Your Photography: Best of 2013

[Mike C]

On this forum, we are blessed with many exceptional photos and photographers, some of whom enjoy subjects that are not ferries.

In this thread, we invite you to submit your best non-ferry photos taken this year.

We look forward to your contributions!

[Kahloke]

My best from 2013:

"Orbital" - street light globes on the Pike Street Hill Climb in Seattle


Coal Harbour panorama - Vancouver


Gig Harbor


Ebey's Landing - Whidbey Island


Deception Pass Bridge


Great Wheel - Seattle


Our Nation's Capitol - Washington DC  (my favourite shots of the US Capitol Building)






Mount Rainier


Crow Valley - Orcas Island


Sailboats in Bellingham Bay


Mount Baker


The North Cascades


The Twin Tacoma Narrows Bridges

[SolDuc]

Hugh - you mean I have to choose a few of my shots from this year that are exceptionally good? But all of them are good! Well, I still have made a selection of my best of the best for this thread.

The best photo from the first few months of the year comes from my homeland, a hand-held 1 second shot of the Eiffel tower all lit up on its hourly light show.

Eiffel Tower by SolDuc Photography, on Flickr

I loved it back in March and April when we had some good weather and the sunrises were adjusted with my breakfast, which lead to this shot of the Brothers at Sunrise:

The Brothers at Sunrise - March 25, 2013 by SolDuc Photography, on Flickr

If we're still talking about good weather, here was the Seattle skyline back in April, with Mount Rainier behind. Be ready for some changes as a whole bunch of new buildings are getting built (including the three 520-ft Amazon towers in the Denny triangle, 5th and Columbia and a potential 77-story building at 2nd and Marion)

Seattle and Mount Rainier by SolDuc Photography, on Flickr

I was also at the Capital this summer, and grabbed a few shots, including this panorama:

US Capitol, Washington DC by SolDuc Photography, on Flickr

I also got into some 'wild'life photography whenever I have the occasion to do some. Here's a frog at the Georgia Aquarium:

Georgia Aquarium, Atlanta by SolDuc Photography, on Flickr

When coming back from that East Coast trip we also got amazing views of the Mountains:

Mount Hood by SolDuc Photography, on Flickr

I went to Downtown Seattle quite a few times this year, just walking around. I absolutely loved the flowers at Pike Place Market that gave such awesome photos:

Flowers, Pike Place Market by SolDuc Photography, on Flickr

We also saw some orcas while on San Juan this summer. They're really though to get good photos of because wou never know where they're going to pop up.

Out in the Strait by SolDuc Photography, on Flickr

Also some fantastic sunsets from the hill, including this one back in August:

Seattle Sunset 8-22-13 by SolDuc Photography, on Flickr

I also got to go to Portland, and that's from where one of my favorite shots come from:

Portland Japanese Garden, Wahsington Park by SolDuc Photography, on Flickr

I did a lot of Transit Fanning this year but no other photo comes close to this one of a Rapid Ride DE60LFR that I got while on my 8-ferries trip back in October:

KCM New Flyer DE60LFR #6085 by SolDuc Photography, on Flickr

Also some fun on the ferries with the seagulls, this shot especially standing out:

Feeding the Seagulls - MV Kaleetan by SolDuc Photography, on Flickr

Some good reflections on Samish bay back at Thanksgiving:

Samish bay reflections by SolDuc Photography, on Flickr

One of the things that I enjoyed the most working with this year is long exposures. Here are a few of my best:
A classic shot with car headlights making long white trails. This is a 30-second exposure.

I-90 @ 142nd Place by SolDuc Photography, on Flickr

And I also got exposures well above 30 seconds, just because I can. Here's three minutes from the house we were staying in at Thanksgiving:

Three minutes at Sandy Point by SolDuc Photography, on Flickr

I also enjoyed a lot of astronophotography, and just this weekend I got this almost-perfect shot from my house:

Starry night by SolDuc Photography, on Flickr

[Blue Bus Fan]

My best of 2013:

 

[Low Light Mike]

I've reviewed my 2013 photos, and here are my favourite non-ferry ones of 2013.

