Here we go…
It is becoming a tradition to post ones “favorite photographs of the year” right around Christmas and New Years holidays. I’ve done this for several years now, and I find it to be a bit of work and a bit of pleasure – fortunately more of the latter than the former! Since I post a new photograph at the blog every day there are a lot of photographs to review! On the other hand, I do enjoy taking one final comprehensive (but quick) look at what I posted over the past year and having a chance to be reminded of the great and diverse photographic opportunities I’ve had.
I want to point out that I describe these as my favorite photographs of the year and not necessarily my best photographs. This is important, I think, for several reasons. First, while I have some ideas about which photographs are my favorites, I find it a lot harder to figure out which might be my “best.” I may not be the best judge of that, and in some cases the photographs that I happen to think are potential “bests” may not strike a chord with others at all. Second, by calling them “my favorites,” I think I give myself permission to go way overboard and post far more images than I could justify under the heading of “best!” :-)
Yes, I did post a lot of photographs on this page.
What criteria did I use for selecting these photographs? They made it onto this page for one or more of a long list of possible reasons, including:
- I felt like it. :-)
- The photo is one that seems to appeal to a lot of viewers.
- I think it has some merit that may not be immediately apparent to a casual viewer.
- The image evokes pleasant associations with the place or the circumstances in which it was made.
- The shot is representative of a subject that I spent time on this year.
- Etc.
The linked title text above each photograph will take you to the original post of the photo where you can read more about the photograph.
Note #1: Since some of you are landing at my site for the first time on this page via links from other sites, I’d like to invite you to visit my home page, too, where I post a new photograph every day along with other articles, commentary, stories, and news.
Note #2: Feel free to leave a comment and let me know which ones you like! I’m always interested in understanding how viewers respond to my photography.
Note #2: There are a lot of photographs embedded in this page – please be patient if it takes a while to load. You may have to reload if too many others are trying to view it at the same time.
Note #3: I also have a presence on several of the social media sites:
And so, thanks for visiting and now on to the photographs… Enjoy!
Edge of the Light – Yosemite Valley
Edge of the Light – Yosemite Valley. Yosemite National Park, California. October 31, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
San Francisco Skyline, Winter Fog and Haze
San Francisco Skyline, Winter Fog and Haze. San Francisco, California. December 18, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Steps, Handrail, Mailbox, Door
Steps, Handrail, Mailbox, Door. San Jose, California. December 26, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Winter Shadows on Tiles
Winter Shadows on Tiles. San Jose, California. January 20, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Last Light, Boulders and Sand
Last Light, Panther Beach. Pacific Ocean North of Santa Cruz, California. January 11, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Boulders, Panther Beach, Twilight
Boulders, Panther Beach, Twilight. North of Santa Cruz, California. January 11, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Six Pelicans
Six Pelicans. Point Lobos State Reserve, California. January 25, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Floyd Landis Warms Up
Floyd Landis Warms Up – Tour of California 2009. Sacramento, California. February 14, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Lance Armstrong, 2009 Tour of California
Lance Armstrong, 2009 Tour of California. Sacramento, California. February 14, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Birds and Winter Surf
Birds and Winter Surf. South of San Francisco, California. January 12, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Bicycles in Rain
Bicycles in Rain, 2009 Amgen Tour of California. Sausalito, California. February 16, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Lance Armstrong, Prologue, 2009 Amgen Tour of California
Lance Armstrong, Prologue, 2009 Amgen Tour of California. Sacramento, California. February 14, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
The Sprint – American Velodrome Challenge
The Sprint – American Velodrome Challenge. Hellyer Park Velodrome, San Jose, California. June 26, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Redwood Forest, Morning
Redwood Forest, Morning. Muir Woods National Monument, California. February 28, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Steps, Ocean View Trail
Steps, Ocean View Trail. Muir Woods National Monument, California. February 28, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Ferns and Rock
Ferns and Rock. Muir Woods National Monument, California. March 7, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Trillium Flowers, Muir Woods
Trillium Flowers, Muir Woods. Muir Woods National Monument, California. March 7, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Moonlit Steel Towers, Brick Building with Window Arches
Moonlit Steel Towers, Brick Building with Window Arches. Mare Island Naval Shipyard, California. March 7, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Alcatraz and San Francisco Bay, Morning Light
Alcatraz and San Francisco Bay, Morning Light. San Francisco, California. March 21, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Blue Dicks Flowers
