Top 10 Landscape Photos of 2013

Happy New Year! It’s January 1, 2014 and I find myself in the exact same spot I was one year ago. Literally! I’m in the exact same campsite boondocking in Borrego Springs Desert State Park in California where it is 80 degrees today.

But I’m not in the same place in my photographic journey as I was one year ago. I have grown. I’m not one for making New Year’s resolutions, but I do like to look back over the past year and pick out my favourite images because it reinforces that I am living the life I want, seeing and experiencing beautiful places, and sharing that beauty with others through my photography.

I chose these photos as my top 10 landscape photos of 2013 simply because I like them the most. I didn’t try to capture a variety of places I have visited, or a variety of photographic techniques, or even the photos that received the most comments, likes or +1’s. I just chose the ones that mean the most to me. They are shown in the order I made them.

Please click any of the images to view larger versions.

1. Clark Dry Lake, Anza Borrego State Park, California

It was the sign of a good year to come. This is the first image I made on the first day of the year.

Read the story behind the image.

2. San Diego, California

This image of the San Diego skyline took quite a bit of patience waiting for the right light. This is an 80 second exposure which shows the movement of the clouds overhead.

Read the story behind the image.

3. Little Finland, Nevada

It was a long and bumpy drive to get to this little known location. In fact, the drive took much longer than expected, I missed sunset altogether, and just captured the last light of the day before it was dark.

Read the story behind the image.

4. Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada

The Valley of Fire was one of those pleasant surprises you get when you wander. This rock formation is known as “Fire Wave”.

Read the story behind the image.

5. Devils Golf Course, Death Valley National Park, California

Devils Golf Course rarely receives any rainfall and so the salt crystals continue to grow and form pinnacles that are now about 3 feet deep. You can even hear it happening. While I was making these images I could hear the popping and cracking of salt crystals bursting apart as they expand and contract.

Read the story behind the image.

6. Cape Kiwanda, Oregon

I made this image by blending exposures. One exposure captured the motion of the water, but it also moved my tripod rendering the background blurry, so another exposure maintained the sharp background of the photo.

This photo is previously unpublished on the blog, but I wrote a tutorial on Digital Photography School which explains the process I used to create this it. Read How To Blend Exposures to Enhance Your Composition.

7. Vancouver, British Columbia

The clouds broke up just in time for my night shoot of the Vancouver cityscape taken from under the Cambie Street Bridge. This photo turned out to be the perfect feature image for my new SmugMug Portfolio!

Read the story behind the image.

8. Sidney, British Columbia

For me, this simple moonrise over the cool, clear ocean represents British Columbia in summer time.

Read the story behind the image.

9. A simple flower at Butchart Gardens in Sidney, British Columbia

This flower portrait is previously unpublished on the blog.

10. Fall leaves at Butchart Gardens in Sidney, British Columbia

When you visit the same location over and over again you are forced to come up with new compositions.

Read the tutorial “Photography Locations: Revisit and Reshoot”.

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I also love photographing animals so this year I decided to have 2 separate top 10 lists: one for landscapes and one for animals.

Next up I will have my top 10 animals photos from 2013 to share with you, and it includes my favourite photo of the year.

It might even be my favourite photo ever.

Have you collected your favourite photos from 2013? If so, feel free to leave a link in the comments below. I would love to see them!