In 2019 I was blessed to see the Milky Way in the night sky over 3 different continents (North America, South America, and Africa).  That seems pretty incredible just saying it.  This particular image was taken in Arizona on a weekend outing while I had work to do in Phoenix (here’s a link to the post).  At the time I took this picture, this was the clearest, least light polluted sky I’d ever seen.  It was absolutely jaw dropping!  As amazing as it was, however, the night skies over Chile were even better.  BUT, as the name of this post states, this isn’t about “bests”, it’s about my favorites, and this picture of the cactus under the night sky is my favorite night image from 2019, and now one of my 5 favorite images of the year.

Valparaiso was a major bucket list destination for me in 2019, and despite the bit of danger there (not to mention the current political unrest happening there), I honestly can’t wait to go back.  Holly and I are working to build a new house next year and that has come with some sacrifices this year, and so to save money Holly didn’t go with me to Chile.  Every second I was in Valparaiso, I was wishing she could be there because the destination was just so fantastic.  Maybe another time!

Last year I had this to say of my stream scenes – “In 2018 I really committed to them (and to getting wet!) and I feel like it really paid off.  I’m positive you’ll see more images like this in the future!”  I was right!  This year’s 5 favorites includes not one, but two stream scene images, and if you follow along with this blog at all you’ve seen plenty of streams this year!  Hopefully you’re not getting tired of them (I know I’m not! 🙂 ).  This particular image resonates with me, really for two reasons.  First, as I described in my post, this was some how the first time I’d ever seen the rhododendrons bloom up in the Smokies… or at least that I recall.  Second, and more importantly to me, is that I made this discovery while on assignment for Smokies Life Magazine to photograph Tim Line for the cover.  Tim is a very special person, and I count meeting him one of the highlights of this year, and that makes this image all the more significant to me.

Sneak peek!  This image has actually not appeared in Picture of the Week yet, so you’ll have to overlook the spoiler.  I got side tracked here at the end of the year with all the images I took in the fall (I wanted to post them all at least close to the fall), so my blog has gotten a little out of order from when I actually took the images.  No matter!  It’s here now.  This image I captured while exploring around in Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada, just outside Las Vegas.  This is another place I’d wanted to visit for a while and finally made happen in 2019, and it did not disappoint – though I only got to spend an afternoon there really.  As the sun was setting I was frantically looking for a scene to take pictures of, and I stumbled on this (not literally) fin of rock that was catching the light just right.  The fin itself was maybe 8 or so inches tall, but thanks to the funky warping that the 14mm lens does up close, it looks substantial!  More on this one in a few weeks!

The way I arrange my 5 favorite images here in this post is simply by capture date, but as it turns out this year, I’ve saved the best for last.  This is my absolute favorite from 2019, AND it’s on my list of images I’m working through to determine my favorites of the decade!  You’ll have to wait a little while longer for that, but suffice it to say I love this image.  The picture itself elicits an emotional response from me, which you can read about here in the original post, but more than that I just like the image for the image itself.  I love the yin and yang balance of the giant mossy rock and the water flowing over the submerged rock (I now call this formation the “hamburger”… because, well, I think it looks like a hamburger with the bun tilted off the top).  I like the colors of the leaves combined with the greens of the rhododendron bushes and the moss.  I love the curly roots on the tree on the right.  I could go on, but I’ll let you look at it and decide for yourself.