2009 Favorites

Here we go…

It is becoming a tradition to post ones “favorite photographs of the year” right around Christmas and New Years holidays. I’ve done this for several years now, and I find it to be a bit of work and a bit of pleasure – fortunately more of the latter than the former! Since I post a new photograph at the blog every day there are a lot of photographs to review! On the other hand, I do enjoy taking one final comprehensive (but quick) look at what I posted over the past year and having a chance to be reminded of the great and diverse photographic opportunities I’ve had.

I want to point out that I describe these as my favorite photographs of the year and not necessarily my best photographs. This is important, I think, for several reasons. First, while I have some ideas about which photographs are my favorites, I find it a lot harder to figure out which might be my “best.” I may not be the best judge of that, and in some cases the photographs that I happen to think are potential “bests” may not strike a chord with others at all. Second, by calling them “my favorites,” I think I give myself permission to go way overboard and post far more images than I could justify under the heading of “best!” :-)

Yes, I did post a lot of photographs on this page.

What criteria did I use for selecting these photographs? They made it onto this page for one or more of a long list of possible reasons, including:

  • I felt like it. :-)
  • The photo is one that seems to appeal to a lot of viewers.
  • I think it has some merit that may not be immediately apparent to a casual viewer.
  • The image evokes pleasant associations with the place or the circumstances in which it was made.
  • The shot is representative of a subject that I spent time on this year.
  • Etc.

The linked title text above each photograph will take you to the original post of the photo where you can read more about the photograph.

Note #1: Since some of you are landing at my site for the first time on this page via links from other sites, I’d like to invite you to visit my home page, too, where I post a new photograph every day along with other articles, commentary, stories, and news.

Note #2: Feel free to leave a comment and let me know which ones you like! I’m always interested in understanding how viewers respond to my photography.

Note #2: There are a lot of photographs embedded in this page – please be patient if it takes a while to load. You may have to reload if too many others are trying to view it at the same time.

Note #3: I also have a presence on several of the social media sites:

And so, thanks for visiting and now on to the photographs… Enjoy!

Edge of the Light – Yosemite Valley

Edge of the Light - Yosemite Valley

Edge of the Light – Yosemite Valley. Yosemite National Park, California. October 31, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

San Francisco Skyline, Winter Fog and Haze

San Francisco Skyline, Winter Fog and Haze

San Francisco Skyline, Winter Fog and Haze. San Francisco, California. December 18, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Steps, Handrail, Mailbox, Door

Steps, Handrail, Mailbox, Door

Steps, Handrail, Mailbox, Door. San Jose, California. December 26, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Winter Shadows on Tiles

Winter Shadows on Tiles

Winter Shadows on Tiles. San Jose, California. January 20, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Last Light, Boulders and Sand

Last Light, Panther Beach

Last Light, Panther Beach. Pacific Ocean North of Santa Cruz, California. January 11, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Boulders, Panther Beach, Twilight

Boulders, Panther Beach, Twilight

Boulders, Panther Beach, Twilight. North of Santa Cruz, California. January 11, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Six Pelicans

Six Pelicans

Six Pelicans. Point Lobos State Reserve, California. January 25, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Floyd Landis Warms Up

Floyd Landis Warms Up

Floyd Landis Warms Up – Tour of California 2009. Sacramento, California. February 14, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Lance Armstrong, 2009 Tour of California

Lance Armstrong, 2009 Tour of California

Lance Armstrong, 2009 Tour of California. Sacramento, California. February 14, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Birds and Winter Surf

Birds and Winter Surf

Birds and Winter Surf. South of San Francisco, California. January 12, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Bicycles in Rain

Bicycles in Rain

Bicycles in Rain, 2009 Amgen Tour of California. Sausalito, California. February 16, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Lance Armstrong, Prologue, 2009 Amgen Tour of California

Lance Armstrong, Prologue, 2009 Amgen Tour of California

Lance Armstrong, Prologue, 2009 Amgen Tour of California. Sacramento, California. February 14, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The Sprint – American Velodrome Challenge

The Sprint - American Velodrome Challenge

The Sprint – American Velodrome Challenge. Hellyer Park Velodrome, San Jose, California. June 26, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Redwood Forest, Morning

Redwood Forest, Morning. Muir Woods National Monument, California. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell.