"Best" is hard to define, because sometimes it's a good technical photo, but most of the time my "best" photos are because of unique or special situations that I've had the opportunity to photograph.

ie. Cisco bridges. There are plenty of photos of these bridges that are technically better than mine because of equipment and lighting, but I managed to capture trains on both bridges at same time. So that makes a photograph memorable to me.

Here are my favourites:


Moon rising over Quadra Island.
- beautiful moon, and a nice memory of vacation.




Sun rising, seen through a tree at Georgina Point, Mayne Island. A splendid 21 hours spent at that island.
- This photo was taken a mere 12 hours after I had been told to put my camera away at Swartz Bay. So I was happy to be in a National Park, where I was free to take as many photos as I liked, at any hour of the day.




Winter evening shot of Nanaimo, with Port Theatre (with those blue bars of light) and the Bastion.
- this is on the city side of the Cameron Island condo area, former home to the CPR ferry terminal. On the other side of the condos (unseen in this photo, because it's behind my back) is the Gabriola ferry dock.




Anticipation and planning rewarded. The Rocky Mountaineer at Cisco bridges. I arrived at the bridges at 9:00am. The train arrived at noon.
- In the meantime, I had a very pleasant 3 hours of rail and nature watching at this splendid spot.




The painted canyon area along the Thompson River, seen from Skihist park at 7:00am. I had been following this coal train from Spences Bridge, so I knew that I wouldn't have to wait long, once I arrived at my Skihist location.




Another CP coal train, this one emerging from the under-road culvert, at the start of the Notch Hill loop.
- another example of planning for location, and the luxury of having enough time to wait. If you visit Notch Hill on any day, you will eventually see a coal train (unless there's a derailment or washout somewhere). You just need to find a good vantage point, and wait for the low rumbling sound of an approaching coal train.




The Sicamous CP rail bridge open, just when I'm driving through town. So I parked the car and walked across the Rolph Bruhn highway bridge, and took this shot from half-way across the road bridge.
- I then waited and watched the bridge close. Then an eastbound train rolled through, which I later photographed at Clanwilliam.




Macro work on a flower at Butchart Gardens, one of my favourite local places.
- Butchart Gardens is a place that oozes excellence in everything. The experience is worth every dollar of the admission price.




Another result of planning, with the luxury of being able to wait a while for trains to appear.
- Clanwilliam tunnels, just west of Revelstoke, on the CPR line.
- Here's something that us shuterbugs can relate to: It was late afternoon in a steep mountain valley. So direct sunlight was rapidly disappearing. Every minute that I waited for the train to appear, the shadows crept closer to the tracks. I got this photo while there was still some sunlight on the tracks.




When I arrive at one of my favourite cabin resorts (Taku, on Quadra Island), and discover that my favourite west-coast yacht (Pacific Yellowfin) is there at the marina for almost my whole stay, well that's pretty awesome.




Cisco bridges in the morning light. When I see my first train of the day at this location (I was there for 3 hours), it actually turned into 2 trains.
- Also, this photo is notable because it is a CP train on the CP bridge, and a CN train on the CN bridge. No, that's not an automatic thing.

[Mike C]

Some of my favourite takes from this year:

Jan 1 - NYE at the Space Needle, Seattle

Space Needle - Seattle by MileagePhoto, on Flickr

Feb 4 - Pioneer Square Courthouse, taken during a week-long conference-seminar I was attending. This was also my first time spending any serious time in PDX, and it pretty quickly became one of my favourite cities in North America.

Pioneer Square Courthouse - Portland, OR by MileagePhoto, on Flickr

Mar 8 - Visiting the beach in my city (South Delta).

Centennial Beach, Tsawwassen by MileagePhoto, on Flickr

Mar 24 - This was taken for a project I was working on (proposal for revitalization for Ladner Town Center).

Delta Museum, Ladner Town Center by MileagePhoto, on Flickr

May 18 - flowers growing along Singing Sands Road in the Comox Valley.

Little River, Comox by MileagePhoto, on Flickr

Aug 16 - on vacation with a fellow moderator north of Pemberton at Birkenhead Lake Provincial Park.

