Your Top Ten Photos of 2012!

Around this time every year, we begin to recap and recall the year in hiking, and reflect upon all of the wonderful places we've been.

Many of us take our camera along with us, and capture special moments. These may be aestetically beautiful, or capture something with a special meaning.

I invite you all to join me in looking through your photo vault this last week before the holidays, and post you top ten shots.

Perhaps include a nice blurb about what, where, and why too...


A little history, a little inspiration from past years!

2011:
http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?43179-Your-Top-10-Photos-of-2011

2010:
http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?t=38676

2009:
http://vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?t=33595

2008:
http://vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?t=26831

2007:
http://vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?t=19465


Note: As always when posting pictures here, please host them on a third party site, and post a smallish picture here!

Thanks for starting this thread, w7, which will be fun to look at. Here are some of my faves, going back in time from the most recent:

On Flume's south summit on 12/9, Sunshine Chris, amid scrub and some rime ice:

I especially liked this view of the Twins from Flume's main summit grounds on the same day:

The Twins again, with the Presi's behind, from Garfield on 11/23:

Lincoln and the Gargoyles, along with a fellow observer, on 9/9:

Liberty, Flume and beyond from Little Haystack on the same day:

The bowl of Tuckerman Ravine from the trail on the headwall, 7/22:

Mt. Washington, looming amid fading fog on 6/17/2012, from the Gulfside Trail just south of the Jewell intersection:

This, from the Ammonoosuc Ravine Trail on 5/12, is my favorite waterfall shot I took this year:

And this of Mt. Washington, same day, from Crawford Path to the south is my favorite shot overall:

One last shot, of Moosilauke from its South Peak on 5/5, Super Moon Day:

I always love these threads! Hard to choose, but here are ten of my photos:

Watching in awe as Castle Geyser erupts at sunrise in Yellowstone:


Sunrise from Alstrom Point overlooking Lake Powell near Page, Arizona:


A sunbeam in Lower Antelope Canyon near Page, Arizona:


"Follow the yellow brick road" .... or the white stripe at Yellow Rock in Escalante National Monument:


Steve and Norah explore Buckskin Gulch in southern Utah:


Steve and Norah take in the view of the Cirque of the Towers from Jacka$$ Pass in the Wind River Range:


A blue sunset at Oxbow Bend in the Tetons:


Llamas on Jacka$$ Pass in the Wind River Range (they were sooo cute!):


Norah and Grandpa off to fish in the Beartooth Mountains:


Our moonlit campsite at Alstrom Point above Lake Powell:

pudgy-groundhog-those are magazine quality!!

Absolutely beautiful, Pudgy-Groundhog!!

Amazing photos, Pudgy. What kind of camera do you use, if you don't mind my asking - whenever I come across someone who takes beautiful pics, I do; am hoping to get something nice next year.

Not sure if pics will come out but if so then here they are- I am no professional but these are my favorite memories from 2012 hiking.

views from slopes of Wildcat looking west into the valley- fall meets winter- October 2012


Dave Bear and his best friend Thor out on the Greeley Trail and headed for East Osceola in fall 2012


My son Matt crossing the brook at the beginning of the Tecumseh Trail this late fall 2012


Salamander on Garfield Trail on Nov 11th


My son Matt and I at completion of hike to Mt. Waumbek- so good to be out hiking again with my friend this fall 2012


Views off the Webster-Jackson Trail toward the Highland Center and Mt. Washington Hotel- fall 2012


The east facing cliffs of Mt. Flume December 9th 2012


Franconia Ridge from Kinsman Ridge December 15 2012

Great pics, Chris. My faves are the Franconia pic from Kinsman and the one of you and your son.

Thanks for starting this thread again. It's always inspirational to see all the great shots people have.

My favorite beach at Acadia


Jordan Pond at Acadia


Jordan Pond at Acadia


The trail on Norumbega Mountain at Acadia


Katahdin Lake, Baxter State Park.


