Favorite Photos from 2008

Ron Niebrugge Miscellaneous, Photos, Travel 13 Comments

Jim Goldstein had a good idea where he suggested photographers post their 10 best photos from 2008 on their blog.  I keep putting the post off as we are busy with our travels – but it did sound fun, so last night I made the time even if I am too late for Jim’s blog.   I have no idea which photos are my best or worst, so I just picked out my 10 favorites.

Since so many people receive the blog via email, I decided to limit this to small thumbnail sized images as to not over-load anyone’s email account.  I do have a link to a much larger size version next to each image.  Well, here it goes.

 

Just seeing this wild lynx in Denali National Park was the highlight of the year, having a photo from the experience made it an easy pick.

 

 The two Grizzly bears  in the fall Denali landscape don’t show as well in this small thumbnail, but are easy to see in the larger version. 

Horned Puffin, Lake Clark National Park, Alaska.  These colorful birds were a blast to photograph.  This one made the list because I really liked the flowers above the bird.  I have some with mouths full of fish that were close honorable mentions.

 

Seeing the shorebird migration along the Copper River Delta, Alaska was another peak experience for the year.

A sow grizzly teaching a cub how to dig for clams, Lake Clark National Park, Alaska.  We felt honored to watch such a tender moment between such powerful animals.

 

Desert Bighorn, Moab, Uath.   I really liked the setting for this Desert Bighorn image.

Wildflowers in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, California.  Given I spent almost two months chasing beautiful wildflowers, you know at least one will make this list!

Mountain biking the Slickrock Trail, Moab, Utah.  A fun place to photograph and ride!

Breeching Orca, Kenai Fjords National Park, Alaska.  I had to have one from my own “back yard”!

Sea Otter, Chugach National Forest, Alaska.  He was too cute to leave off this list.

I really wanted to include a photo of the nesting great horned owls, or some of the rain forest grizzly bear images I worked so hard on near Seward this summer, or a few more desert landscapes, or even a desert tortoise, but I gotta stick to 10 – I hate to play favorites.

It is interesting to see 8 of the 10 are wildlife images as I did make a conscious effort to spend more time pursuing wildlife this year – photographing wildlife has always been something I really enjoyed, but in recent years, I had gotten away from that a bit.  Wildlife can be really tough because it can involve a lot of time, and can provide little in return.  It would have been interesting to see what the mix of images would have been from earlier years, or for next year!

Comments 13

  1. What I find interesting is how different the images are from one another (other than that they are all great). Visually, I am especially drawn to the image of wildflowers in the desert. But that may be because of the size presented here. The grizzly bears in fall is also so powerful but not done justice as a thumbnail here. Actually, the orca and bighorn are very similar to the fall grizzy bears image in that they a represented in a landscape. They make an amazing threesome.

  2. Post
    Author

    Thanks a lot Paul,

    I really like the combination of landscape with wildlife, I would love to do more of those in the future – easier said then done!

    Thanks again,

    Ron

  3. Ron to look back at your images for the year I would say you had a good year, I wish I could of been there for some of them. What ever we do or where go we can only take advantage of what is there, how we compose it and the light used makes good or bad images. You always have excellent images and I enjoy being able to see what you do. keep up the great work and I look forward to seeing more this year.

  4. That’s a fantastic portfolio, and I know I’d be proud to have any of the images in mine! The one that still strikes me the most, is the grizzly bear pair on the red tundra of Denali National Park – just WOW! The colors are vibrant, the scale is immense and perspective of the two grizzlies in their environment (which I think is even more intimidating than they are!) is perfect.

  5. Post
    Author

    Thank you very much guys!

    I was sure blessed and fortunate to spend so much time in such wonderful areas! When you are grinding it out day by day, you don’t always feel like you are getting anywhere. It was fun to stop and look back and reflect on the past year – it was a better year then I realized!

    Thanks again!

    Ron

  6. Great set of photos Ron. They resonated with me after my trip to Alaska in May when I saw many of the animals but I didn’t manage such wonderful photos of them. I’m particularly jealous of the breaching Orca as we saw lots of whales on the trip but none jumped out of the water for us!

    Wildlife photos may provide little in the way of financial return but I think the joy of interacting with the animals and capturing images like these more than makes up for it.

  7. You had a damn good year Ron. The grizzlies in fall Denali remains one of my favorite of yours. Killer photograph. You produce some amazing stuff man.

  8. Post
    Author

    Thanks a lot!

    Hi Kathleen. Sounds like you had a great trip to Alaska! To put the whale breeching photo in perspective – I have probably made close to a hundred trips on the ocean over the years before finally capturing that breech!

    Thanks,

    Ron

  9. All of your pics are exquisite. But the sea otter was quite adorable. I’d give him a 3 on the list!

  10. Pingback: Favorite Photos of 2017 | Ecology Way

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