great images. My favorites are #’s 5, 6, 8, 10, 4, 14, 24 and 25
Super. Look forward to this every year!
My choices: 3, 4, 12, 13, 15, 27, 28, 30, 31, 32
Happy New Year!
Beautiful set of images. Which ones would I print large and hang on my walls? 1,5,9,11,13,24.
Happy New Year Michael!
Great images. I go through and look for the immediate
“Wow” feeling. They all get a Wow but these are the best ones for me.
4,5,9,10,11,16,22,23,26,32
It is very hard to make a choice.. each one of these brilliant photos could be a favorite. So here’s my selection: 1, 2, 3, 4, 11, 13, 14, 18, 19, 23
I’ve been looking forward to this Michael! And, as usual, it was very difficult to choose. After many changes to keep it to 10, the finalists are…
4,6,8,12,13,14,19,21,22,32
Happy New Year!
Hi Mike
Ihave to say that, actually, this aint fair, man 😉 Every one of these are so inspirational and speak volumes to the soul.
Nevertheless, being an old Roseville boy and somewhat near the delta and Sacramento river, I hotta go with image. 1 as my first choice..
and here are my numbers in succeeding order:
1-3-9-13-16-19-26-29-30-35
Your work and teachings are so wonderfully inspirational’, sir!!Cheers
Hard to narrow it down
8, 9, 10, 11, 16, 18, 24, 25, 31, 35
5 6 10 13 16 18 19 21 29 35
2 , 3, 9, 11, 14, 22, 29, 31, 18, 5
Always so great to see your top 35 images from the year and equally difficult to pick a top 10, LOL! They are all exquisite: but I particularly like the following in no particular order…
3,5,8,10,16,18,22,24,27,32
Thank you always sharing images and caring for nature. I wanted to vote for your dog with the sunglasses but I suspect he already knows he’s a star. Number 5 is my favorite with the others in no particular order: 2,5,7,10,11,13,15,24,25 and 29
3,5,7,10,13,16,26,29,31,32
Your work is always wonderful but in my humble opinion you have some truly exceptional photos for us all to chose from. My favorites are as follows:
1,4,5,8,10,13,14,18,23,27
All are beautiful. 5,7,13,22,24,30,4,11,16,18
What a year. Thank you. My choices are:
1,4,8,9,10,14,16,27 and 31.
Great work Michael. Here are my favorites.
34,29,27,24,18,14,13,5,4,1
thank you thank you.
1,14,3,4,`8.10,30,31
As always, a stunning collection of images. Thank you for sharing!
My choices: 1,4,5,13,21,23,25,26,29,35
Thanks for all the great photos to view and to inspire.
2,8,9,14,16,19,27,29,30,32
Amazing images!
Thanks for continuing the tradition. Here is my selection…
3, 5, 10, 13, 18, 21, 24, 26, 27, 31
My favorite way to end the year, swooning over your beautiful work! My picks: 5, 4, 7, 10, 14, 18, 19, 24, 26, 32
Thank you for giving us this opportunity. It’s an inspiration to see your awesome images each year. My choices are: 1,2,4,5,10,14,18,19,22,35
Happy New Year!
My choices: 1,3,5,12,13,14,18,22,33,35
All are beautiful, and choosing was difficult. # 12 was my favorite. Being from Merced, Yosemite has always been close to my heart. I have gone up there every year since I was a toddler. I remember the old firefalls. Our family has gone up there every Spring for Mother’s Day to picnic and enjoy the blooming Dogwood flowers. Sadly I can’t go up there much anymore because I have heart failure. Seeing this picture brings back feelings of serenity, peace, love, and happiness. I can hear the Merced River rushing by. Thank you so much.
Fabulous images all, Michael. My choices are 1,5,8,9,13,16,18,19,32,35—-with #1, the San Joaquin snow geese, being my favourite.
3,6,8,20,22,24,25,31,32, & my favorite, #14
Happy New Year to both you and Claudia. Hoping 2018 is both Happy and healthy for you both!
My picks are: 5,10,13,19,24,25,27,29,31,35
Thanks for all you do for us!
