Favorites of 2010

It’s that time of year, and it was a splendid year of photography for me. I got out quite a bit, especially in summer and fall. I got to return to some favorite locations, such as the Lodore Canyon rim, Pecos Baldy Peak and the Manzano Mountains in New Mexico, Idaho’s Lost River Range, and Colorado’s Chama Basin, armed with better photography skills and in better conditions than on previous visits. I came home to a couple much-beloved places I hadn’t been in years, namely Utah’s Desolation Canyon and Idaho’s Middle Fork of the Salmon River. I got to explore some entirely new territory in Colorado’s South San Juan Wilderness and New Mexico’s Black Range. And I got to experience some once-in-a-decade-or-more opportunities: high flows on the Gila River, an incredible poppy bloom in the southern Arizona desert, and an amazingly photogenic autumn snowstorm in the Chama Basin. It’s all very well to speak of once-in-a-lifetime opportunities, but the fact is, if you spend a lot of time outside, you will see wondrous sights, and I spent a lot of time out in 2010.

To begin, here are my two favorite shots of the year that I haven’t yet shared on the blog. First, an autumn sunrise in New Mexico’s Black Range (Organ Mountains in the distance):

Next, an amazing mixed grove of aspens and maples in the Manzano Mountains, New Mexico:

And here are some favorites of the year which will be familiar to followers of this blog. New readers, please enjoy!

Foggy moonrise in the Valles Caldera, Jemez Mountains, New Mexico:

Sotol at dawn, Gila Wilderness, New Mexico:

Desert poppies in bloom, Black Hills, Arizona:

Tenuous foothold on Lodore Canyon rim, Dinosaur National Monument, Colorado:

Clearing storm in Desolation Canyon, Utah:

Summer solstice sunrise in Idaho’s Lost River Range:

Chinook salmon leaping up Dagger Falls, Central Idaho (more detail of the fish here):

Incoming storm in New Mexico’s Pecos Wilderness:

Dawn luminescence, South San Juan Wilderness, Colorado:

Winter descending on Chama Basin, Colorado:

And for those who were so good as persevere to the bottom of the post, here’s another image I haven’t yet shared. This was taken the evening before the previous shot, at almost the exact same location, but facing the other way. Autumn waterfall in Chama Basin, Colorado:

Happy new year to all!

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Tags: favorites

• December 30, 2010
• best work, colorado, idaho, new mexico, utah
• 24 Comments