Redwood Forest, Morning. Muir Woods National Monument, California. February 28, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Steps, Ocean View Trail

Steps, Ocean View Trail. Muir Woods National Monument. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell.

Steps, Ocean View Trail. Muir Woods National Monument, California. February 28, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Ferns and Rock

Ferns and Rock

Ferns and Rock. Muir Woods National Monument, California. March 7, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Trillium Flowers, Muir Woods

Trillium Flowers, Muir Woods

Trillium Flowers, Muir Woods. Muir Woods National Monument, California. March 7, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Moonlit Steel Towers, Brick Building with Window Arches

Moonlit Steel Towers, Brick Building with Window Arches

Moonlit Steel Towers, Brick Building with Window Arches. Mare Island Naval Shipyard, California. March 7, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Alcatraz and San Francisco Bay, Morning Light

Alcatraz and San Francisco Bay, Morning Light

Alcatraz and San Francisco Bay, Morning Light. San Francisco, California. March 21, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Blue Dicks Flowers

Blue Dicks Flowers

Blue Dicks Flowers. Quicksilver Hills, California. March 28, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Road, Twenty Mule Team Canyon, Morning

Road, Twenty Mule Team Canyon, Morning

Road, Twenty Mule Team Canyon, Morning. Death Valley National Park, California. April 2, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Gully, Morning Light, Zabriskie Point

Gully, Morning Light, Zabriskie Point

Gully, Morning Light, Zabriskie Point. Death Valley National Park, California. April 3, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Rhyolite, Desert Mountains, Sunrise

Rhyolite, Desert Mountains, Sunrise

Rhyolite, Desert Mountains, Sunrise. Rhyolite, Nevada. April 1, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

California Buckeye, Morning Fog

California Buckeye, Morning Fog

California Buckeye, Morning Fog. Calero Hills, California. April 18, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Meadow, Hills, and Fence

Meadow, Hills, and Fence

Meadow, Hills, and Fence. Calero Hills, California. April 18, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Dogwood Tree in Bloom, Detail

Dogwood Tree in Bloom, Detail

Dogwood Tree in Bloom, Detail. Yosemite Valley, California. May 9, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Dogwood Blossom, Branches, and Leaves

Dogwood Blossom, Branches, and Leaves

Dogwood Blossom, Branches, and Leaves. Yosemite Valley, California. May 9, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

San Francisco Muni, Evening

San Francisco Muni, Evening

San Francisco Muni, Evening. San Francisco, California. May 15, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

People on MUNI Platform

People on MUNI Platform

People on MUNI Platform. San Francisco, California. May 26, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.


2nd and King Streets, Dusk

2nd and King Streets, Dusk

2nd and King Streets, Dusk. San Francisco, California. May 26, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Bear Family in Tree, Yosemite

Bear Family in Tree, Yosemite

Bear Family in Tree, Yosemite. Yosemite National Park, California. June 7, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Five Sequoias, Mariposa Grove

Five Sequoias, Mariposa Grove

Five Sequoias, Mariposa Grove. Yosemite National Park, California. June 7, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Dogwood Leaves After Rain

Dogwood Leaves After Rain

Dogwood Leaves After Rain. Yosemite National Park, California. June 6, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Tufa Towers, Mono Lake, Dawn

Tufa Towers, Mono Lake, Dawn

Tufa Towers, Mono Lake, Dawn. Mono Lake, California. June 7, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Chairs and Terrace, Olympic Sculpture Park

Chairs and Terrace, Olympic Sculpture Park

Chairs and Terrace, Olympic Sculpture Park. Seattle, Washington. June 21, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Brick Wall and Shutter, Glo’s

Brick Wall and Shutter, Glo's

Brick Wall and Shutter, Glo’s. Seattle, Washington. June 21, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Last Light, Tuolumne River

Last Light, Tuolumne River

Last Light, Tuolumne River. Yosemite National Park, California. July 10, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Fiery Evening Sky, Tuolumne Meadows

Fiery Evening Sky, Tuolumne Meadows

Fiery Evening Sky, Tuolumne Meadows. Yosemite National Park, California. July 10, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Twilight, Tuolumne River and Tuolumne Meadows, Sierra Crest

Twilight, Tuolumne River and Tuolumne Meadows, Sierra Crest

Twilight, Tuolumne River and Tuolumne Meadows, Sierra Crest. Yosemite National Park, California. July 10, 2009. © Copyright G DanMitchell – all rights reserved.