Larry
Happy New Year and congratulations on great images. My favourites are:
5, 14, 32, 35, 29, 25, 1, 7, 13, 18
Michael, you’ve outdone yourself this year. A few of these images are approaches I’ve never seen before, at least: #18 (moonset and horsetail), #26! Milky way and grand prismatic), and #5 (sunset and horsetail). That said, add: #12, #14, #4,#22, #31, #7, #29 (very unusual view of a very common scene).
2,5,10,14,15,16,20,22,31,35
Thanks for sharing – beautiful!
6,7,8,11,16,25,14,31,32,35
Happy New Year, Michael and Claudi. So many choices, so difficult to choose. But top 5: 4, 35 (I was there that day with you and took a similar photos), 3, 19 & 30.
So many amazing pic’s to choose from!
But managed to pick 10:
1,6,7,11,16,19,24,27,28 and 35.
My husband and I choose 2, 4, 5, 7, 11, 14, 24, 35, 29, & 9. we did not agree on one of them.. I felt it was calm and peaceful, he could not see anything in it, but sand. Great pictures..
Hard choices for sure. My picks are : 1,3,4,6,9,14,23,28,31.
Hard to choose!
1,4,9,10,11,16,22,29,31,35
You don’t make it easy, Michael – they are all beautiful!
23 (my favorite), 5, 7, 10, 14, 24, 30, 32, 13, 12
My favorites are numbers 1, 3, 4, 10, 11, 8, 14, 18, 25, 27
I really have enjoyed seeing all your beautiful images of nature. So well done! Thanks for sharing with the world.
Michael. As always, an extraordinary collection! I can smell the mountain air and feel the spray of the falls. Thank you for your wonderful work. My choices (at this moment anyway) are: 1,2,7,10,11,13,20,21,24,35.
Thank you.
Kathleen
Hi Michael,
My favorites:
10, 11,12, 13, 14, 24, 2, 4, 5, 35
So many evocative images!
Thank you!
Joan
Another excellent collection!
5 25 9 13 26 29 35 24 10 7
with 5 being a lifetime shot!
Some tough choices here. I like them all! But here is my selection: 3,4,10,11,13,18,22,23,28,30.
5,7 & 35 are my top 3. They are all so good, I can’t list 10 without changing my mind 10 times.
Dave
Beyond amazing. Not only the images, but the variety of subjects and techniques. Here are mine:
5, 7, 10, 14, 23, 24, 25, 26, 35
Thank you for another wonderful year of images!
4, 5, 7, 10, 14, 18, 22, 24, 27, 30
3,7,30,31,34,10,11,12,16,28
1, 6, 8, 10, 14, 19, 24, 25, 26, 28
1, 13, 14, 18, 21, 22, 24, 28, 29, 35
1, 2,4, 5, 10, 13, 18, 23, 33, 35
My favorites are 5, 10, 13, 14, 18, 19, 22, 25, 27, 29
Happy New Year!
Here are my favorites:
1. 2. 5. 14. 18. 21. 22. 25. 30. 32.
Happy New Year!
Here are my favorites:
2. 3. 4. 14. 18. 22. 28. 29. 30. 34.
Michael, As always this is one of my most difficult decisions every year 🙂 I did in fact change my mind 10 times to pick the 10. You are so inspirational to my photography efforts although I’m not even close. Thanks for sharing your talents with all of us! My favorites this year, 14,15,18,22,29,31,35,5,9,32. Thanks again!
They are ALL spectacular! My top ten:
7,11,14,19,21,22,25,29,32,34
You are an inspiration. Thank you for your work. My faves are: 4, 7, 10, 14, 18, 24, 25, 35, 31.
Michael, thank you for the privilege of seeing this group of wonderful photos together in one place. My choices are: 5, 10, 13, 14,15,16, 18, 19, 21, and 25.
My favorites – 5, 13, 14, 15, 24, 25, 35, 26, 27, 10.
I like numbers 4,5,7,12,13,18,19,20,28,33 personally. But I would probably pick 10 different ones tomorrow. They are all winners.
