2013 Year in Review

I thought I might join a growing trend among photographers and have a year in review of my photography and share some of my best images.

Many of these have already been shown on my blog but several will come from fall trips that I have not actually posted yet as I seem to post several weeks (or more) after a trip.

2013 has been a good year for me in photography.  I have had a chance to make a few photography trips, gotten out on several weekends, and even able to get some images when on business trips.  I have seen some neat locations and some great light.

The year started for me at sunrise on January 1st with my annual tradition of going out for sunrise on New Years Day.  It is something I have been doing now for many years and is something I greatly look forward too, although I think I have almost no good images to show from it.  This last New Years was what seems to be the usual clear sky.  No matter, I was out there.

A few days later I made a trip to New Mexico and west Texas.  A winter snowfall held the promise of snow and even though I was a few days after the snow it turned out to be pretty awesome.  I went out to the Lost Mesa and spent a couple of nights there on the cold and windy open range county.  The snow added a new dimension to the experience and I was rewarded with some great light in the very empty lonely landscape.

I stopped at Guadalupe Mountains for a couple of nights and although the NWS was calling for snow, it just rained.  However I caught an epic sunset on the salt dunes west of the park as magic gap light at the end of the day made for one of those amazing events.

In February the opportunity to go to Big Bend gave me a week in my favorite national park.  I visited some of my favorite locations and found some new things to photograph.  I got several nice images on the trip and am looking forward to getting back here already.

I spent several weekends in February and March photographing and exploring around north Texas and then during bluebonnet season in April, location, flowers, and light all came together for some of the best bluebonnet images I have ever made.  

I also picked up a new small camera in the form of a Sony NEX-6.  After moving to the full frame Canon 5D Mark II in 2012 (I know...four years after everyone else.....) I wanted to consolidate my backup 50D and little Panasonic LX3 into a single small body.  
The Sony fit the bill perfectly as a tiny camera with big APS-C sized sensor.  It has become my work travel and around town not really photographing camera.  A very nice companion to the 5D2.

May saw me in Florida for a few days and I had a chance to photograph the Emerald Coast of Walton County.  I am not really a beach person, but find the quiet part of the coast here nice.

I have been spending more time with Google Maps and Earth exploring for new locations to photograph.  I pegged a few locations as potentials and found a fantastic bluff on the Nolan River exactly one hour from home.  I love finding things like this.  Little known.  Rarely visited.  Basically never photographed.  At just one hour away, it is a great Saturday morning destination!

June and July took me on a few business trips but with no chance for photography. Then in August I was in Salt Lake City and had a chance to go watch sunset at the Great Salt Lake.  Fires burning nearby filled the sky with smoke which made for an eerie sunset.

September had another business trip, this one to Sioux Falls, SD, where I got to see the Sioux Falls.  I thought it was a pretty neat location and one I would certainly like to see again.

October was a very busy month for me.  I had a long weekend to Vermont where I caught some fall color.  The clouds did not cooperate but luckily we had fog making it moody mornings. 

In mid month I was in Oregon and Washington for a week and got to make a few stops in the Columbia River Gorge and a single sunset on the coast that turned out to be a good one.

It pays to look at maps and check out a few possible locations so when the chance happens you can get there for the light.  

Sunset in Ecola State Park was a chance evening and it turned out to be a good one with this great sunset standing on the rocks while the surf crashed in.
















At the end of the month, I had a full week of photography at the Guadalupe Mountains in west Texas, taking in the fall color, the magic of a fleeting lake having formed on the salt flats, and some great sunsets.  One of which was another epic sunset of gap light at the end of the day.
























A trip to Las Vegas got me a few hours to spend in Zion where I waded the Narrows.  I also caught a fantastic sunrise at Lake Mead one morning.

 If you have ever been to Zion and waded the Narrows, you know it is pretty chilly.  Let me tell you it is very chilly in November, especially when you wade the river in shorts and Keens.  Wait to see more when I finally catch up to that trip on the blog.

Lake Mead is a fascinating place that one probably needs to explore by boat or air.  I got lucky finding a secluded cove view point that combined with a stunning sunrise made it a great stop early one morning.

November, had me photographing the fall colors of north Texas which kept me busy every weekend of the month chasing the colors in my favorite locations and parks around town.


The Trinity River is an unknown and little photographed area, even locally.  I have been exploring the West Fork and Clear Fork for several years and am surprised at the great locations right here in town for photography.  The fall colors and waterfalls I visit rewarded me with some good stuff this year.

December has already brought en early and icy cold snap that cut short our fall color season.  I tried to make the most of it and catch frost and snow with fog and fall colors.

I am finishing out the last few days of the year still sorting images from this year and planning for 2014.

I am looking forward to another year and where my travels might take me.  Hoping for great light and interesting locations.

Thanks 2013 and here is to 2014!!