Top Ten Favorite Images of 2013

As we head into a New Year, I've noticed how the media takes stock of the past year by naming the 10 best news stories, the top 10 sports stories, the year's funniest movie quotes, the top ten beaches of the year, the ten worst fashion faux pas of the year, and so it goes.  This year end trend has made me look back at the thousands of images I've shot over the past year and come up with my top ten favorites.  Some of my choices are based on the experiences I had while shooting the image, while other choices are based on the quality of the picture.

Watching and photographing the deer in the woods outside my home is one of my greatest pleasures of Up North life.  And this year was especially enjoyable because, for the first time, I had fawns as frequent visitors.  These youngsters were very sweet to watch.

This sunset image was taken last March near Peterson Park.  I pulled over on N. Foxview Drive and shot the sunset from my car window.  It was one of those sunsets where the clouds caught fire the lower the sun sank.

Fall's brilliant colors bring out the photographer in all of us.  Typically, my favorite fall images are highlighted with red, orange, and yellow hues.  But this stand of oak trees on N. Kilcherman Road really grabbed me at the very end of the color season.  I was lucky to have the brilliant browns framed by a blue sky.

Another area I enjoy exploring in the fall is Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, although it's a challenging place to gauge peak season.  This image of Alligator Hill was early in the color season, but I enjoyed seeing the clear profile of an alligator.

This image of a pine plantation, taken near the south end of Woolsey Airport, is a favorite of mine.  I love the symmetry of these pine stands and how the snow on the branch tops adds a horizontal plane to the image.

Again, the deer are among my favorite subjects to photograph.  This doe, bundled in her winter coat, is getting pelted with wind and fresh snow.

This sunrise at the Bight is one of the most spectacular images I've captured.  I was awed by the reflection of the sky in the water.  It became the cover to my 2014 calendar and was also a popular print at my bazaars.

 

Night photography is one of my favorite kinds of picture-taking.  This image of the Northern Lights was taken at one of the beaches in Cherry Home Shores neighborhood.  It is a breathtaking experience to watch the long exposure of the auroras unfold before you.  

I visit Kehl Lake often, and enjoy the tranquility there.  I think these two boats are gone now, but I will remember the day they brought life to this image.

 

And here is my favorite image of 2013, which I call Afterglow at the Magic Carpet.  It was the first time I'd taken pictures there and I love the reflection of the sunset both on the clouds and the water. 

And not a Creature was Stirring...

Merry Christmas to you all.  May you be blessed with good friends and family, health, and peace during this holiday season and throughout the New Year.  Many thanks to those who've supported my photography blog in its first six months.  Karen

Snow Deer

With the advent of the cold and snowy weather, the deer have been visiting the feed blocks more frequently.

My favorite doe and her fawn share one block while another doe eats from the other.  The "fawn" is nearly as large as her mother, and both have filled out considerably.  I remember in the early summer how the doe was especially "ribby."

A fourth doe stands off in the distance watching.  She understands there is a definite pecking order and waits her turn.

After a while, the doe kicks her fawn off the feed block so the fawn begins munching on a nearby hemlock bough. 

With the block all to herself, the doe savors her meal.

Once again, the fawn tries to edge her way back to the block, but her mother again asserts her dominance.  Both deer are covered in snow, and I expect them to shake it off, like a dog would do, but they don't.

In the midst of the feeding, the doe jerks her head up and her ears come forward.  Something must be raising an alarm of approaching danger because after a few moments, the deer and her fawn turn and flee into the woods.  What beautiful critters they are!

Nature Decorates Its Trees

Bare-boned and Resting until Spring