Hi Michael,
Here’s my faves: 1, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 18, 23, 26, 32
Happy New Year, and thanks for sharing your wonderful insights all year long!
Hi Michael,
Here’s my faves: 1, 10, 11,13,14,15,18,23,26, 32
Happy New Year and thanks for sharing your wonderful insights all year long!
They are all so good, tough to narrow down to ten. But here are my top 10:
21, 5, 29, 25, 26, 22, 10, 19, 7, 8
Happy New Year!
1, 4, 10, 12, 13, 14, 18, 19, 23
One of favorite New Years traditions is getting to see your year’s best art all in one place. Here are my choices: 1, 10, 13, 14, 18, 22, 25, 27, 29, 35.
Happy New Year to you and your family.
What a treat to go through these. Hard to pick just 10 favorites, but here they are:
35. Reeds and aspen leaves
32. Aspens and ferns
31. Aspens in fog
26. Milky over Grand Prismatic Spring
24. Clouds and Milk Way reflected in Tenaya Lake
23. Reflections in melting ice
11. Sand dune, Death Valley
10. Milky Way over sand dunes, Death Valley
6. Sunset from Twenty Mule Team Canyon
5. Sunset over Yosemite Valley with…Horsetail Fall
Here are my favorites: 5, 7, 31, 2, 6, 9, 14, 18, 20, 22.
Thanks for giving us the opportunity.
Happy New Year Michael. They’re all beautiful. Here’s my favorites:
1, 4, 5, 6, 10, 13, 14, 24, 29, 35
I love viewing all your images, so hard to down select just 10, but here are my picks:
5,10,11,13,15,17,18,23,28 & 35
Happy New Years to you and Claudia!
16; 21; 6; 13; 19; 20; 27; 4; 11; 14.
This is really a tough decision, as they are all fabulous images. If forced to choose, I’d say these are my top 10…in no particular order.
2,3,4,5,10,14,18,19,21,22
All are wonderful. Thank you for sharing.
1,2,5,7,10,12,14,16,22,35
Thank you for your wonderful lessons on composition.
Happy New Year to you and Claudia!
4, 5, 10, 11, 14, 22, 24, 25, 26, 29
Happy New Year! #5 is one of the most awesome images I have ever seen – incredible.
1,2,5,13,16,18,19,22,24,29
2,4,5,13.18.21.24,25,27,34
5, 6, 9, 10, 11, 16, 18, 19, 22, 32
1 5 7 9 10 16 25 26 29 34
*Narrowing down your nominee list this year made selections less complicated for me 🙂 (You will find some vote preferences listed in the comment section if you click on your photos)
Looking forward to the Final 10! Wishing you and Claudia a wonderful 2018.
5, 8, 10, 11, 27, 13, 21, 24, 14, 25
4, 7, 10, 13, 15, 18, 19, 25, 28, 30
LOVE this New Years Tradition!!
My favorites are-
3,4,5,7,16,18,22,30,32,35
Thank You Michael for all you do
😃‼️
1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 20, 22, 24, 31
Hi Michael. It’s been a while since I have commented. As usual, a good list of images. I can tell that I am a little bit of a contrarian from the rest. My top 5, in their order is 16, 13, 19, 21 and 7. I really like 16 and think it is a great image. The rest are hard to rank one above the other. They would be 4, 12, 31, 35 and 24. BTW, did you get a new A7rIII. I really like mine a nice improvement
Best for the New Year
Happy New Year to you and Claudia!
As always, so difficult to pick, but here goes:
1, 4, 5, 8, 9, 11, 15, 18, 23, 30
All of your photos are beautiful. Your work inspires me on an ongoing basis. Thank you for sharing your images with all of us. My favorites this year are
7 9 10 11 13 19 21 24 27 30
Very productive year Michael! 35,31,24,25,13,11,4,10,1,9.
35 is my favorite for the year love the composition it has a great “feel”.
