Your Top 10 Photos of 2010...

[Craig]

Lake of the Clouds Hut

Mt Washington via Lions Head

Mt Shasta via Bunny Flats

Mt Shasta - first tracks

Continue Up?

San Luis Peak - Colorado

Navajo Lake - Colorado

Uncompahgre Peak - Colorado

El Diente - Colorado - fun at 14,000'

Abandoned Ranch - Lizard Head Wilderness, Colorado

 

[Fisher Cat]

WOW! I can't compete with all the awesome pics from out west (esp. Lake Louise!) but, here's my favorite shot taken by my wife on my Historical Trek to East Osceola in honor of my forefather, Henry Willard, on the Samuel Willard White Mountain expedition of 1725:

 

[Kevin Rooney]

WOW! I can't compete with all the awesome pics

Please don't think of it as a competition -

 

[Fisher Cat]

No, not literally, but I've never been a great nature photographer and the shots I've seen on VFTT now, and in the past, are really terrific! I'm in awe of nature photographers!

 

[Billy]

Shelf Lake, Yellowstone National Park, Montana

Heart Lake at sunset, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Mt Sheridan across Heart Lake at sunrise, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Looking south from Artist's Bluff, Franconia Notch, WMNF

Crawford Notch viewed from Mt Crawford, WMNF

Lower Falls of the Yellowstone River viewed from Artist Point, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Bison, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Hayden Valley, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming


.

 

[OldMan]

Shot from the trail between Jefferson and Adams


Pressie view from Moriah


Jet play over the Wildcats


Black Pond


Iced pine on the Tripramids


George


Winter Washington


Elephant Rock, Valley of Fire State Park, NV


Face at Sunset in Valley of Fire State Park, NV


Hiking with my Granddaughter

 

[w7xman]

GREAT PHOTOS...what a year we've had.

Giving this a friendly bump, as we are missing collections from more than a few avid hiking shutterbugs!

 

[J&J]

Here are some of our offerings for the year.

Lenticular over Madison Hut

Heading Home

Lafayette above the clouds

Insignificant

Summit on fire

Sunrise on Washington

Descending Washington

Huh?

Friendly Critter

 

[RickB.]

Just one, from the storm at sea on February 26. Whaleback Light at the mouth of Portsmouth Harbor from Fort Foster, Kittery Point, ME.

 

[Kevin Rooney]

Nice photo, Rick. I can think of at least two reasons for building lighthouses well above the high tide mark.

 

[1HappyHiker]

Favorites (January – August)

JANUARY: Skiing at LOC Hut

JANUARY: Undercast View from Mt. Monroe

JANUARY: Alpenglow

MARCH: Presidential View from South Sugarloaf Bushwhack

MAY: Bushwhack to Waterfalls on Halfway Brook (Duck Pond Mtn area)

MAY: Spring at Crawford Notch

MAY: The Watcher (Franconia Notch)

MAY: Dream Lake (Mahoosucs)

JUNE: Carrigain Notch from Location Near Zeacliff

JULY: Dry River Falls

AUGUST: Presidential View from Saco River

AUGUST: Frankenstein Cliff from Saco River

 

[1HappyHiker]

Favorites (September – December)

SEPTEMBER: Bushwhack to Ledge in Rocky Branch Area

SEPTEMBER: Autumn at Wachipauka Pond

OCTOBER: Presidential View from Halls Ledge

OCTOBER: Mt Tremont & Sawyer Pond from Green's Cliff

OCTOBER: Baldfaces from Pine Hill

DECEMBER: Bushwhack View of Square Mountain (Kilkenny)

 

[Technetium]