Three days in Baxter State Park and only one moose sighting ... that's unheard of!


The Wave, Coyote Buttes along the Utah/Arizona border. After 5 or 6 tries at the lottery, I finally made it to this amazing place. It was worth the wait.


Antelope Canyon near Page, Arizona. My third visit to this beautiful spot. I never get tired of it.


Dawn from the Island in the Sky, Canyonlands NP.


South Mule Canyon, Utah.

Driver 8- my favs were the Ammo Ravine Trail Waterfall photo and Mt. Washington from the Crawford Path
pudgy- my favs were Norah and Grandpa going fishing- loved it, Steve and Norah taking in the views, sunrise from Alstrom Point and moonlit campsite
Paul_Bear- my favs were the rocks, Jordan Pond at Acadia and South Mule Canyon, Utah
Thanks all for sharing your beautiful pics! They all have special meaning to us, don't they?

I will open the question to everyone that I posed to Pudgy. What camera/s did you use for your pics? As a budding shutterbug, I am interested to know. For the first few photos, from the Flume and Garfield trips, I used the camera on my iPhone 5, which I got 5 weeks ago. It's an improvement over the one on my old smart phone, a Droid 2 Global, which I used for the other pics - 3 more MP makes a difference, and it has a lot more capability with respect to contrast and low light. Still figuring out its many subtleties and wrinkles.

PS: Thanks, Chris - those are my two favorites, those and the Gargoyles/Lincoln one, I think the hiker atop the cliff adds a lot to that one.

Pudgy's are all pretty well amazing, the one with the shaft of light shining in and the one at Oxbow in the Tetons especially so.

Among Paul_Bear's the Moose and the two right below it especially appeal to me. I still haven't seen a moose or a bear out in the wild. Coming soon, I hope!

Driver8 said:

... What camera/s did you use for your pics? ...

Click to expand...

Most of my shots were taken with a Canon 30D SLR. It's 4 or 5 generations old, but takes decent pictures. One thing it lacks is the ability to shoot good shots at high ISO(limiting my night photography). I think the trail on Norumbega Mt. was taken with a Canon S95 point and shoot.

For lenses on the SLR, I'd guess that most of these shots were taken either with a 17-55mm zoom (equivalent to a 27-88 lens on a 35mm film camera) or a 10-22mm zoom (equivalent to a 16-35 zoom for 35mm). The moose shot was taken with a 300/f4 plus a 1.4x teleconverter (he was almost too close to photograph by the end of his walk past).

I love these threads! Keep posting pictures!

Franconia Ridge, New Year's Day

The (poor) quality of this picture was my inspiration for getting a new camera.



Dawn over Wolfeboro

First time out with the new camera (Canon T3 with the standard 18-55 IS lens if anyone was interested). It was a great learning experience. The sunrise was unforgettable too.



George, Clay and the Great Gulf

This was a day I learned a hard lesson about warm spring snow, exertion, and having an adequate water supply... Thanks friends for being there for me!



Orionids

Not the best quality but it's my first meteor! You can almost tell that it's Orion...



Cedar Waxwings on Bondcliff

Bondcliff really is a special place and this photo adds to the memory.



Sunset over the Sandwich Range

I feel like Whiteface and Passaconway get the shaft on pictures from the bridge on Chocorua Lake.



Portal view from the Castle in the Clouds

People keep telling me they love this picture. I suppose it's starting to grow on me. Maybe I'm just jealous because I want that view out of my bedroom window...



Sunset and Sun Dogs in Bar Harbor

I had one of the best days ever with my family here. Taken from the bar in Bar Harbor.



Bar Harbor from Bar Island

This walk, only with something like 200 feet in elevation gain and a mile and a half round trip, is one of the most amazing hikes I've ever taken.



Vortex in Thunder Hole

It's not very often that you get to see waves splash 40+ feet in the air. I didn't even manage to keep the whole thing in the frame.