By far the best, #25 Eclipse
then 1, 24, 21, 18, 13, 35, 29, 14 and 11
Your eclipse picture is exactly what I had envisioned to capture, but I was responsible for 11 people, most non-photographers, so we optioned to go to Ontario, with less landscape and a guaranteed sky weather wise. We knew how bad the roads into and out of the Sawtooth could be should at the last moment we had to move, great job Michael!
Wonderful images. And so interesting how different things move people. My 9 favorites are 4,5,7,10,13,16,19,27 and 35. I could not pick a tenth – they are all so good
My two favorites I think are unique 13, 15.
Gorgeous! 5, 10, 11, 15, 18, 23, 24
1, 4, 7, 12, 13, 14, 16, 18, 30, 35. You made it hard to choose this year, Michael! I’m so jaded to Horsetail Falls images, I wouldn’t have expected to pick one, but #13 is amazing. Happy new year!
Among your photos, the most visually interesting for me this year: #13, #35.
Thanks for your beautiful work. Always interesting. Always make me think
29,34,28,9,1,8,14,24,19,6
I really enjoy the “how” part of your blog.
Cheers, Nanette
Happy New Year again! Another great year of images for 2017 for you! I liked #5, 10,13,15,18,21,23, 25,26,29. Of course my favorite was 5 which I even bought. Thanks for sharing again!
1,3,4,5,11,18,31
Beautiful work. I always enjoy looking at it.
5,8,10,11,14,23,25,26,31,35
2,4,10,14, 5, 18,19,29,31
Thank you, once again, for the chance to review your favorite images from the past year, and vote on our favorites. As always, it was a tough decision to make. But my favorites are: 4, 5, 7, 10, 14, 21, 24, 25, 30, and 35
Wow…..5 is just a classic signature shot, I’d also have to nominate 16 as another image that instantly says Michael Frye. Thank you for your sharing your inspiring work, and best wishes for 2018.
My Votes 4, 5, 7,11,15,16,1,23,28,30,31
GETS BETTER EVERY YEAR!
11,15,34,25,22,19,18,5,4,1
Hi Michael. Very difficult to pick just ten from all your wonderful photos, so here goes;
16, 1, 2, 3, 11, 14, 19, 20, 22, 35.
Tough one this year –
5, 7, 10, 11, 12, 14, 17, 23(cropped on left, 5:4 maybe?), 27, 32
Outstanding body of work as always Michael. Thanks so much for sharing with us throughout the year and bringing us along on the journey. All the best to you and Claudia on a happy and healthy New Year! (7, 11, 13, 15, 18, 23, 25, 34, 1, 5)
9, 10, 13, 14, 19, 23, 26, 32. (5 doesn’t need my help!) Always a pleasure to see your photos.
3, 5, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19, 21, 22
Happy new year! Always look forward to this review!
1,9,10,11,14,19,22,23,26,32
Best wishes.
5,8,9,10,11,13,16,23,26,35
Beautiful Images, Michael!
My favs:
1, 5, 9, 11, 12, 14, 19, 31, 34, 35
Dear Michal, a very happy New Year to you and your family and thank you very much for your wonderful photos! A very tough choice this year. Here’s my pick: 3, 5, 8, 9, 11, 13, 14,16, 23, 32. Best wishes!
Hi Michael! Happy New Year! Stunning images from 2017! Thanks for sharing your knowledge and tips through your blog!I look forward to each article. Being a birder, I love the mood and scene from your image #1. Here are my favorites;
1,3,5,11,14,19,22,24,29,35
Happy New Year, Michael! My favorites are 1,4,5,7,8,10,14,18,19,26.
Happy new year Claudia and Michael.
I’m sorry, I can’t vote for just one I love them all. Have a great 2018
1,2,9,10,11,13,18,24,25,28
Thank you for your inspired work. Would love to meet you and work with you someday.
3,5,9,10,11,12,16,17,26,31
4,5,10,13,18
Wonderful images. I enjoy your writing and teaching.
My votes are 2,4,7,9,11,19,24,27,32,35.
