Jump to content

Year In Review - Ten Favorites


fgorga

Recommended Posts

Here are ten of my favorite wildlife photos from the past year.

 

I initially tried to choose only five, but this exercise is like trying to choose your favorite child!

 

_DSC4654.jpg.b5667e0ddf8645105249da665e3c1aef.jpg

Clapper Rail (St. George Island, Florida, March 2017)

 

_DSC5237.jpg.f20ce02c3bac1b11e8f42554e1481b5e.jpg

Willet with Prey (St. George Island, Florida, March 2017)

 

_DSC5568.jpg.2366a6ae0809e8891e258c0904b8d126.jpg

Alligator Reflected (Okefenokee NWR, Georgia, March 2017)

 

_DSC9723.jpg.4f5f538ba94f83fac8ab5fe375965850.jpg

Green Anole (Okefenokee NWR, Georgia, March 2017)

 

_DSC1528.jpg.3a779c17580caf0190806a66f4ad10d3.jpg

Juvenile Green Herons (New Hampshire, July 2017)

 

_DSC2476.jpg.f4a88a1f3f9d9bfeabcb189708e8cff3.jpg

American Rubyspot (New Hampshire, August 2017)

 

_DSC2642.jpg.b6c4cccbb503851253fa799984f4ff76.jpg

Canada Darner with Prey (New Hampshire, August 2017)

 

_DSC3708.jpg.f0c0119abfb8486c6d12aeff836cb440.jpg

Bison (Yellowstone NP, September 2017)

 

_DSC3814.jpg.93c77f0136f1390bd2c04bdd85d1defa.jpg

Mountain Bluebird (Yellowstone, NP, September 2017)

 

_DSC3910.jpg.a748f96d5d40934d1e332a2feb03177b.jpg

Bull Elk Bugling (Yellowstone NP, September 2017)

 

 

Anyone else game to post their favorites from the year?

 

Happy New Years!

 

--- Frank

Edited by fgorga
  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Great stuff, Frank. I'll stick to five; otherwise, this thread could get incredibly long. Mine are my highest "Interestingness" per Flickr:

 

35892217024_059f64db57_b.jpgDiamond Ring (Explored) by David Stephens, on Flickr

 

35716488233_f6a84ebb4d_b.jpgBringing Home Dinner (Explored) by David Stephens, on Flickr

 

34930092071_96b95572c2_b.jpgPappa Makes Room For Mamma by David Stephens, on Flickr

 

33734742146_8dedd84a7a_b.jpgCoyote Hunts In Snow (Explored) by David Stephens, on Flickr

 

35328544502_ff73177ea0_b.jpgWelcome To My Studio Mr. Finch... by David Stephens, on Flickr

 

Here's a Flickr Album, with my top 100 Interestingness, for 2017:

 

Interestingness 2017

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

No no, don't do that.......just take a class at the D Stephens school of freaking amazing nature photography. There's a session every Monday.:)

 

Thank you Laura and Mark. People in Colorado, near Denver, passing through or permanent, are welcome to tag along. I've been privileged to help a few people advance their wildlife photography results. Usually, it's only a few techniques and small alterations in field craft. Luck comes with persistence, is my number one rule. Monday evenings is, indeed, a day that I'm usually open for business. I'm out, every chance that I get. (Another secret to success).

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nice thread Frank, thanks for starting it. I like your juvenile herons also. I like David's puffin, but the flickers are my favorite. I don't include the coyote because I can't get enough of those shots as it is.

 

I haven't spent much time with my camera this year because of my other commitments. It's been a difficult trade off, but necessary for now. Hope it's ok to take the liberty of using images from other times.. I had some good ones this year, but I choose a few from past years that have remained my favorites for a total of 5. All but one are fungi, as one might expect from me. I enjoy photographing many subjects in nature, but none capture my imagination like fungi. The first 2 are from this year, and the remainder are from the favorites file.

 

1633810499_Mondaynature7-17.thumb.jpg.d2b3e0240c88bc950a39844b92fb2cb0.jpg

 

A stacked image of the slime mold Metatrichia vesparium. While it has flaws, it was taken in the woods with ambient light and I liked the result.

 

 

1677529397_naturebestphotos2.thumb.JPG.31534c50b9e9fbb432d429e93535f948.JPG

 

What's not to love about a creepy hand of Xylaria?

 

 

1599423766_naturebestphotos3.thumb.JPG.6d3372b4ad7339e72a7c5f59e5cc7e31.JPG

The underwater looking image is a cropped 1:1 of tiny Chromelosporium coerulescens with little grubs grazing away. This is an anamorph of the genus Peziza.