Really cool stuff in this thread here. A lot of you are really into the extreme winter hiking. I have definitely not done enough of that. I've been reading through the thread and enjoying the photos. I'm especially fond of DeSettahr's panorama of the sunset against the Seward Range, bikehikeskifish's shot of the cumulus clouds above Washington and hikers in the winter, Mahony's shot of the light-beam coming through the clouds on a hike up Chocorua, Tom Rankin's shot of Red Rock Canyon (I've seen a few shots of this place before, looks like an amazing spot), DiamondRidge's shot featuring his completion of the NH 48 (see below for why I particularly like this shot), Brambor's shots from the Alps with the amazing rocky jagged terrain, Pudgy Groundhog's.... everything - such gorgeous work with a great eye! (but I'd say the mist on the Lady of the Lake is my favorite of those), Jim Salge's shot of the lupines in front of the Presidential Range (you know I want this shot!), Kevin Rooney's shot of the Sierras across Owen's Valley in the amazing light and cloud cover, John L's "Contemplation" - I know exactly how you felt looking around that scene because I've experienced it myself!, Buffalo's shots of Ama Dablam in some really nice light that defines the mountain (one of my favorites in the world) so well, nartreb's shot from Mt St Helens (With Rainier in the background?), grouseking's Yucatan Sunrise, Paul Bear's shot of Mt Shuksan with the intense red colors permeating the clouds around it, Craig's dramatic view from El Diente, Billy's shot of Mt Sheridan rising above a huge cloud bank, OldMan's shot of the smooth ice covering the top of a spruce (nice choice of background here!), J&J's shot of lenticular clouds lit up by sunrise over Mt Washington (just how often do lenticulars happen? I don't think I've ever seen one), and 1HappyHiker's shots of the Lake of the Clouds hut buried in deep snow.

I don't do a lot of photography explicitly related to hiking... Here's one from this summer when I completed my NH 48 on top of Bondcliff (as part of a 3-day backpack over Owl's Head, South Twin, Galehead, Bond, West Bond, and Bondcliff).

The rest of these are not really hiking related, but they are at least outdoors and mostly of natural places. Looks like I have 12 photos... oops.

Echo Lake with Franconia Ridge, super-long exposure at sunset

Sandy Beach at sunset, Acadia National Park

Bass Harbor Light at sunrise, Acadia National Park

Sunset during breaking storm at a beach in Woods Hole, MA

Sentinel Pine Bridge & The Pool, Franconia Notch NH

Bash Bish Falls, Massachusetts, during fall foliage near sunset

Sunrise at Kittery Point, Maine

Sunrise reflection from a reservoir in Fitchburg, MA

Another from that same sunrise

Sunset from East Point in Nahant, MA

Another from that same sunset

 

[Lefty E]

Maybe you should post more, and if you wanted, you would not have to say much, you could say it with photos like those...

 

[Raymond]

Without question, this is my favorite picture I took this year:

My son on Mount Liberty.

Here are some others:

Took four photos of my honey, Susan, crossing a stream; the photostitch software put them together as a panorama. The fourth image of her disappeared into the third.

Two of the dramatic skies over my neighborhood photographed during my early-morning walks.

A couple pictures from Mount Crawford.

That’s me on Bondcliff.

Returning to my car as I finished the Nun-da-ga-o and Crows loops.

A pond next to a conservation area near Susan’s house.

This jay at the Crawford Path/Mizpah Cutoff junction distracted me while someone was breaking into my car.

I spent time at this waterfall, too, so maybe I shouldn’t blame the bird.

The first of countless Waldos we saw at The Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear.

 

[king tut]

I had a fairly uneventful photographic year, but here were a few of my faves,
Climbing Camel's Hump

Moss Glen Falls in Stowe


Honey Hollow Falls in Richmond

 

[The Unstrung Harp]

Love this thread....

Here are my very very humble offerings...
Katahdin:

Varied colors, a bit higher up -

Seaweed at Seawall, beyond Southeast Harbor, Mt Desert Island, Maine:

July sunset at the crest of a small local hill/mountain -- need motivation for trail running, anyone?

Resident of Gentian Pond on the AT in NH:

My uncle just past the summit of Old Speck in ME.

 

[mtruman]

A bit late getting in here. Had these posted on the same thread that Jim started on the MWOBS forum but hadn't seen this one yet. The photos here so far are spectacular! I'd like to comment on my favorites but they are all too good to make that choice. Here's my 10 for 2010.

Happy New Year everyone! Hope everyone makes lots more memories so share here next year.