1, 3 and 18 are my absolute favorites. Just gorgeous. Hard to choose only ten but here they are: 1, 2, 3, 5, 10, 18, 19, 24, 25, 32
My choices
2, 4, 5, 14, 18, 21, 24, 27, 29, 30
All 35 are inspirational!
My top 10 picks
2,5,6,9,10,14,16,25,30,32
4,5,8,9,11,13,18,23,32,33
Thank you for another year of great posts and photographs!
5, 7, 10, 13, 16, 23, 24, 25, 30, 35
5,10,13,18,24,25,27,28,30,34
But actually 5 would be enough, since I have been there myself, just not at that excellent spot but down there in the mass of photographers catching Fire Fall 😀 love your pics, awesome work! Greetings from Hamburg, Germany!
I really love your photos each and every one. After much anguish and gnashing of teeth, my final ten are:
4, 5, 7, 10, 13, 14, 22, 23, 28, 32
Michael, you had another amazing year, and I found it difficult (but very enjoyable) to review all of these wonderful images until I chose my 10 favorites, and here they are: 2,6,9,11,13,14,24,28,29,30
Hi Michael, as always, AMAZING work! My votes are:
10, 4, 25, 23, 5, 2, 24, 13
Your photographs are outstanding! I really enjoy receiving your emails throughout the year. It’s like a little break away from the craziness of life. Thank you for your work.
My favorites of your top picks are 5, 9, 10, 11, 13, 16, 26, 31, 32, 35.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Hi Micheal,
Thanks for the opportunity to rate these awesome photographs…my favorites are:
3,4,5,10,11,13,26,27,28,31
Beautiful images! 5, 7, 8, 10, 13, 16, 18, 19, 22, 26
3,7,8,9,11,13,14,17,25,26
Too many to count, but here is my ten.
1, 3, 5, 9, 10, 11, 26, 27, 31, 35
My favorite New Year’s Day project! Thanks for letting us do this. 1,4,5,8,9,10,13,25,26,35
Beautiful!
1, 5, 13, 14, 16, 22, 23, 31, 32, and 35.
3,7,9,13,23,24,28,30,32,34
Hi Micheal,
Thanks for the opportunity, and for another year of great posts and photographs!
Greetings from the mediterranean sea, Valencia
1 2 4 5 15 16 18 23 24 32
A great year of images (and posts)!
4, 5, 6, 9, 10, 11, 16, 20, 25, 35
Wishing you a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2018!!
Another incredible year. Here are my favorites:
3, 4, 5, 8, 11, 13, 15, 21, 27, 35
Hello Michael! My top 10 are 6,8,9,11,16,18,22,29,34,and 35.
Beautiful images!
2, 10, 13, 16, 18, 23, 24, 26, 31, 32
Great images! #5 is on my wall.
4, 5, 7, 13, 19, 21, 23, 24, 25, 32
Happy New Year! Having made three separate trips this past February to photograph Horsetail Firefalls for my first time (and missing the day you captured image #5 by one day!) I was completely captivated by your Sunset over Yosemite Valley photograph. It is stunning in every respect! #5 definitely gets my vote for your best photograph of the year, despite so many great images to choose from. Here are my top ten picks:
1, 4, 5, 10, 16, 18, 25, 27, 30, 35
My wife gave me your “Landscapes in Lightroom” ebook for Christmas and I’m really looking forward to digging into it to expand my understanding of how to use that program. Keep up your great work in 2018!
Another fine set of beautiful photos.
My top 10 favorites:
1,4,7,10,18,23,24,27,29,19
4 5 11 13 14 18 23 24 29 32
This is hard, so much to like here, and to think this was all created in 1 year! My top 10 picks are as follows: 2, 4, 5, 13, 15, 18, 19, 23, 25, 27.
Thank you for all you do. All the best to you in 2018!!
Too many options but….
1,4,5,8,14,16,25,28,34 and 35
Happy New Year…. Thank you for sharing your fabulous photos. My favorites are 5, 10, 13, 14, 24, 25, 29 and 35.
Best of Luck
7,9,16,18,19,22,29,30,31,35
Wonderful body of work. It resonates for me personally, since I have lived and worked in almost every area you’ve photographed. I’m sorry, but I can’t vote on just ten but I can vote on one image: 35.
