FAVORITES OF 2020

 

Every year I look back over my images and choose my favorites for the year.  While there were many difficulties of 2020, including the pandemic, the election, and racial tensions, being out in nature taking pictures helped keep me sane.  Here are my top ten favorites for this year.

 

 #10  This year two friends introduced me to the the Seven Bridges area near Kalkaska.  This wooded natural area was filled with streams, small waterfalls, and, of course, several bridges.  It was lovely to visit and photograph.  

 

 #9  Gracie is my most photographed subject.  I’m always snapping photos with my iPhone of her antics.  This year I added a small fenced area to my deck giving her a larger play area.  She loved playing catch and frisbee in her new yard.

 

 #8  Sunsets are always fun to watch and photograph.  I shot many this year from Old Mission Peninsula, which is closer to my home.  But this particular sunset was taken from my favorite Lake Michigan Beach at Empire.

 

 #7  I’d heard of their migration here in prior years, but last May I got to see these American White Pelicans for myself at Logan’s Landing.  Here they are all bunched together tightly.

 

 #6 I love all kinds of flowers, but lilies are one of my favorites.  This particular variegated type was especially striking.

 

 #5  Seeing and photographing eagles is always a special treat.  The farm country where I see Sandhill Cranes is also home to many Bald Eagles, especially in the winter months.

 

 #4 I saw many Snowy Owls last winter, but I especially liked this photograph.  While this female Snowy was perched atop an ugly light pole, she looked straight at me with those piercing yellow eyes.

 

 #3  While living in Northport, I heard the eerie howls of many coyotes in the woods, but I never photographed one.  I was lucky to see and get an image of this one in a field west of Chum’s Corner.

 

 #2  I’m sure you could guess there would be an image of Sandhill Cranes somewhere in my top ten.  I took this one during the fall migration, when a large group flew overhead.

 

 And here is is:  My favorite image of 2020.  I’d been shooting farm country sunsets south of Kingsley.  The sun had set behind a tract of trees and I’d turned around to leave the area.  I was startled to see that the full moon had risen behind me.  I liked how the golden hour colors from the sunset enhanced the field below the rising full moon.  Doesn’t get much better than this for me.