Your Best Shot of '05!

OK Everyone,

I would like to do something similar to what we did for fall folliage earlier last month... I think it will give us all a bit of time to go through our back-bins of photos we have not gone through yet during the course of the year.

-JM

Ok....Jeezzz....I have a few that I cant decide upon....so here goes:













Who knows....maybe my best shot is gonna happen within the next 30 days!

Roman

Show off.

-JM

I took this shot in March while visiting the Elk Refuge. It is, by far, one of my favorite shots of the year. I am going through my Wyoming backlog from this year and this one keeps jumping up at me.

Ack - tough call - it's a rather subjective question! I'd say this one is my "best" in that it was so difficult to capture. I went to this lighthouse no less than 7 times trying to compose a deer with it. Funny thing - deer don't listen to direction. Ended up pleased with this crop, taken at sunset.

Hey Chris,

Very nice shot. Show off.

Another headshot. I swear that this lady was following me around the marsh. It was that time of year, and of course, I had put on a little weight myself...

James, you should see the 458 exposures that show a blurred, crooked deer butt and 1/5 of a lighthouse!

I've never seen a moose in "real life," love these!

here you go, here's a ram shot from two weeks ago.

mule deer rut from last week

bull elk rut

Wow...all very cool shots guys...Thr RAM shot to me really rocks...It looks less like a wildlife shot...and more intimatly like a wildlife portrait.

Awesome...keep em coming!!

Roman

My wife and I make a trip to Yellowstone every year. Simply love the place, never the same place twice and the wildlife and be amazing. Few of my favorites from Sept of this year.
All taken with a D2x, various lenses.

Thanks for lookn'
Steve

These aren't necessarily my best shots I don't think(although I do like them) they are the first of the pics I have sorted from my recent trip.




I've never seen wild leopard before and am surprised I remembered to take any pictures as it was quite an awe inspiring experience. They just seem to ooze authority and power.

I'm really pleased with the lens I bought for the trip (a secondhand 300mm F2.8) all my stuff is handheld - the first shot is taken at only 1/50th sec.

Anyway better go - got lots more to sort!

Its a tough question. But if I have to pick one, here it is



Misha

Wow!! There are some great shots that have gone up today. I am really excited about the thread so far.

Tony - that Ram just knocks my socks off. It is spectacular. I would love to hear how close you were and what lens you used. The detail is amazing.

Steve - Thanks for sharing your shots. I particularly like the squirrel and the Yellowstone shots from the geyser basins. Very well done.

Pete - I have never seen a leopard in the wild before. Not only are the shots wondeful, but you had a chance to witness something that many people have never had the option to do outside of a zoo. Congratulations!

Misha - I agree. The image you provided is absolutely beautiful. Great color, saturation and composition.

Thank you all for sharing! I have more to come too, I am just pacing myself. I feel that some of these have really thrown down the gauntlet.

-JM

Here is the one I took today just for this thread



Misha

Here are a couple more I thought I would share;

the first is a maldivian sunset;


This next one is a rather fortunate shooting star shot. I was mucking about with the camera balanced precariously over the water with the lens held up with a cork! I'm glad I hadnt had too much wine or I would have probably knocked it in the sea. Not a fantastic shot but just goes to show what a bit of luck can do.


And finally - I keep going back to this one. I know its been done before but I just love the way you can almost feel the texture of the skin.



This is a great idea James - I usually don't bother to trawl through the archives very often and this has been a reminder of how lucky I have been this year.

Ram shot:
Nikon D2h
Nikkor 500 f/4 ED
ISO 400
Cloudy WB
f/4, at 1/250 sec.

Distance - hard to say, maybe about 20 yards?

Photoshop:
levels, saturation, sharpen

Thanks for the interest. Here's another angle with a bit different light.

These are all breathtaking!!! I am in awe of all of them. Incredible work

...Sigh...You guys are starting to make me feel insecure. You guys are just doing awesome things!

-JM

Mammoth Sunset:


Hayden Valley Sunset

...By the way...Misha, I think that the last photo you presented is by far one of the most beautiful images I have ever seen. Thank you.

PeteD - I cannot wait for your article to go up on Botswana. Your photography is excellent and it appears you were able to capture a whole variety of unique things.

-JM

Hi James

I've nearly finished the first draft for you to read. I have already decided on the pictures to go with it so it should be coming soon. I haven't written anything like this since I left college - I'm not sure whether its fun or torture! I wish I were stronger editorially. It will be interesting to see what people think.

And I'll second what you said about Mishas work - I love it too. What you need now is an enormous canvas of it

Wow...these are all great shots! I am impressed!!!

Roman

"I've nearly finished the first draft for you to read. I have already decided on the pictures to go with it so it should be coming soon. I haven't written anything like this since I left college - I'm not sure whether its fun or torture! I wish I were stronger editorially. It will be interesting to see what people think."

Don't worry about it. My wife and I will definitely help out with the editing process. Actually, I am not sure if I am a help or not in this area or just a big pain in the butt. Smile.

I am very much excited about your piece though.

-JM

Here are a couple of my favorite Elk shots from '05 (these were taken in July).

A splendid toadfish taken in Cozumel during Labor Day of this year.

This was definetly the most fun I had photographing in the Everglades this year. http://www.artwanted.com/imageview.cfm?id=182108&SubGal=Action%20Birds

Here is a shot I took about 3 miles from the Farallon Islands off San Fransisco. Had the extraordinary luck of finding a dead blue whale being fed upon by white sharks. This image is special to me because this event has only been observed and recorded a handful of times in all of human history. I also really like it because you can see the white nictitating membrane cover the eye as it bites...Hope you enjoy it...
Canon 20D
300 mm for 1/500 @ f/8 ISO 100

cheers...