3,5,6,8,14, 16,18,19,22,31
Happy New Year!
1, 3, 6, 8, 14, 19, 22, 24, 29, 30
So many amazing images. My favorites are 5, 7, 8, 14, 18, 19, 23, 24, 27 and 32. happy new year!
Happy New Year Michael to you and Claudia. You had a spectacular year. Your images and writing continue to inspire.
My choices: 5,8, 14, 18, 19,23,24,27,30,31. I don’t know how anyone could leave 14 or 27 off their lists, I think these must rank in your all time best.
It’s always hard to choose favorites, but my favorite favorites are 1, 3, 5, 7, 14, 19, 20, 22, 24, and 29.
Happy New Year!
So many beautiful pieces! My faves are 1, 2, 5, 6, 13, 14, 24, 27, 31 and 35. Happy New Year!
1, 3, 4, 5, 16, 18, 19, 23, 24, 31
Hope you have a great 2018
So many great ones.. But these are my choice:
1, 2, 5, 10, 12, 13, 18, 22, 25, 35
1,2,5,6,14,19,21,24,32,35
1,4,5,6,9,11,13,14,24,35
Michael, Such beautiful and emotionally moving images. Well done. You are such and inspiration. Here are my ten:
1,5,8,9,11,22,25,26,29,35.
Hi Michael,
No fun to choose some and leave out others, but here goes:
1,4,5,7,8,10,11,18,19,27
Happy new year
Inspirational work as always 🙂 4, 5, 7, 14, 18, 19, 22, 25, 30, 32
All great, but the best are [IMHO]: 1, 5, 6, 7, 10, 13, 14, 15, 25, and 35.
10, 1, 9, 13, 14, 19, 23, 31, 22, 5.
Thank you for sharing your incredible collection.
Stunning photographs. 4.2.11.13.15.29.35.10.14.30
Happy new year from UK
Setting the benchmark for others to follow. My selection:1,2,5,9,13,14,22,24,29,35
Beautiful images: My favorites are: 5, 14, 4, 10, 12, 13, 15. Hope you have a wonderful 2018.
Happy New Year!
Here are my choices:
2, 5, 10, 13, 18, 22, 23, 24, 29, 35.
Thank you.
An excellent selection of images. My personal favorite 10 are: 4,5,6,8,9,11,13,24,25,31
This was harder than I thought….I had 13 that I immediately liked and then had to pare down to these ten: 1, 4, 9, 10, 11, 13, 18, 21, 25, 34 Thank you for sharing your beautiful images with all all year!
A wonderful year’s worth of photos!
My votes are 3,4,11,14,15,19,23,29,30,32
Incredible work. 5,7,11,13,14,15,23,28,32,12
As usual a great list of choices from which to select. I’m definitely partial towards Yosemite images.
My favorites are: 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 12, 14, 18, 22, and 34.
You don’t make this easy, Michael. Since there’s no “all of the above” option, here’s my top 10: 2, 5, 6, 13, 16, 18, 19, 22, 24 and 35.
Great work! Thanks for sharing.
My favorites: 1, 6, 8, 9, 10, 18, 23, 28, 30 and 32.
Best of 2017 Nominees: 4 8 10 14 18 19 20 23 24 35
Thanks for sharing!
Best Images of 2017 Nominees: 8 12 14 19 22 23 25 26 29 30
Happy New Year Michael and Claudia!
As always, it’s hard picking only ten but my favourites today (!) are 1,3,8,14,18,19,24,29,30 and 31.
Thank you for your continuing dedication to your craft and another splendid year of inspiration and insight!
Thanks for sharing here are my favorites 5,13,14,16,18,19,21,24,29,30.
All are great shots, but some speak to me more than others:
1, 4, 7 10, 11, 14, 19, 25, 32, 35
Hard to pick!