Blue Dicks Flowers. Quicksilver Hills, California. March 28, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Road, Twenty Mule Team Canyon, Morning
Road, Twenty Mule Team Canyon, Morning. Death Valley National Park, California. April 2, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Gully, Morning Light, Zabriskie Point
Gully, Morning Light, Zabriskie Point. Death Valley National Park, California. April 3, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Rhyolite, Desert Mountains, Sunrise
Rhyolite, Desert Mountains, Sunrise. Rhyolite, Nevada. April 1, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
California Buckeye, Morning Fog
California Buckeye, Morning Fog. Calero Hills, California. April 18, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Meadow, Hills, and Fence
Meadow, Hills, and Fence. Calero Hills, California. April 18, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Dogwood Tree in Bloom, Detail
Dogwood Tree in Bloom, Detail. Yosemite Valley, California. May 9, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Dogwood Blossom, Branches, and Leaves
Dogwood Blossom, Branches, and Leaves. Yosemite Valley, California. May 9, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
San Francisco Muni, Evening
San Francisco Muni, Evening. San Francisco, California. May 15, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
People on MUNI Platform
People on MUNI Platform. San Francisco, California. May 26, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
2nd and King Streets, Dusk
2nd and King Streets, Dusk. San Francisco, California. May 26, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Bear Family in Tree, Yosemite
Bear Family in Tree, Yosemite. Yosemite National Park, California. June 7, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Five Sequoias, Mariposa Grove
Five Sequoias, Mariposa Grove. Yosemite National Park, California. June 7, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Dogwood Leaves After Rain
Dogwood Leaves After Rain. Yosemite National Park, California. June 6, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Tufa Towers, Mono Lake, Dawn
Tufa Towers, Mono Lake, Dawn. Mono Lake, California. June 7, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Chairs and Terrace, Olympic Sculpture Park
Chairs and Terrace, Olympic Sculpture Park. Seattle, Washington. June 21, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Brick Wall and Shutter, Glo’s
Brick Wall and Shutter, Glo’s. Seattle, Washington. June 21, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Last Light, Tuolumne River
Last Light, Tuolumne River. Yosemite National Park, California. July 10, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Fiery Evening Sky, Tuolumne Meadows
Fiery Evening Sky, Tuolumne Meadows. Yosemite National Park, California. July 10, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Twilight, Tuolumne River and Tuolumne Meadows, Sierra Crest
Twilight, Tuolumne River and Tuolumne Meadows, Sierra Crest. Yosemite National Park, California. July 10, 2009. © Copyright G DanMitchell – all rights reserved.
Java Hut Employee
Java Hut Employee. San Francisco, California. July 1, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Flock of Gulls
Flock of Gulls. Piedras Blancas Elephant Seal Rookery, California. July 2, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Two Elephant Seals Sparring
Two Elephant Seals Sparring. Piedras Blancas Elephant Seal Rookery, California. July 2, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Tarn and Forest, Tioga Pass Road
Tarn and Forest, Tioga Pass Road. Yosemite National Park, California. June 7, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Sunset, Mount Conness and Lower Young Lake
Sunset, Mount Conness and Lower Young Lake. Yosemite National Park, California. July 30, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Shoreline, Upper Young Lake
Shoreline, Upper Young Lake. Yosemite National Park, California. July 29, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Lupine, Upper Sabrina Basin
Lupine, Upper Sabrina Basin. John Muir Wilderness, Sierra Nevada, California. August 7, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Tree and Windows
Tree and Windows. San Francisco, California. August 18, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Man Walking Past Painted Brick Wall
Man Walking Past Painted Brick Wall. San Francisco, California. August 18, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Urban Runner and Tree
Urban Runner and Tree. San Francisco, California. August 18, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Cypress Trees in Fog
Cypress Trees in Fog. Point Lobos State Reserve, California. August 21, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Public Stairway, Telegraph Hill
Public Stairway, Telegraph Hill. San Francisco, California. August 18, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Redwood Trees and Ferns
Redwood Trees and Ferns. Muir Woods National Monument, California. August 19, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Beach Walkers, Winter Sunset, Panther Beach
Beach Walkers, Winter Sunset, Panther Beach. Pacific Coast, California. January 11, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Facade, Building 101
Facade, Building 101. Mare Island Naval Ship Yard, Vallejo, California. August 30, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Mount Conness, Early Evening Thunderstorms
Mount Conness, Early Evening Thunderstorms. Yosemite National Park, California. September 9, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
San Francisco Buildings, Foot of Market