Java Hut Employee

Java Hut Employee

Java Hut Employee. San Francisco, California. July 1, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Flock of Gulls

Flock of Gulls

Flock of Gulls. Piedras Blancas Elephant Seal Rookery, California. July 2, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Two Elephant Seals Sparring

Two Elephant Seals Sparring

Two Elephant Seals Sparring. Piedras Blancas Elephant Seal Rookery, California. July 2, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Tarn and Forest, Tioga Pass Road

Tarn and Forest, Tioga Pass Road

Tarn and Forest, Tioga Pass Road. Yosemite National Park, California. June 7, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Sunset, Mount Conness and Lower Young Lake

Sunset, Mount Conness and Lower Young Lake

Sunset, Mount Conness and Lower Young Lake. Yosemite National Park, California. July 30, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Shoreline, Upper Young Lake

Shoreline, Upper Young Lake

Shoreline, Upper Young Lake. Yosemite National Park, California. July 29, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Lupine, Upper Sabrina Basin

Lupine, Upper Sabrina Basin

Lupine, Upper Sabrina Basin. John Muir Wilderness, Sierra Nevada, California. August 7, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Tree and Windows

Tree and Windows

Tree and Windows. San Francisco, California. August 18, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Man Walking Past Painted Brick Wall

Man Walking Past Painted Brick Wall

Man Walking Past Painted Brick Wall. San Francisco, California. August 18, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Urban Runner and Tree

Urban Runner and Tree

Urban Runner and Tree. San Francisco, California. August 18, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Cypress Trees in Fog

Cypress Trees in Fog

Cypress Trees in Fog. Point Lobos State Reserve, California. August 21, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Public Stairway, Telegraph Hill

Public Stairway, Telegraph Hill

Public Stairway, Telegraph Hill. San Francisco, California. August 18, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Redwood Trees and Ferns

Redwood Trees and Ferns

Redwood Trees and Ferns. Muir Woods National Monument, California. August 19, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Beach Walkers, Winter Sunset, Panther Beach

Winter Sunset, Panther Beach

Beach Walkers, Winter Sunset, Panther Beach. Pacific Coast, California. January 11, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Facade, Building 101

Facade, Building 101

Facade, Building 101. Mare Island Naval Ship Yard, Vallejo, California. August 30, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Mount Conness, Early Evening Thunderstorms

Mount Conness, Early Evening Thunderstorms

Mount Conness, Early Evening Thunderstorms. Yosemite National Park, California. September 9, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

San Francisco Buildings, Foot of Market

San Francisco Buildings, Foot of Market

San Francisco Buildings, Foot of Market. San Francisco, California. September 16, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Aspen Trees, Rock Face With Lichen

Aspen Trees, Rock Face With Lichen

Aspen Trees, Rock Face With Lichen. Near South Lake, SIerra Nevada, California. October 3, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Shoreline Trees in Morning Light, Upper Cathedral Lake

Shoreline Trees in Morning Light, Upper Cathedral Lake

Shoreline Trees in Morning Light, Upper Cathedral Lake. Yosemite National Park, California. September 27, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Aspen Leaves in Transition – Near Conway Summit

Aspen Leaves in Transition - Near Conway Summit

Aspen Leaves in Transition – Near Conway Summit. Sierra Nevada, California. September 27, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Aspen Trunks, Autumn

Aspen Trunks, Autumn

Aspen Trunks, Autumn. Sierra Nevada, California. October 3, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Autumn Storm Clouds at Dawn – Basin Mountain and Mount Humphreys

Autumn Storm Clouds at Dawn - Basin Mountain and Mount Humphreys

Autumn Storm Clouds at Dawn – Basin Mountain and Mount Humphreys. Sierra Nevada, California. October 3, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Note: Several people tell me that they prefer this color version of the scene made the same morning: Basin Mountain, Morning Light

Clearing Autumn Snow Storm – Eastern Sierra Near Mount Tom

Clearing Autumn Snow Storm - Eastern Sierra Near Mount Tom

Clearing Autumn Snow Storm – Eastern Sierra Near Mount Tom. Sierra Nevada, California. October 4, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Redwood Forest, Morning Light

Redwood Forest, Morning Light

Redwood Forest, Morning Light. Muir Woods National Monument, California. October 25, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Treasure Island Harbor and Bay Bridge, Dawn

Treasure Island Harbor and Bay Bridge, Dawn

Treasure Island Harbor and Bay Bridge, Dawn. San Francisco, California. October 25, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Half Dome Sunset from Big Oak Flat Road

Half Dome Sunset from Big Oak Flat Road

Half Dome Sunset from Big Oak Flat Road. Yosemite National Park, California. November 1, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Offshore Squall and Layered Clouds, Point Lobos

Offshore Squall and Layered Clouds, Point Lobos.

