2022 Favorites

2022 was a very different photographic year for me as I actually captured far more images than usual with the vast majority taken over a two week period in early July. While I usually plan several trips for landscape photography during a year, my 2022 plans were based around my twice-delayed African safari in Botswana. You can also see that in the blog posts that I shared this year – virtually all of them were from that tip.

That said, I was able to take some images I enjoyed in California and Montana and hope that you enjoy them as well. Images are presented below in the order I captured them. I’ll also note that this is NOT a list of my ten “best” images from the year. I focus on my favorites – chosen either because I believe the image is particularly strong or because of the memories I associate with it. Best of lists have no room for memories!

Palace of Fine Arts – San Francisco, California

I had dinner plans with a friend in San Francisco and decided to stop by a photogenic spot for sunset. I hadn’t been to the Palace of Fine Arts for a long time and was rewarded with some nice light. I tried some compositions that better showed the color in the sky off to the west, but over time I have grown to like this more symmetric view the best.

Swan River Stars – Bigfork, Montana

There is a nice trail along the Swan River in the town of Bigfork, Montana. The trail follows the river and while quite scenic, most of the views are blocked by the forest. The view opens up in this spot, though, revealing the mountains to the east. I had calculated that the Milky Way would be visible over the mountains in March so I picked a clear (and very cold) night and hiked out in the dark. The cold air held some moisture that added a dreamy feel to the sky. This photo is featured in the 2023 calendar from the Flathead Electric Cooperative.

Last Day of Winter – Glacier National Park, Montana

Lake McDonald is where most visitors to Glacier get their first view of the park’s iconic mountains. The sunset forecast looked promising so I decided to head into the park and look for reflections. The lake was rough in my favorite spots, so I headed to the west end and found this melted area between the shore and the frozen surface of the lake. I had to set up very low to get the reflections and included some rocks in the foreground. The clouds really seemed to glow as sunset approached which makes this shot special for me.

Lion Reflected – Savuti, Botswana

We followed a group of adult male lions near sunrise as they made their way across the landscape. At one point, one of them decided to walk to the water and take a drink. Everything lined up well for this shot – the lion was facing us, the warm sunrise light lit his face, and the calm water added a rippled reflection. I knew this would be a favorite as soon as I released the shutter.

Sitting Leopard – Savuti, Botswana

After spending much of the day looking for leopards, our guide received a call on the radio that one had been spotted (I guess all leopards are spotted!) and we quickly moved to find it. The leopard was relaxing next to a fallen tree. Our driver angled for a better view and then the leopard briefly sat up and checked us out. I had to include a leopard photo on this list as they were my favorite animals during the trip. I chose this as my favorite because of the clear view of the leopard along with the soft light and its pose.

Sunset Elephant – Moremi, Botswana

I was surprised at just how many elephants we saw in Botswana and how close we were able to get at times to just watch these massive animals. As a result I probably came home with 1000 images of elephants, but this one stands out as my favorite. A group of elephants were giving themselves dust baths and then walking across the plain. The dust caught the warm light from sunset and really made the landscape glow, backlighting this lone elephant.

Proxy Falls – Willamette National Forest, Oregon

Proxy Falls is a spot I have wanted to visit for years. I have been thwarted several times in the past by bad weather and forest fires. This summer I made the drive from California to Montana with my father and we spent a night in Bend, Oregon on the way. He agreed to join me and we drove out to Proxy Falls. The road was an interesting drive, looking like a volcanic moonscape at times. The loop trail to the falls viewpoint was nice enough, but I wanted to get to the bottom of the falls for this view. I hadn’t realized just how sketchy that “trail” was. And my dad kept going right along with me! The waterfall was impressive (this is just the base of it), the drive and hike were beautiful, and the memory of visiting with my dad will always be with me.

Clearing Storm over Glacier – Glacier National Park, Montana

This is another image in my “torturing 80+ year-old men” collection. This time it was my father-in-law. I had a free afternoon and decided to head into Glacier for a hike. My father-in-law wanted to see Hidden Lake so we drove up to Logan Pass for the short, but steep trail. Part way into the hike a thunderstorm rolled into the park. At first the rain and lightning were north of us so we kept going. As we got close to the turnaround, though, the deluge began. We went ahead and checked out the view, since nothing was going to save us from getting drenched at that point, and then made our way back toward the trailhead. Lightning was flashing overhead and water was overflowing the trail, but we made it back safely to the car. Driving back down the mountain I had to stop and capture this image of the clearing clouds and sunset light over Bird Woman Falls. Some warm Mexican food and hot drinks took off the chill once we made it out of the park.

Makena Nights – Maui, Hawaii

I had decided I wanted to try capturing the Milky Way over this picturesque beach on Maui even before making the trip to the island with my family. While there in the day time, it became clear that the clouds rolling off Haleakala would pose a challenge and might obscure the view. I finally drove out one evening and discovered that the lights from a neighboring building lit up the palm trees on the left and the clouds did partially obscure the stars. Even though the scene wasn’t what I envisioned, I thought the elements, including the late twilight color along the horizon, worked well together.

Half Dome Twilight – Yosemite National Park, California

I made a trip to Yosemite in early November hoping to catch peak fall color in this scene. As it turned out, autumn came late to the valley and colors were muted at best. I shot sunset at a nearby location then returned here for twilight. The late light on Half Dome made it glow against the night sky and there was still color in the clouds as well. Add in the rising moon and some perfect reflections in the Merced River and the image was complete. The valley was beautiful that weekend, but this shot was my favorite.

I hope you enjoyed my favorite images this year and wish you all the best in 2023. Let me know which are your favorites in the comments!