- MDP

James/PeteD - thank you for your compliment!!

I noticed that a couple of latest posts don't have anything attached to them (while the text suggests otherwise). Are we having some technical issues?

Misha

Hi Misha,

I think everything is working fine. It all depends on whether or not the file was uploaded here to our server or if it is on their server. If the file that they wish to show is on their server, they can easily embed the image into the text. If it is on ours, you have to click 'download attachment.'

-JM

If not my best photo of the year, it's probably my favorite. Flood waters made it look as if the ancestral Lake Yosemite had returned to lay claim to the heart of the park.

Hey Dave

Yet another photo that makes me regret the fact that I ahve not been to Yosemite. Very nicely done.

-JM

or


or

Marty

I am going to ask something that may be a dumb question. Is that the Sting Ray's tail? What camera system are you using? More importantly what type of housing? Nice shot!

Lou

This was a basic UW 3 megapixel setup by Sealife, ie Reefmaster 310.... that was the camera and one of the shots that got me hooked on photography.......and led to land photography that led to that led to...it was ambient light at about 30 ft in very clear water off Cozumel, MX......
it is actualy a "Spotted Eagle Ray", that is the tail..
my current UW rig is far more sophisticated, but I don't know it as well yet either.....more pics later.

Hey Marty,

That's great. I am excited about under-water photography (mostly because we do not see a lot of it). I wish you great success with it.

-JM

here's one

This is one of my favorite places to photograph in Yellowstone - in the Thumb Geyser basin. As you can see based upon the shadow around the drift wood, the sun is a bit higher than I would like (it was probably about 10 AM), but I like this photo a lot. "Serenity now."

Cheers,
-JM

here are some images from me - light years away from the quality you show here, but rather than just sit here and take, i thought i should try to give a little -

hopefully not too too far away from the beautiful style of this site -
maybe, just hide them over on the next page -

me? - good gear coming, as soon as i can decide if this new Nikon is a good thing for me -

have a lovely Christmas and new years all,
and thanks for the lovely forum,
best wishes,
keith

Brisbane Water -


Dawn Patrol -

Here's one that I took last May at the Grand Canyon; you may have seen it earlier.

Still struggling to attach pics, so this is attempt two. Pictures are from India approx 2 weeks ago. Visited Kanha & Ranthambore National Parks. Hopefully link will take you to a few shots...

Wildlife

Michael J

Alrighty - this pales by comparison to many of the shots in this thread, but here we are just the same...



Not bad for a point & shoot on top of the car...LOL

My first post on this forum...I hope it works




Karl

Stunning photos posted here! Just amazing...

This is my best, for emotional as well as technical reasons. Tech: right out of camera, cloned out one tiny flare of light bouncing off a water droplet in the background, no cropping... In case you can't understand it, it is a little cygnet riding on his mother's back, she's turned around and looking at him, with a water droplet falling off her beak at the top of the photo.

I doubt I'll ever have a moment like this again - it was pure magic. The quiet stillness of the inlet, the setting sun glancing off his mother's wing for fill light, him looking directly into the lens with such curiosity in his eyes... I was privileged to be part of it and capture it.

So many stunning and amazing photos! I'm submitting one printed for my brother and sister, as well as me from this summer.

TOLady.....absolute magic....very nice shot.

Roman

Roman, coming from a gifted photographer like you, I accept this compliment gladly. I've always been awed by your Yosemite gallery, even though you are the evil doer who is making me part with $$ for a Tokina 12-24! *LOL*

Here is one of my best from a recent trip to india, taken from a rocking boat!! This guy was in the wild,just licking his chops at all the migrating birds (and tourists) around him.

Those are all wonderful, especially the hawk in the snow. Great job.

Welcome TOLady!

I can't seem to see your pic. I see the rest, but...

...and I'll add another welcome for you, since I'm orginally from Brampton!

Hey Everyone,

Awesome shots all. This has been a lot of fun. It is nice to showcase all of the works of the different people here. Many of those shots just knocked my socks off. Next year, I need to take better shots. LOL.

-JM

ToLady - The good thing is your spending less $$ then the Nikon equivlant. : )

Roman

Philip, that is one great shot!!! You can almost see the smirk....

Thanks Duane, hopefully the pic will show up... sometimes Pbase has burps and hiccups.

Roman, yes that is the plan. With all I've read on the Tokina, some are rating it even higher than the Nikon version. Waiting on delivery right now! *tap tap tap*

Just before Xmas I walked into the back yard and spotted this Hawk on the swingset. She stayed there while I went back in the house, got the camera, put on the 70-200 Zoom and captured her.

Thought I'd share -- it may not be my best shot of '05 but it's the most extemporaneous.

Jim

Almost ashamed to post to this thread after all the stunning images you guys have taken but this is the best I could do. At least, these are some of my favorites:

Newborn; just a few minutes old:



Coy little Baby Bear:


ISO 1600 in the deep woods, converted to Sepia:



One of an 8-shot sequence of this coyote yawning:



Animated GIF of the whole yawn here: (Animated by one of my friends for me.)

http://www.pbase.com/richardr/image/53881149

I hope everyone has a wonderful 2006 and that you capture many more great images.

Best regards,

Dick:)

Thanks TOLady, suspect there were more than a few feathers in his smile too
Philip

Here is one of mine.

Hey Tom,

That is a great photo of the hummingbird. Very well done.

-JM

good job, james

i have some here