The Twins on Jackson

4k #1 with the girls!

Oops that's 11. I might as well keep going...
Bonus for w7xman:

Loon on Swains Lake

They exist. I have proof! Too bad I only had my phone. There's always next year...

Link to the full album with a few more that didn't make the "cut":
https://picasaweb.google.com/113151...&authkey=Gv1sRgCIDXoaHok5OuNQ&feat=directlink

Great pics, Jacob. I especially like the first three and the crashing wave photo from Maine. The girls atop Jackson is sweet, too.

Tried to insert the following images but got an error message saying they were not valid image files.

http://adkhighpeaks.com/neil/outdoor pursuits/France 2012/full/210.jpg
http://adkhighpeaks.com/neil/outdoor pursuits/France 2012/full/188.jpg

I seem to hike a lot at night or in the rain, so I usually can't be bothered to bring a camera. In fact, this is the first year that I have actually owned a camera. These were taken with a Canon Powershot A2200. I think it did a pretty good job. All I did was point and shoot.

Sunset from Boulder Loop Trail, off the Kanc


April arrives on Webster Cliff Trail


Mt. Rainier from the Wonderland Trail


Silver Falls State Park Oregon


My son on Mt. Eisenhower Loop


Eddy Pond, Maine


The Horn from Saddleback


Flags on the 48 – Whiteface


Cairn on Mt. Pemetic – Acadia NP


Bubbles from Jordan Pond – Acadia NP

It was a bit of a frustrating photography year for me. I moved up to a DSL (Canon T3i) and it has taken me most of the year to be able to get pictures from it that are at least as good as those I took with my old PS A610.

So here is a link to my top ten that I've posted on Google+. The slideshow option does not display captions, so open the album and step through the images one at a time if you want to know what you're looking at.
-vegematic

vegematic said:

It was a bit of a frustrating photography year for me. I moved up to a DSL (Canon T3i) and it has taken me most of the year to be able to get pictures from it that are at least as good as those I took with my old PS A610.

So here is a link to my top ten that I've posted on Google+. The slideshow option does not display captions, so open the album and step through the images one at a time if you want to know what you're looking at.
-vegematic

Click to expand...

Whatever you did, you did it right! Those waterfall pics are spectacular!

Thanks Natron, NeoAkela, and Driver8!

Driver8, looks like you had some good outings this year! I like the Lincoln and Gargoyles pictures. We have a Canon T3i and use either a 17-85mm or 18-55 lens (often with a circular polarizer).

Sunshine Chris, like that last pic with the snowy trees.

Paul_bear - lucky to win the lottery! We haven't yet. Great shots! I also like the Acadia pictures.

JacobH - I like the first shot and the cedar waxwing. Looks like he posed perfectly for you.

JakeD, neat photo with the misty trail.

Wardsgirl, I like the sunset and the Jordan ponds pictures.

Thanks for sharing everybody - fun to see all the pictures.

Everyone's pics so far have had some true gems whether of photographic skill of just a simple snapshot of a great memory. I really love them all for what they are and look forward to many more.

As usual, my offerings are on the humble side. It was a wonderful year of over 1,000 miles spent on the trails...

My friend and I taking our first snowshoe race VERY seriously...Bradbury Mountain, ME.

Winthrop, ME.

Late summer. Tumbledown, ME.

Hints of dusk, late Autumn, Castle Ridge, Mt. Jefferson, NH.

Not very original, perhaps, but striking - my first visit to Lonesome Lake. December 1. Also my first time in the Whites in wintry conditions!

Death Canyon, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming. Again, I'm sure everyone who hikes this trail has this shot -- but I don't care, it was almost too beautiful to be real out there. My first time in that area...

My climbing partner took these next two of me on Grand Teton in June. Been reliving the memories daily ever since. I have more, that I took, of this trip that I really need to go through...