2019 2020 2021... phew! Honestly, it still feels like its 2019 sometimes. But 2021 is now coming to an end, and so its time to do a yearly review of some of my favorite photos from this year.
This will be considered my submission to the photography lovers year end contest.
For myself 2021 has been a fairly standard year - which has been good. Up until this December the worldwide pandemic really hasn't had a large effect on my personal life or my plans. The trips, vacations, and plans I had for this year were all local with the exception of one trip to the Canadian Rockies and I'm pretty happy that's how I planned my year. It meant I didn't have to cancel too many plans, and It also encouraged me to explore locally in a much more intimate way than I ever have.
The following are my 12 favorite images from this year that I've taken, not necessarily my best, but my favorite - if you have any questions or comments I'd love to know your thoughts in the comments.
1) Sunburst at Assiniboine
Taken mere inches from a 1000' drop, this scene features the stunning Sunburst mountain centered. Framed by the cliff I'd been climbing to the right, and the barren rock scramble I'd come from to the left I hoped to highlight the raw size of this area. Golden larches speckle the forest below, and the four lakes of Mount Assiniboine are featured. Though I wish the peak of the iconic Mount Assiniboine could be seen here, the cloud cover makes this shot feel as though its from a completely different place, giving it a special feel that I don't think would have existed otherwise.
2) Poseidon's Peak
This image was taken on my trip to the Canadian Rockies in July of 2021. I set out with a group of photographer friends to explore some iconic Canadian landscapes. This image isn't actually of the iconic spot we were set to explore (Seen in Sunburst at Assiniboine), but instead its of the backside, and thats a major reason I like this image so much. I saw this scene as I was hand-over-foot climbing a ledge (the ledge seen to the far left of the image) to reach the summit of the Nub hike. There was a heavy storm rolling over the area casting these incredible deep blue shades across the landscape as glimpses of blue sky colored the sky and it struck me as something worth stopping to photograph. I've name it Poseidon's Peak as homage to the deep blues, the barren ocean floor like landscape in front of me, and the idea that this area was carved out millions of years ago by ice.
3) Grandmothers Tree
This image holds a special place for me, and always will. I had been feeling troubled the day I took this shot and set out to try and find an image that would help me forget my troubles. Within minutes of taking this shot I received a call that my grandmother had passed. This shot will always remind me of that moment.
4) Aspen
In the province that I grew up in Aspen trees were everywhere. The Trembling Aspen are named such as their leaves shimmer and dance as any light breeze flows over them. I think its one of the most beautiful trees to exist. I've wanted for so long to capture the beautiful colors of their leaves and the stark whiteness of their bark for years. This was my first attempt at it - and I love it. It reminds me home in many ways I cannot express.
5) The Last Giants
In British Columbia where I currently reside there are these fascinating and enormous trees. Relics of a time past when trees lived thousands of years. Inspired by my friend @tristan.todd I decided I wanted to start capturing some of these large trees in a way that showed off both their magnitude and shear enormity. I highly recommend you visit his page, his portfolio of the local giants is spectacular
6) Reach
Vine Maples are another common tree in British Columbia, and I would dare to say that they are the iconic tree of the temperate rainforests here. They crawl and twist through the forests stretching towards the available light peaking through the larger fir and cedars. Usually covered by thick moss, these maples tend to look like large hands reaching through the trees. This mad my list because it was one of the more technically challenging images for me this year. It tested my in camera abilities, my ability to stitch panoramas, visualize them, and also remove distractions from intensely chaotic scenes.
7) The Alberta Badlands
The Alberta Badlands are one of the most unique area's in the world. It's so unique that it made the UNESCO heritage list back in 1955. The Badlands are home to one of the largest dinosaur graves in the world thanks to its unique clay and fine silt landscape that helped to cover and preserve the many fossils found here. This shot is on my list for both its homage to one of the most beautiful and unique landscapes in my home province, but also the unique heritage and experiences it brings when visiting. I'd highly recommend a visit.
8) The Border Peaks
I don't display this image in my portfolio, but I do have it printed and hung on my wall. Its an image of the massive mountain range that separates the United States from Canada. If you took a line down the dip to the right of the highest peak you'd be drawing along the Canadian-US border. I personally love this image because of both the physical and geographical border line it creates, but also because of how well it translated into a black and white image. I am a huge fan of high contrast black and white photography when done right. And I'm quite pleased with how this image turned out.
9) Woodland Falls
This has been my favorite waterfall to photograph this year out of the many I have revisited. When shooting here I was absolutely in love with the intricate flow pattern the falls created bouncing down the mossy rocks. The wood post that has stood guard there for multiple season of rain, and the way the forest reaches in to frame the scene. Its my fairytale waterfall.
10) The Milkyway at Chilliwack Lake
The Milkyway: Probably the quintessential night photography shot that every serious photographer needs in their portfolio of nightscapes. It is incredible to see in person. Truly the most humbling and beautiful thing to see as it moves across the horizon. This year I decided I wanted to challenge myself more than I ever had... I decided to not only capture the milkyway, but I wanted to shoot it with a complex foreground in the scene. This provided a multitude of technical challenges, but in the end I'm quite happy with how my image turned out. This shot is a combination of approximately 120 frames taken from the same spot over a 10hour period.
11) Evening Light
I took this shot while peaking out the side of my tent, exhausted and tired after hiking for 3 days across the coast of British Columbia. A storm was rolling in with heavy fog, but before the darkness of the fog covered use were treated to this stunning yellow glow as the last light of the day backlit the fog. Its rare that you don't need to edit a photo... but in this case almost nothing has been adjusted. It was just perfect as is.
12) Frozen Ballet
This tree is strangely one of my favorites. I first saw it late in August while hiking with @tristan.todd to our favorite waterfall. The photo I snapped that august struck me as wonderful. Early this year on another hike with Tristan I got to see this tree with this light dusting of snow. To me, it looks like a dancer stretching to pose amongst the forest - eventually, I hope to have four images of this tree, one for each season.
I hoped you've enjoyed this recap as much as I did. Looking through my year of photos - a cool 8,500 frames and picking out twelve favorites was much harder than I'd expected. When I started I didn't think I'd have even twelve... and now I feel like I've relived an entire year again. A wonderful exercise! I'm looking forward to everyone elses submissions, yearly recaps, and seeing what next year brings!
If you've enjoyed these photos I'd love to hear which one struck you as special and why.
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Thanks for any and all support.