2010 Favorites

(Update 1/13/11: I have also posted a video version of the 2010 Favorites for those who might prefer to sit back and watch rather than scroll down the page. Hint: the image quality is better here.)

Since it is the evening of December 30… I guess it is time to finalize my page of 2010 Favorites, a selection of some of my favorite photographs from the past year.

I produce such a page each year as part of my year-end process of reviewing all of my raw files from the year – a huge task but one that always turns up a few photographs that somehow escaped my notice at the time I made them. It is also an opportunity to reflect on all of the places I’ve visited and the subjects I’ve photographed and people I’ve met. (For those of you with way too much time on your hands, you can also see my favorites from 2009 and 2008.)

As enjoyable as the retrospection is, actually selecting a manageable number of “favorites” turns out to be a very difficult task. After a first pass that I thought was fairly brutal… I found myself with nearly 60 favorites! In order to narrow them down at least a bit – but only a bit, as it turns out – I tried something new this year. About a week ago I put together a draft of the list and invited readers to tell me what they thought of the photos. Lots of folks chimed in, and I’m very grateful for your kind words and for your hard work! (In the end, I still probably posted too many. Ah, well!)

With that in mind, I have listed this year’s favorites in an order based on reader feedback. In order to make things a bit more organized I have divided the collection into two sub-groups, one for landscape and nature photographs and one for what I call human world photographs. Every photograph has a story, and regular readers know that I post a story with every photograph. I haven’t included that text here, but if you copy titles and use the search box you can go straight to any photograph about which you want more information.

Enjoy!

Morning Squall, South Tufa
Morning Squall, South Tufa
Sunset Virga Above Mount Dana, Tuolumne Meadows
Sunset Virga Above Mount Dana, Tuolumne Meadows
The Manifold, Star Trails - Zabriskie Point
The Manifold, Star Trails – Zabriskie Point
Abandoned Buildings, Eastern Sierra
Abandoned Buildings, Eastern Sierra
Ferns and Rocks, Artist Point
Ferns and Rocks, Artist Point
Evening Clouds Reflected in Melt-Water Pools
Evening Clouds Reflected in Melt-Water Pools
Fog and Trees, Yosemite Valley
Fog and Trees, Yosemite Valley
Aspen Grove, Bishop Canyon
Aspen Grove, Bishop Canyon
Aspen Color, North Lake
Aspen Color, North Lake
Big Sur Coastline at the Rocky Creek Bridge
Black and white photograph of winter surf and rugged cliffs and rocks along California’s Big Sur coastline at the Rocky Creek Bridge.
First Light, Tioga Meadows
First Light, Tioga Meadows
Edge of Gower Wash, Zabriskie Point
Edge of Gower Wash, Zabriskie Point
Fall Aspen Leaves, Sierra Nevada
Fall Aspen Leaves, Sierra Nevada
Abandoned Pier, Davenport
Abandoned Pier, Davenport
Shoreline Reflections, Tenaya Lake
Shoreline Reflections, Tenaya Lake
Winter Ferns and Log
Winter Ferns and Log
Dawn, Alkali Lake, Eastern Sierra
Dawn light on Alkali Lake and the peaks of the eastern Sierra Nevada near Convict Lake.
Last Light on Trees, Upper Young Lake
Last Light on Trees, Upper Young Lake
Pelican Trio
Pelican Trio
Photographer, Sabrina Basin
Photographer, Sabrina Basin
Shoreline Trees and Boulder, Morning
Shoreline Trees and Boulder, Morning
Sunrise Rainbow and Virga Above the Buttermilks
Sunrise Rainbow and Virga Above the Buttermilks
Yankee Point and Cypress, Carmel Highlands, Dusk
Yankee Point and Cypress, Carmel Highlands, Dusk
Lodgepole Forest, First Light
Lodgepole Forest, First Light
Crouching Marmot
Crouching Marmot
Late Winter Ferns, Muir Woods (Black and White)
Late Winter Ferns, Muir Woods (Black and White)
Morning Fog on Hot Creek, Mount Morrison
Morning Fog on Hot Creek, Mount Morrison
Upper Yosemite Fall and Lost Arrow, Autumn Storm Clouds
Upper Yosemite Fall and Lost Arrow, Autumn Storm Clouds
Young Trees and Pond, Dana Meadows
Young Trees and Pond, Dana Meadows

Coit Tower, Fog
Coit Tower, Fog
Portal, Wall, and Cable
Portal, Wall, and Cable
Umbrellas, Getty Center Garden
Umbrellas, Getty Center Garden
P, With Umbrella, Getty Center
P, With Umbrella, Getty Center
Lance Armstrong, Stage One, 2010 Amgen Tour of California
Lance Armstrong, Stage One, 2010 Amgen Tour of California
Moonlit Stairway, Wall, and Window
Moonlit Stairway, Wall, and Window
Garage Doors, Virgil Street
Garage Doors, Virgil Street
Parking Lot Near High Line Park
Parking Lot Near High Line Park

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.

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Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

40 thoughts on “2010 Favorites”

  1. Really great stuff here, hard for me to pick a favorite. Love the Mono Lake shot, as well as the urban shots. Great eye. Can’t wait to see your 2011 shots!

  2. Dan looks like the fog was good to you this year! Wow! I really wish I had more fog here in Vegas, ironically I think I may have left that comment here before as well!

    I have to say that you definitely picked out several of my own favorites that you took over the year!

    1. Gary, thank you for your overly kind remarks – I have no doubt that you’ll hit that mark and certainly exceed it. Your photography is wonderful and something we all admire!

      Dan

  3. Dan, this is a great selection of images. I like your Artist Point one the best, but they are all strong. You’ve got such coverage of the Sierra, I never get tired of looking at your images from there. Congrats on a good year!