7, 10, 12, 13, 14, 22, 24, 25, 30, 34
All are fantastic! Here’s my favorites:
1,5,13,14 (personal favorite),22,23,25,27,30,32
I love this annual feature. It is always fun to see which photos end up rising to the top. My favorites: 3, 7, 14, 21, 23, 28, 30, 32, and 35. Happy New Year to you and Claudia! I hope our paths cross again this year.
As all have said—“Such a difficult choice because they r all fantastic”! My favs r #s 4,5,10,13,15,23,24,25,26,35. Thanks for sharing ur knowledge all yr long with us—your images r so very inspiring!
Michael each photo tells a story in a lot of details.
Thank you so much for sharing. Happy New Year
14,10,18,33,29,13,19,22,24,15
You allow us to enjoy many locations to visit.
Soooo hard to choose. My #1 was 7, and that grabbed me right away. The others were harder because I would be delighted to have any on my wall. But here’s the list:
7-14-32-24-23-4-19-5-18-6
Wow! Number 24 is stunning, but my favorite is #7.
3,6,7,9,10,17,22,24,26,30.
Fantastic images, all!
My choices: 1, 4, 5, 10, 12, 18, 21, 24, 31, 35
I’ll go with 1, 2, 5, 7, 11, 14, 21, 24, 25, 29
Thanks for sharing.
2, 5, 11, 13, 14, 18, 27, 29, 31, 32
Difficult to choose, but 4, 5, 7, 11, 14, 15, 18, 30, 32, and 35. Thanks again for sharing your photographs and providing inspiration!
My choices are: 4, 8, 9, 13, 14, 18, 19, 23, 30, 35
These stand out because of they are far less usual of subject matter to me, plus they include particular time and place that is not a common place or time when a similar shot by another photographer would have necessarily happened right at that moment. For instance, I have taken a shot of a double rainbow over YNP valley from tunnel view before myself, so your photo of that reminded me of my photo, but did not stand out as something different enough to me. Hmmm, not sure if that makes sense, but I liked the photos that were different from what I have witnessed and unusual in how you took them and when you took them – like the wind fanning Horsetail falls – WOW, what a capture that one is!
All of the photos are GORGEOUS! Your paying it forward by your blogs helps all of us hobbyists as well as I’m sure other pros learn and fine tune what we do when we have our cameras along with us. Your dedication to the skills is very much appreciated!
A great year of photography for sure. Simplicity of composition and color in No. 11 is absolutely beautiful. The sense of motion created in No. 4 and the experimental nature of No. 15 very much attracted my attention. Very nice work. I would love to see the Horsetail Falls shot in color, but also love the B+W. My selections: 1, 4, 8, 10, 11, 13, 15, 24, 32, 34.
Michael, as always your photos are stunning and a reminder of the beautiful world out there. Thank you so much for sharing these with us.
My favourites are 2, 5, 8, 18, 19, 20, 21, 24, 26 and 29. Number 2 and 5 are my top favourites.
Hi Michael, wishing you and Claudia the very best for 2018.
Thank you for sending me the top 35 shots. As usual, a tough decision to pick the top 10 they are all so perfect and beautiful. Great work, enjoy reading your blogs.
Here are my top 10 picks:
2, 4, 9, 11, 15, 16, 18, 24, 29, 31
Big cheers to you!
They are all fantastic.
My picks are 4, 5, 8, 11, 15, 18, 22, 24, 26, 32.
Another great collection Michael! Thanks for sharing this process with us. The choice was tough as usual, but here are my choices: 5, 7, 10, 14, 21, 22, 24, 25, 27, 32
Happy New Year!
Top Ten: 5,7,10,13,22,24,26,30,31,32
My Absolute Favorites: 13,30,31,32, where 32 is the image I would like printed and framed!
Terrific images, Michael!
Will you ever create a hardcover book with 100 or so of your best printed landscapes? Your legacy!
4, 5, 7, 13, 18, 20, 23, 25, 32, 35
This was hard! But I think it helped teach me a little more about what kinds of images to look for when I compose my own photos- thank you!
1,4,5,6,14,16,23,25,26,35
1,2,5,8,9,12,15,21,23,24
1, 5, 8, 9, 11, 15, 24, 25, 32, 35.