This is part two of my list of favorite pictures from the past year. You can see Part 1 here.
Top 10
I saved my top 10 picks for today. Hats off to any of you who waded through my 33 shortlist pictures from yesterday. I had a hard time picking my top 10 – many of those in yesterday’s post came very close. All of my top 10 pictures are landscapes. This was not the year for wildlife shots or people photography. So, without further ado, here are my favorite 10 landscape images from 2018.
Geiranger Falls
It takes a long time to climb from the bottom of Geiranger Falls to the top. Even if you are fit. I have pictures that capture the whole scene, but as impressive as that view is, my first top ten pick is instead a close-up abstract view of the falls.
I love the color of the water in glacial run-off streams, and Fossevandring Geiranger (Geiranger Falls) is no exception. The moss on the rocks is such a vibrant green color as well. And of course, the flow of the river, as it tumbles down a series of falls, cascades and rapids, is quite spectacular. For me, this very small piece of the whole cascade captured the essence of the place better than a wider view on the day we visited Geiranger. Normally I use 1/6 – 1/8 of a second for waterfalls, but this close in view needed something a little faster and so I used a 1/15 second shutter speed.
Nikon D850 Nikkor 24-120mm f/10 ISO-250 1/15 sec.
Moody Mount Hood
We camped on the slopes of Mt. Hood, Oregon, for 4 days last year. What a beautiful place on the edge of the Columbia River valley. The time we spent there afforded several opportunities to see the mountain in different types of light and a variety of weather conditions. Two of the shots of this mountain made it to my Top 10 list. The first of these is much more moody and worked really well as a black and white. This was taken early one morning. I had hoped for a sunrise shot, but the sun did not show up on schedule. Instead, the clouds provided a lot of drama and a wonderful backdrop to this impressive mountain.
Nikon D850 Nikkor 24-120mm f/14 ISO-64 1/80 sec.
The Hole in the Ocean
If the ocean has a drainplug, you will find it on the Oregon coast at a place called ‘Thor’s Well’. It is an interesting part of a very beautiful coastline. It is also quite dangerous. At least one person was killed here this year. At any time, rogue waves may come in that can knock you down or wash you away. And yet even while I was there people were standing right on the edge of Thor’s Well without paying attention to waves coming towards them. If you stand back about 20 feet, the photography is so much better, and it is a whole lot safer.
For this shot, I spent some time preparing by checking the tide schedule and matching an almost full tide (the ideal time to view Thor’s Well) with sunset. Good sunsets are not guaranteed in Oregon, but I was not disappointed with the light on the day I was there. All that was left was to slow the shutter to 1/15 second to catch the flow of water going down the plug hole, and wait for the right wave to come in.
Nikon D850 Nikkor 24-120mm f/11 ISO-64 1/15 sec.
The Hut
Full disclosure. One of my favorite photographers is a Danish guy named Mads Pieter Iverson who also took a picture of this same hut with the same background. His composition is a little different, and the lighting and season also add some variation, but I want to acknowledge that I was inspired by his picture. I see that he has ‘The Hut’ as one of his top 10 picks from 2018 as well. You can find Iverson’s work here.
My composition choice was to contrast the sizes and align the shapes of the hut and the mountain (Ostinden) behind it. There are some complementary color themes, as well as some contrast too between the hut and the mountain. More than normal, this picture needed some work in Photoshop – to remove a set of steps on one side and a rail on the other – that detracted significantly from the composition.
Nikon D850 Nikkor 24-120mm f/18 ISO-200 1/100 sec.
Art Nouveua at Night
After a fire destroyed the Norwegian coastal town of Ålesund in 1904, it was rebuilt under the direction of several young architects in an Art Noveau style. Beautiful homes and hotels reflect in the waters of the harbor, lined with flower boxes. I have some wonderful close-up shots of those buildings and the tall ships moored nearby.
But it is this view from Aksla, the hill overlooking the town, as the sun was setting, and blue hour was taking over, that was my favorite and easily made it to my final 10 list.
Nikon D850 Nikkor 24-120mm f/13 ISO-125 20 sec.
Paint splashes
I included a picture of the vivid colors of the Painted Hills in Oregon in my blog post yesterday. This image is taken from the same location.
With the clear leading line of the dry creek-bed that heads down to the conical mound, this is a composition that really worked out really well. I try hard with scenes like this to draw the movement of the viewer’s eyes into the picture and then try to keep the focus there. The longer I examine this picture, the more the different colors of yellow, red and pink fill this unreal landscape. And then, in time, I start seeing the folds and creases in the rocks that look more like a living creature, in some ways, than rocks and sand. Hopefully this image sucks you in just like it does me.
Nikon D850 Nikkor 24-120mm f/14 ISO-64 1/5 sec.
Green skies over Hamnøy
I mentioned in yesterday’s post that the hamlet of Hamnøy is one place I would go back to in a heartbeat. This shot illustrates why. In September, there is a pretty good chance you will get to see the Northern Lights in Lofoten. The red fishing huts, called ‘rorbuers’, add so much character to this place with its fjord and mountains. We rented the cabins in the foreground of this picture and got to enjoy the Aurora close to ‘home’ for a good hour before the rain came.
Nikon D850 Nikkor 14-24mm f/3.2 ISO-1600 13 sec.
On fire
There have been plenty of fires in the Pacific Northwest over the last few years, including in the Columbia River Gorge, so you could be forgiven for thinking that this is what is going on here. But there are no fires and there is no smoke in this picture. One June evening, wispy clouds formed around Mount Hood as the sun was setting giving this absolutely epic display. We just had to show up.
Nikon D850 Nikkor 24-120mm f/13 ISO-64 1/5 sec.
Uttakleiv Beach
Near the town of Leknes on the Lofoten (pronounced ‘Loofooten’) Islands in Norway there is a lovely little beach. This line of boulders at the shoreline, is more than just a leading line to the mountains behind across the bay, the rocks bring a color variety that contrasts with the blue of the sea and the lightness of the waves.
I chose a long exposure to smooth out the water a lot. Uttakleiv is not only one of my favorite places in Lofoten, but also provided one of my favorite pictures from the islands too.
Nikon D850 Nikkor 12-24mm f/20 ISO-64 2 sec.
Morning in Hamnøy
Did I mention that I could be persuaded very easily to go back to Hamnøy? Of course, I did. So, the final pick in my Top 10, is another shot of this re-imagined fishing village. The road leaving the village crosses to the next island via a high one-lane bridge over the Reinefjorden. This makes for a wonderful viewpoint and photography spot. If you visit, be prepared to share this bridge with several other photographers at all times of the day and night. This scene even appeared in a recent National Geographic article.
Nikon D850 Nikkor 12-24mm f/18 ISO-200 1/40 sec.
And so, we have come to the end of my review of 2018 favorites. I hope you enjoyed ‘traveling’ with me through this series as much I did pulling my list together. I know that as I look back on these pictures, I realize how absolutely blessed I was to get to visit such amazing places this past year and how thankful I am to have had the chance to photograph the beauty that God has made. The rhetorical poem, found in Job 38 and 39, assumes greater weight as you look on majestic mountains, and see the stars and northern lights in the night sky. So many of the spots I stood in to take these pictures filled me with a sense of awe and a reminder that “He has made everything beautiful in its time.”
Feel free to leave a comment below. And let me know if you have a favorite from my list.
Colin / mtk