#1 - Nat reaching the summit on Mt Liberty in January for our first winter 4K

#2 - Standing beyond the summit of Mt Pierce on a perfect day in March taking in the Presidential views

#3 - Cutler River in Pinkham Notch on the first day of spring

#4 - The Wildflowers of Walmart Valley
While we were living at the Residence Inn during our home reconstruction we were blessed with some unexpected bits of beauty. The hotel was surrounded with vacant lots that were mostly sand and scrub. The view across the street was to the huge Walmart and multiple strip malls that made up the area. Not much to look at for sure. But from early spring until early fall those vacant lots were constantly bathed in a changing array of wildflowers like I've never seen before. Every morning and evening we would wander through them with the dog marveling at the beauty beneath our feet. If you look around you there is beauty in the most unexpected places.

#5 - Half Dome Evening Light
n June we spent 6 amazing days in the #1 place on my life list - Yosemite. Choosing 10 top photos for the year out of the ones from any of those days in the home of John Muir and Ansel Adams would have been tough. Leaving room for the others from the rest of the year was darned near impossible. I somehow managed to include only 4 here. This one is an example of the sights that Yosemite Valley somehow manages to try to make commonplace. It's Half Dome with the incredible light that it reflects as the sun sets across the valley each evening. What is most amazing to me is that this was taken from the parking lot in Curry Village about 100 steps from our tent cabin. I have never felt so immersed in total beauty as I did in this place.

#6 - Tenaya Lake, Yosemite

#7 - Yosemite Valley from Sentinel Dome
Our shortest and easiest hike in Yosemite was Sentinel Dome. Near the top of Glacier Point Road it's a couple of mile stroll to what has to be one of the most awe inspiring places on earth. Pictures cannot do it justice. This was one of the favorite spots for Ansel Adams and the home of the Jeffrey Pine - his famous photo subject that now is just the remains of a fallen legend. In this shot Nat stops just before the summit of the dome to take in the valley spread out at our feet with Half Dome and Clouds Rest to the right.

This is what is left of the Jeffrey Pine. I wonder what sort of amazing image Ansel Adams would still have managed to make from it now.

#8 - Hetch Hetchy - Yosemite's Garden of Eden

#9 - Ice Plant in Monterey, CA

#10 - Crawford Notch Morning Light

The final image is another example of finding beauty in everyday places where you least expect them. In October we spent Columbus Day weekend getting in our final time of 2010 in New Hampshire. We had four straight days of amazing hikes and were in some of the most beautiful places in the Whites including the frozen pre-winter summit of Moosilauke and a perfect autumn afternoon on Zeacliff. This image came from neither. As we drove through Crawford Notch on one of the mornings the dawn light set fire to the clouds and I stopped to take this from the side of the road in an otherwise completely unremarkable place. Seems like a fitting place to end the year in pictures.

Postscript - The Photographer
OK, I'm cheating since I've already put in my 10 (and actually one extra as well) but I had to add this one. The day that we hiked Pierce with Tim and Val we had a typical winter welcoming committee of Gray Jays as we reached treeline. Tim got this picture of me doing what I love to do most - taking pictures in these amazing places. Watch the birdie!

 

[Kevin Judy and Emma]

Tough Act to Follow!

There has just been some incredible eye-candy here! Just outstanding shots by everyone, thank you for sharing them here, and thanks to Jim for pushing me to do this every year! I offer these dozen shots, all from New Hampshire:

Powow River, Kingston, NH 1/20/2010

Bondcliff as seen from the Summit of Owlshead 2/4/10 My 51st Birthday

Raindrops and Pussywillows at Kingston State Park 3/31/10

Bloodroot Sanguanaria canadensis 4/11/10

Evans Notch 5/4/10

Sunrise Powow River, Kingston, NH 6/22/10

Red Spotted Newt Notophthalmus viridescens Still in its Eft form. 7/20/10

Another Powow River Sunrise 8/18/10

Sometimes We Fail to See the Beauty in the Simplest Things 9/9/10

Emma on Mount Waumbek 10/16/10

Fire and Ice Over Greenwood Pond, Kingston, NH 11/29/10

Hanging with the Big Guns 12/5/10

KDT

 

[Edelweiss]

I always look forward to this yearly thread. Here are some of my favorite 2010 photos:
1. Above Auger Falls (Adirondacks)
2. Blue Mt. Summit (Adirondacks)
3. Geese on the Wing - Ausable Marsh (Adirondacks)
4. Ausable Club Road (Adirondacks)
5. Ausable Marsh Sunset (Adirondacks)