 

 

871513387_naturebestphotos4.thumb.JPG.715cab3d0e044f8cc073962d756e76d7.JPG

This is Microstoma floccosum. This is one of my favorite fungal images.

 

 

341787666_mayflyghost.thumb.jpg.8abb90f766ca8304f9a220a8415eef95.jpg

The mayfly apparition is one of my favorite non fungal images.

  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

David, Tony, thanks for the kind words.

David, I love slime molds. Like most folks interested in fungi, I passed them by for many years. Then, about 5 years ago I started to look at them and was smitten immediately. WOW, I'd been missing out all this time! They are very, very small and look like something from planet elsewhere. Maybe their otherworldly appearance is drawing you in.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I guess my amusement with this particular corner of photography goes back to the old second hand microscope my mother picked up for me all those years ago.

Looking at wing and leg structures of any insect I could fit under the lens opened up a whole new fascinating world for that 9 year old back then.

Makes me want to revisit an old hobby.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This is a great thread--there are some amazing photos here! I'll be coming back regularly to admire them over the next few months. Here are my contributions (which ones I select have a lot to do with what mood I'm in):

First, for just plain strangeness, a photo of the zygomatic arch of a porcupine skull:

D01-_MG_9373.jpg.226fc48965de62369b57d4a1d8c27599.jpg

 

Then, a few that don't need explanation:

 

D02-_MG_5412.jpg.289b59d0f24b839c853f65248abaad80.jpg

 

D03-_MG_0545.thumb.jpg.481ff1d7d58aef1726861889d0d09d92.jpg

 

D03-_MG_4304-Edit.jpg.3ce31196a4869016aeea5bbf144916c4.jpg

 

And finally, one of those magnificent fungi--a Hydnellum peckii, known for its bright red exudate:

D04-_MG_3333-Edit.jpg.3d087cada9334fb4d5b42b0b4895874e.jpg

  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Love the wasp

Thanks, Mark! She led to a few moments of high drama. I found her walking across my living room floor, and I popped her in the refrigerator to slow her down a bit so I could make the photos. To make a long story short, it turns out that they warm up and reactivate a lot more quickly than I expected...

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Great stuff, Frank. I'll stick to five; otherwise, this thread could get incredibly long. Mine are my highest "Interestingness" per Flickr:

 

David,

 

Thanks for participating. I am having trouble choosing a favorite as all are spectacular!

 

--- Frank

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nice thread Frank, thanks for starting it. I like your juvenile herons also. I like David's puffin, but the flickers are my favorite. I don't include the coyote because I can't get enough of those shots as it is.

 

I haven't spent much time with my camera this year because of my other commitments. It's been a difficult trade off, but necessary for now. Hope it's ok to take the liberty of using images from other times.. I had some good ones this year, but I choose a few from past years that have remained my favorites for a total of 5. All but one are fungi, as one might expect from me. I enjoy photographing many subjects in nature, but none capture my imagination like fungi. The first 2 are from this year, and the remainder are from the favorites file.

 

[ATTACH=full]1225910[/ATTACH]

 

A stacked image of the slime mold Metatrichia vesparium. While it has flaws, it was taken in the woods with ambient light and I liked the result.

 

.

 

Laura,

 

Thanks for posting. The macro domain is always fascinating.

 

All your photos are very nice, but I think that the slime mold is my favorite.

 

I am a retired biochemistry professor. There is a large body of biochemical research on the intercellular signaling that allows slime molds to organize themselves into these fantastic multicellular structures. I don't know much about the subject, but I did attend a few seminars on the topic over the years.

 

--- Frank

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wow.

I'm gonna sell all my camera stuff......

 

Mark,

 

Do not despair!

 

I can only speak for myself, but it has taken years (no make that decades) of practice (and lots of so, so photos) to get to this point.

 

Keep at it!

 

--- Frank

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

My favorite shot of 2017...A Great Horned Owlet fledged from the nest on May 1, 2017. The same mother owl has made a nest above entrance to Lady Bird Wildflower Center in Austin, Texas for 10 consecutive years.

 

Bill,

 

A fantastic and unusual photo. Thanks for playing along.

 

--- Frank

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

This is a great thread--there are some amazing photos here! I'll be coming back regularly to admire them over the next few months. Here are my contributions (which ones I select have a lot to do with what mood I'm in):

First, for just plain strangeness, a photo of the zygomatic arch of a porcupine skull:

[ATTACH=full]1226068[/ATTACH]

 

Leslie,

 

Thanks for posting. All of the photos are very nice.

 

My favorite is your first.... for the "strangeness". ;-) Unexpected is always good.

 

When I fist saw it my mind said "sandstone", then I read your description and the sutures became obvious.

 

--- Frank

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...