Birkenhead Lake Provincial Park by MileagePhoto, on Flickr

Oct 15 - CP Rail in Burnaby. This was really my first time hunting down trains. At the time of this photo, I was waiting for a scheduled West Coast Express train, and this freight came crawling through during the track vacancy time.

Canadian Pacific Railway - Barnet Marine Park, Burnaby by MileagePhoto, on Flickr

[Mike C]

Dec 14, 2013 14:49:31 GMT -8 Low Light Mike said:

I've reviewed my 2013 photos, and here are my favourite non-ferry ones of 2013.

"Best" is hard to define, because sometimes it's a good technical photo, but most of the time my "best" photos are because of unique or special situations that I've had the opportunity to photograph.

ie. Cisco bridges. There are plenty of photos of these bridges that are technically better than mine because of equipment and lighting, but I managed to capture trains on both bridges at same time. So that makes a photograph memorable to me.

Well said.  I think the main theme of this thread should be to post photos that you felt were memorable, good, or otherwise meaningful, from this year.  For example, there are members of this forum who commute to Seattle proper nearly every day, and have done NYE at the Space Needle every year.  I, on the other hand, watched it on my TV set here in the burbs of Vancouver for so many years, and experienced it for the first time last year; making it that much more memorable for me.

Try to refrain from making it relative - don't compare yourself to others.  

[Steve Rosenow]

This year was sort of disappointing in the arena of photography for me, since the loss of my unemployment benefits this summer ontop of a lull in clientele, meant I had to severely curtail my photographic outings. I did do a lot of astrophotography despite the lack of clear nights this year, and one trip to E. Washington back in July netted me about the only good opportunities I had this year.



First, in the category of astrophotography:




The Veil Nebula by Loowit Imaging - Steve Rosenow, Photographer, on Flickr



Great Andromeda Galaxy by Loowit Imaging - Steve Rosenow, Photographer, on Flickr



Messier 57 in Lyra by Loowit Imaging - Steve Rosenow, Photographer, on Flickr



Messier 1 - The Crab Nebula by Loowit Imaging - Steve Rosenow, Photographer, on Flickr



Messier 42, The Great Orion Nebula and NGC 1973/1975/1977, The Running Man Nebula by Loowit Imaging - Steve Rosenow, Photographer, on Flickr



IC 434, Barnard 33, and NGC 2024 by Loowit Imaging - Steve Rosenow, Photographer, on Flickr



Aurora Borealis outbreak on June 28, 2013 by Loowit Imaging - Steve Rosenow, Photographer, on Flickr



Messier 27 - The Dumbbell Nebula - Revisited by Loowit Imaging - Steve Rosenow, Photographer, on Flickr

In the category of scenery:



Deception Falls by Loowit Imaging - Steve Rosenow, Photographer, on Flickr



Mount Rainier by Loowit Imaging - Steve Rosenow, Photographer, on Flickr



Lone seagull standing guard by Loowit Imaging - Steve Rosenow, Photographer, on Flickr



Dusty Burger. Wenatchee, Washington by Loowit Imaging - Steve Rosenow, Photographer, on Flickr



A fantastic June sunset by Loowit Imaging - Steve Rosenow, Photographer, on Flickr



The Wenatchee River by Loowit Imaging - Steve Rosenow, Photographer, on Flickr



Lilium orientalis - the Japanese stargazer lily by Loowit Imaging - Steve Rosenow, Photographer, on Flickr



Mount Rainier by Loowit Imaging - Steve Rosenow, Photographer, on Flickr



The mighty Skokomish River and a foggy premonition by Loowit Imaging - Steve Rosenow, Photographer, on Flickr



Visitors, once again! by Loowit Imaging - Steve Rosenow, Photographer, on Flickr

(We get a lot of deer traipsing through the yard, and most are docile enough to allow me to photograph them close-up!)

In the category of equipment purchases...



Film project has commenced! by Loowit Imaging - Steve Rosenow, Photographer, on Flickr

In the category of Miscellany



2013 Forest Festival parade by Loowit Imaging - Steve Rosenow, Photographer, on Flickr



Mason County Historical Society car show - June 30, 2013 by Loowit Imaging - Steve Rosenow, Photographer, on Flickr



August 10, 2013 lightning storm by Loowit Imaging - Steve Rosenow, Photographer, on Flickr

And finally, the category of macro (extreme closeup):



Mmm, flavorful by Loowit Imaging - Steve Rosenow, Photographer, on Flickr

The above is an extreme closeup of your average black peppercorn.