  4. “Thank you” to a reader who caught an error in the title of one of the photos on this page. The black and white image now titled “… Rocky Creek…” was originally mislabeled.

    Dan

  5. Dan; I was lead to your site through Michael Frye. You have a some of the most beautiful Sierra images I have ever seen, well done. More special because I have spent most of my life hiking through a lot of this area. Those old buildings near rush creek are near one of my favorite fly fishing holes!
    Steve

    1. Thanks, Steve, for wandering over here from Michael’s blog. And thank you for your kind words – that means a lot to this photographer who has also wandered around the Sierra for quite a few decades.

      Dan

  6. Dan, what an awesome and beautiful collection of photos!
    I am enjoying every single one of them.
    Here are my absolute favs (in no particular order)

    #1, 4, 7, 11, 12

  7. Thanks to all of you for your wonderful comments – I appreciate them all!

    By the way, Michael Frye has “borrowed” – with my encouragement! – the idea of posting a large group of his photographs and asking for help in selecting his 10 best photographs of 2010. Wander on over there and take a look at his wonderful collection of photographs – and good luck trying to limit yourself to only 10! I took a look earlier today, realized it was going to be too difficult to eliminate that many in order to come up with a small list, and decided to come back later. (At least a couple of the photographs from Yosemite have, I believe, the potential to become iconic photographs of the Valley.)

    Dan

  8. I’ve enjoyed seeing your work and it has made me want to do better with my simple Picture taking. I have to pick ” North Lake ” as my favorite . Makes me want to see it ….

  9. Great collection from the year Dan! Your usual wonderful work from Yosemite and Eastern Sierras with great variety from the rest of your adventures from the year…looks like you had a great 2010. There is something about your “Moonlit Stairway” photo that makes me want to linger…well done!

    1. Thanks, and I’m glad you enjoyed the photographs. I also appreciate your mention of the “Moonlit Stairway” photo – it is one of my favorites, too.

      Dan

  10. And I see my favorite on top! Indeed, it was a hard choice just to vote for my favorites. It was like no matter what you ended up with, you would have a great selection and you do!

  11. What a gorgeous collection of images, Dan! I would pick out favourites but the list would include the vast majority of your set. Thanks for continuing to share your craft.

  12. Quite a few of these simply leave me speechless. What can I say but that you have an impeccable connection with and portraying these wonderful places. Thanks for sharing this Dan. Standouts for me are Ferns and Rocks, Aspen Grove, and Shoreline reflections. I can empathize with the process of trying to narrow them down. I am glad you didn’t make us sort through them all. :-) It was quite difficult in doing my own.

  13. I’m glad that I recently found your Flickr photostream, and subsequently this post. Wouldn’t have wanted to miss this! Congratulations on this nice selection, and a Happy New Year.

  14. Once again, Dan, your work inspires, informs and delights me. Some real beauties in this batch. Hell the whole batch is stunning.

    Happy new year, my friend.

  15. Your wonderful landscape photos of the Sierras bring back alot of memories of my Dad taking me camping and then backpacking in the beautiful areas that you photograph. Your site is the first thing I check when I get up in the morning, longing to be back in the countryside that I love so much. Thanks for your inspirational photgraphy.

  16. Dan,

    I’ve been looking at and admiring your posts on FM Landscape Forum for a couple of years now and have dropped by to read your blog too. So, it’s about time that I tell you how much I like your work–photographs and words both. I get to the Eastern Sierra pretty often to try my hand at capturing its beauty, always with your work indelibly reminding me that great things are possible. Your photographs are marvelous–quietly inspirational over a range of subjects. And your blog is just as good, as a blog (a good photograph is worth many blogs, maybe not a thousand, but many). It’s my favorite one to visit, largely because of its modest, intelligent tone. It is highly informative, yet free of pendantry; and it is very encouraging, without condescension. Thanks for all of it. I look forward to more.

    Jack Q

  17. A big “thank you” to everyone who took the time to view these photographs and especially to those of you who have left such wonderful comments. And a Super Extra Double Thank You to folks who helped me with the selection process. I’m very grateful!

    Here’s to a productive and photograph-filled 2011!

    Dan

  18. Dan,

    Great work, as usual!

    Mr favorites in general are the landscapes you got with a portrait orientation. I particularly love your Yosemite fog images, the Big Sur coastline/bridge shot, Yankee Point, and the umbrellas at the Getty Center, just to name a few. Wish you the best in 2011. Happy New Year!

  19. Very visually exciting set. WE live on such a beautiful planet. Hey, you even have an image from near where we live (Mt. Baker/Artists Point) about an hour’s drive away. Thanks for the trip.

  20. Dan,

    This collection of images just makes me miss the wide open spaces of the California I grew up in. If I had three favorites, they would be as follows:

    1. Photographer, Sabrina Basin (reminds me of the image I have of my Pop up above Benton Hot Springs in the ancient Bristlecone Pines)
    2. Abandoned Pier, Davenport (The water is reminiscent of Michael Kennas “Gondolas”, which hung on the wall in my parent’s home growing up)
    3. Morning Squall, South Tufa (My Dad and I spend summers fishing at Rock Creek Lake and would take jaunts over to Mono to grab 4×5 negs of the Tufa)

    Your black and white work has always impressed me and leads me to believe that you’ve printed in a darkroom and are familiar with the process. My Pop continues to say he sees the world ion black and white. :)

    Beautiful images…stunning indeed.

    All the best and blessings to you and your family this coming year!

    Warmest Regards,

    Doug

  21. Congratulations, excellent work. Each and every one of these images are an example of quality and good taste. Happy New Year, Dan.

  22. EXCELLENT!!!

    Thank you again for sharing your work with those of us who can’t make the trip. I look forward to what 2011 brings “us” :-)

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