Offshore Squall and Layered Clouds, Point Lobos. Point Lobos State Reserve, California. November 22, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Rocks, Spray, and Gulls – Punta de los Lobos Marinos

Rocks, Spray, and Gulls - Punta de los Lobos Marinos

Rocks, Spray, and Gulls – Punta de los Lobos Marinos. Point Lobos State Reserve, California. November 22, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Glacier Point Geology Hut, Early Morning Light

Glacier Point Geology Hut, Early Morning Light

Glacier Point Geology Hut, Early Morning Light. Yosemite National Park, California. November 1, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Cottonwood Grove, Shadow’s Edge

Cottonwood Grove, Shadow's Edge


Cottonwood Grove, Shadow’s Edge. Yosemite Valley, California. October 31, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Detail, Last Light on El Capitan

Detail, Last Light on El Capitan


Detail, Last Light on El Capitan. Yosemite Valley, California. October 31, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Three Pelicans in Flight, Waddell Beach

Three Pelicans in Flight, Waddell Beach

Three Pelicans in Flight, Waddell Beach. Pacific Coast, California. December 4, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Richardson Bay and Morning Haze

Richardson Bay and Morning Haze

Richardson Bay and Morning Haze. San Francisco Bay, California. October 25, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Converging Lines and Clouds

Converging Lines and Clouds

Converging Lines and Clouds. San Francisco, California. September 16, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Winter Seascape – Near Waddell Beach

Winter Seascape - Near Waddell Beach

Winter Seascape – Near Waddell Beach. Pacific Ocean Coastline, California. December 20, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell

Winter Sunset, Waddell Beach

Winter Sunset, Waddell Beach. Big Basin State Park, Pacific Coast, California. December 20, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

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.

34 thoughts on “2009 Favorites”

  1. I love your work… You’re one of my inspirations. I am new to this, just started to know about photography. Can you please give me some pointers… ?
    (Post edited by admin)

    1. Thanks for your enthusiastic post, Ronald. If you are just getting started, the only advice I would give right now is to focus on what you enjoy and don’t lock yourself into any particular approach. Read a lot, look at the photographs of others whose work you like and try to understand why you like it.

  2. Time to check back in and say “thanks” to all of you who visited and/or linked here during the past few days – and thanks for your kind words about my photography. Steve, we might have walked right past one another at the Amgen – I was also shooting the Saxobank team at their team vehicle as they warmed up for the prologue.

    Dan

  3. I am blown away by your pictures: clarity, color, composition, not to mention their emotional impact. Don’t know which are my favorites: probably the close-ups of Floyd and Lance. Would love to be able to do that, am struck by how many similar subjects I’ve attempted to shoot: pelicans, cypresses and a telefoto of Alcatraz (we were also in Sacramento last Feb. for the Amgen prolog). No comparison with yours, but if you’d like to look, I’ve collected a few on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/swedg/sets/72157623238686248/

  4. I came across this set of yours via Jim’s best of 2009 project. Great set of photos you’ve put together Dan! I particularly love the SF Skyline picture of yours.

    I plan on checking out your Flickr stream after leaving this comment.

    Happy Shooting!

    Justin

  5. Hi Dan

    Came to your Best of 2009 through Digital Photography School website .

    Beautiful photos of the California landscape.

    David

  6. Particularly liked how you seem to opt for the more subtle beauty of natural rendering. That particularly shows wonderfully in your triplet landscapes at the Tuolumne River. Excellent job of solving the usual problem of unbalanced elements at Pinnacle Point with a masking passage of fog.

  7. Thanks, Chris. That black and white shot of bike wheels on the rainy street (shot at the start of a Tour of California stage in Sausalito) is one of my secret favorites. I’d like to see it really large!

    Dan

  8. Nice pictures Dan! I really love the Cycling shots, and the Muir Woods pictures. You have captured those beautifully as always!

