[wiki summary]

[Layback]

I don't have one this year that I feel is really a standout. These are two of my favorite though for the mood they create within me:

Room With a View

Victory!

[half fast]

Shi Shi beach ONP

I love the waves... this beach is one of my favorite WA beaches and this photo was fun as the wave seems to be exploding

[Dane]

Luc in silhouette

also really happy with these:

Witches Thumb

beer me!

gorgeous light

[iron]

love

this was day 7 on the sonny ptarmigan traverse. we had just got into some immensely thick brush (<200ft/hr) and we found the only camp spot at a high saddle. a little terraforming and we were able to relax for that night, with a big question mark awaiting us for the next day's long exit. as hotpantz and i sat there, gazing at the sunset over the buckindy and snowking peaks with the occasional glance back towards the ptarmigan traverse, i felt giddy with love for her, just as i did when we first met and were falling for each other. several weeks later, after missing being by her side constantly like we had been on the sonny ptarmigan, i proposed on YES! peak.

[MarkJ]

I'm having a hard time picking THE best photo of the year. I like the photo below because it is somewhat technical. The line formed by the sparks on the foreground mimics the shape of the ridge line on the background. Also, it was shot during the blue hour. If it was shot a few minutes too late, the silhouette of Mount Stuart would not be defined. If it was shot a bit too early, the sparks would have been blown out.

A Light Painting Experiment

A Light Painting Experiment by mj.foto, on Flickr If I could post one more photo, one of my all time favorites is this: Perseid: Star Trails, Lake Ann

[polecatjoe]

Love that shot, Iron! Says a lot.

[Dane]

Oops, didn't read the OP. Sorry for the "bonus pictures" The story of my favorite shot: Luc and I had been wanting to get into the inner Burke Range for years, and had been turned back on several solo attempts. We finally teamed up and after hiking the southern Burkes made a difficult traverse from Pyrites to the Chimney-Bicentennial saddle. It was a very committing route. Along the way I took a fall and slid out of control down slabs, stopping short of a cliff. We finally made it up to the saddle on day 7, which was more scenic than we'd hoped, and celebrated our success with bourbon and a couple beers I'd lugged in. We had hoped to continue the high traverse but found the terrain beyond Bicentennial to be too exposed for us without ropes, so we had to turn around. As we were heading back up and over Chimney, about to drop into a sketchy, hellish bushwack, I turned around and saw Luc silhouetted against dramatic clouds. It's bittersweet for me, a reminder of our successes and failures. And despite how special that place is for me I know I will only return once or twice - it's just so hard to get to.

[509]

I'm not sure these are my "best" pictures, but they are the ones I enjoyed the most. Probably, because what I saw in my mind when I clicked the shutter and the resulting picture closely matched. They were also pretty ugly in color!!

web_alley_way_bw

web_klep_bw_foam_version2

web1500_b_w_sun_spots_on_surf

[Phil]

Being on a mountain top with my daughter for the first time:

019.JPG

[Matt Lemke]

The Maroon Bells...#1

My favorite because it was the last photo of one of the best trips of my life at the morning..although cloudy was beautiful and this was taken only 5 minutes before the wind picked up and the lake reflection was gone for good that day. What luck!

[Gil]

Folks seem to be having difficulty with the concept, Karen.

[mepokeu]

[GeoHiker]

Here's my favorite picture this year.

[Shaninja]

This was taken from Mallard Peak Lookout here in Idaho. It was a very nice, unexpected trip. My boyfriend and I had made plans to go elsewhere the last few days before the fall semester started, and unfortunately the plans fell through. Frustrated, and with only a day to make new plans, I told my boyfriend to just surprise me with a new destination. It was definitely a wonderful surprise and a beautiful destination!

[dicey]

perfect

From Ruth/Icy trip Feb.2010