Through the eyes of a house fly by Loowit Imaging - Steve Rosenow, Photographer, on Flickr



It's getting a little salty in here! by Loowit Imaging - Steve Rosenow, Photographer, on Flickr



OOo, a lay-zurrrr! by Loowit Imaging - Steve Rosenow, Photographer, on Flickr

An extreme closeup of the laser emitting diode out of a burnt-out DVD player.

[compdude787]

I think this is my best shot from the entire year, a sailboat coming into Fisherman's Bay (on Lopez Island) at sunset:

Sailboat and sunset by compdude787, on Flickr

I have some other great non-ferry shots, but it's gonna take me a little while to find them all on my computer.

[paulvanb]

Some fabulous photos posted in this thread! I love black and white photos, therefore, I have taken some of my favourite shots from my European vacation and converted them.


The Louvere as seen from the clockface of the Musee D'Orsay


The Paris Metro


The Eifel Tower from the Jardins du Trocodero


Notre-Dame's front facade


Notre-Dame from the back


Juno Beach after a storm


Lorraine Cross - Juno Beach


St. Peter's Basilica - Vatican City


Piazza Navona - Rome

[WettCoast]

Here are a few of what I consider my better railway shots from this year...  I will do another post with non rail/ferry 'best shots' later.

Locomotives 2245 & 8914 lead east bound box train at Kitsumkalum, just west of Terrace BC, on CN's Skeena Subdivision - 1 January 2013

photo © WCK-JST by Wett Coast, on Flickr

CN 2256 leads west bound box train in Thompson River Canyon on Ashcroft Sub, just east of Lytton, BC - 17 March 2013

photo © WCK-JST by Wett Coast, on Flickr

The Rocky Mountaineer starting down the grade toward Lake Louise on the old (original 1885) grade just east of Kicking Horse Pass on CP's Laggan Sub - 23 July 2013

photo © WCK-JST by Wett Coast, on Flickr

CP # 8912 leads east bound intermodal on swing bridge over channel separating Shuswap & Mara lakes - Shuswap Sub @ Sicamous, BC - 20 September 2013

photo © WCK-JST by Wett Coast, on Flickr

Via Rail's east bound 'Skeena' on CN's Bulkley Sub (BC North main), just west of Smithers, BC - 2 October 2013

photo © WCK-JST by Wett Coast, on Flickr

[WettCoast]

Here are a few non ferry/rail pics that I took this year.  They are not necessarily what I would rate as my 'best', I just like them.

Minette Bay near Kitimat, BC - 12 October 2013

photo © WCK-JST by Wett Coast, on Flickr

Autumn on the Bulkley River - view downstream about 15 km N-W of Smithers, BC - 2 October 2013

photo © WCK-JST by Wett Coast, on Flickr

Panorama @ North Saskatchewan Crossing shot while on hike to Warden Lake, Banff National Park, Alberta - 19 July 2013

photo © WCK-JST by Wett Coast, on Flickr

Holland America's MS Volendam (IMO 9156515) @ entrance to Tracy Arm near Juneau, Alaska - 5 July 2013

photo © WCK-JST by Wett Coast, on Flickr

Stone Mountain Sheep ram, seen along Alaska Highway just west of Stone Mountain Provincial Park, BC - 12 August 2013

photo © WCK-JST by Wett Coast, on Flickr

Lava Lake with Oscar Peak for a backdrop - located 75 km north of Terrace, BC, near the Nass Valley - 2 August 2013

photo © WCK-JST by Wett Coast, on Flickr

Peyto Lake, Banff National Park, Alberta - seen from the upper viewpoint on the Timberline Trail @ Bow Summit - 24 July 2013

photo © WCK-JST by Wett Coast, on Flickr

Seascape seen along Wild Pacific Trail near Amphitrite Point, Uclulet, Vancouver Island - 20 March 2013

photo © WCK-JST by Wett Coast, on Flickr