    I think my favorite is the shot showing the wheels and the street, that really is an amazing shot showing the feeling of a long hard fought race!

    Can wait to see your pics for 2010!

  9. Thanks, all. I’m grateful that you have taken the time to view these and doubly grateful to those of you who commented. I’m always somewhat surprised when I look back at the year’s photographs to be reminded of the places I’ve been, the things I’ve seen, and the people I’ve met in person and online.

    Happy New Year!

    Dan

  10. An amazing group of favorites! I love them all because they show me so many different things – the image itself, the composition, the techniques….

    The ones I liked are:
    Moonlit Steel Towers – love the framing! My eyes go back to this one trying to tell if it’s 3-D or not.

    Bear Family in Trees – lol, I just like animals! This is one of those amazingly lucky-to-be-there pictures.

    Tuolumne River with the lenticular clouds series – beautiful and amazing to see the different views of the “same” scene.

    Flock of Gulls – I like the motion and busy-ness of this picture.

    Lupine, Upper Sabrina Basin – I like this because the flowers are bright and draw your eyes back into the mountains….oh, and because I was there too.

  11. This is an amazing & diverse collection of images. Everything from intimate nature to urban life to seascapes – all of them quite engaging in their own way. Thank you for sharing these. I enjoyed my visit!

  12. Dan, truly a great collection of images. I continue to be impressed with your photography. It is always a joy to see your images, they are indeed inspiring.
    Thanks for sharing.

  13. Thanks, everyone, for you kind comments!

    I always get a kick out of going over the year’s photographs each December. It is amazing how much stuff I’ve forgotten and, in some cases, how I can view the photographs differently now that I’ve put a bit of time between myself and the actual experience of making them

    I also try to go through all of my photographs of the year at about this time – not just the 365 daily photographs I’ve posted here but the more than 10,000 frames I exposed this year. I almost always discover a few images that I had forgotten about or that I didn’t understand at the time.

    Dan

  14. What a great chance to revisit some fabulous images from the last year! It’s rather sobering to realise that the number of images I’ve posted to my blog this year is only about two and a half times the number you managed to whittle yours down to for your “favourites” list! That said, it must have been a tricky job given the consistently excellent quality of your daily images.

    Thanks again!

  15. Hi, Dan. If these aren’t also your ‘best’ I don’t know if I could handle the best! Wonderful shots you have here. Thank you for posting them so I could see!

  16. Ivan, I look forward to seeing your set of “favorites” – let me know when you get it posted. It is interesting that two of the three that you mentioned are among that that I feel are less obviously attractive to a lot of viewers but which I think area among my better photographs, specifically the “Tarn and Forest” and the “Steps…” photograph. There is a lot I could say about the latter one, but I think I’ll let it speak for itself for now.

    Robin, you mentioned two specific photos that I almost included but chose not to in the end. Both of them are among my favorites as well. I went back and forth between the black and white photograph and color photograph of the Basin Mountain scene. To be honest, I can’t decide which I like best! The same was true of the Mare Island photographs. I had a feeling that the photo you mentioned might be more appealing to many viewers than the one I included here, at least as a web-sized image, though I still have an idea about what the one I posted might look like as a print. I actually looked at both when creating this page and more or less mentally flipped a coin.

    It is so hard to decide!

    Thanks for dropping by and leaving your comments!

    Dan

  17. A most impressive assortment of favorites! There are two others I’d have included. First, I’m surprised you chose the black and white instead of the color version of the autumn storm over Humphreys and Basin. The colors were so surreally soft and beautiful that morning.

    The other one I really, really liked (that isn’t on your favorites list) is from the series you did at Mare Island, the “Building 101, Corner View”–I really love the color and lighting on that one.

  18. These photos represent a very rich collection of photographs, Dan. Congratulations on a very successful year.

    Out of these, I think three stand out the most to me.

    Very first one “Steps, Handrail, Mailbox, Door. San Jose, California” – what a find. I love the interplay of geometry with light and color in this photograph.

    Next one is “Tarn and Forest, Tioga Pass Road” – I bet this one looks gorgeous as a print. It looks great on a screen too – the range of tones you’ve captured and beautiful shapes make me want to be there at that scene.

    Third is one “Fiery Evening Sky, Tuolumne Meadows.” Very Galen Rowell-ish – the color is beautiful, but you’ve also found a very strong composition.

    I’ll post my favorite shots soon too on my blog.

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