San Francisco Buildings, Foot of Market. San Francisco, California. September 16, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Aspen Trees, Rock Face With Lichen
Aspen Trees, Rock Face With Lichen. Near South Lake, SIerra Nevada, California. October 3, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Shoreline Trees in Morning Light, Upper Cathedral Lake
Shoreline Trees in Morning Light, Upper Cathedral Lake. Yosemite National Park, California. September 27, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Aspen Leaves in Transition – Near Conway Summit
Aspen Leaves in Transition – Near Conway Summit. Sierra Nevada, California. September 27, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Aspen Trunks, Autumn
Aspen Trunks, Autumn. Sierra Nevada, California. October 3, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Autumn Storm Clouds at Dawn – Basin Mountain and Mount Humphreys
Autumn Storm Clouds at Dawn – Basin Mountain and Mount Humphreys. Sierra Nevada, California. October 3, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Note: Several people tell me that they prefer this color version of the scene made the same morning: Basin Mountain, Morning Light
Clearing Autumn Snow Storm – Eastern Sierra Near Mount Tom
Clearing Autumn Snow Storm – Eastern Sierra Near Mount Tom. Sierra Nevada, California. October 4, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Redwood Forest, Morning Light
Redwood Forest, Morning Light. Muir Woods National Monument, California. October 25, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Treasure Island Harbor and Bay Bridge, Dawn
Treasure Island Harbor and Bay Bridge, Dawn. San Francisco, California. October 25, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Half Dome Sunset from Big Oak Flat Road
Half Dome Sunset from Big Oak Flat Road. Yosemite National Park, California. November 1, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Offshore Squall and Layered Clouds, Point Lobos
Offshore Squall and Layered Clouds, Point Lobos. Point Lobos State Reserve, California. November 22, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Rocks, Spray, and Gulls – Punta de los Lobos Marinos
Rocks, Spray, and Gulls – Punta de los Lobos Marinos. Point Lobos State Reserve, California. November 22, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Glacier Point Geology Hut, Early Morning Light
Glacier Point Geology Hut, Early Morning Light. Yosemite National Park, California. November 1, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Cottonwood Grove, Shadow’s Edge
Cottonwood Grove, Shadow’s Edge. Yosemite Valley, California. October 31, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Detail, Last Light on El Capitan
Detail, Last Light on El Capitan. Yosemite Valley, California. October 31, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Three Pelicans in Flight, Waddell Beach
Three Pelicans in Flight, Waddell Beach. Pacific Coast, California. December 4, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Richardson Bay and Morning Haze
Richardson Bay and Morning Haze. San Francisco Bay, California. October 25, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Converging Lines and Clouds
Converging Lines and Clouds. San Francisco, California. September 16, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
Winter Seascape – Near Waddell Beach
Winter Seascape – Near Waddell Beach. Pacific Ocean Coastline, California. December 20, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell
Winter Sunset, Waddell Beach
Winter Sunset, Waddell Beach. Big Basin State Park, Pacific Coast, California. December 20, 2009. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.
G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer whose subjects include the Pacific coast, redwood forests, central California oak/grasslands, the Sierra Nevada, California deserts, urban landscapes, night photography, and more.
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Text, photographs, and other media are © Copyright G Dan Mitchell (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.
Wonderful images! Love your photos, very inspiring.
Excellent! Very inspiring.
I love your work… You’re one of my inspirations. I am new to this, just started to know about photography. Can you please give me some pointers… ?
(Post edited by admin)
Thanks for your enthusiastic post, Ronald. If you are just getting started, the only advice I would give right now is to focus on what you enjoy and don’t lock yourself into any particular approach. Read a lot, look at the photographs of others whose work you like and try to understand why you like it.
Time to check back in and say “thanks” to all of you who visited and/or linked here during the past few days – and thanks for your kind words about my photography. Steve, we might have walked right past one another at the Amgen – I was also shooting the Saxobank team at their team vehicle as they warmed up for the prologue.
Dan
I am blown away by your pictures: clarity, color, composition, not to mention their emotional impact. Don’t know which are my favorites: probably the close-ups of Floyd and Lance. Would love to be able to do that, am struck by how many similar subjects I’ve attempted to shoot: pelicans, cypresses and a telefoto of Alcatraz (we were also in Sacramento last Feb. for the Amgen prolog). No comparison with yours, but if you’d like to look, I’ve collected a few on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/swedg/sets/72157623238686248/
Thank you for posting these. Your photos are really inspiring!
I came across this set of yours via Jim’s best of 2009 project. Great set of photos you’ve put together Dan! I particularly love the SF Skyline picture of yours.
I plan on checking out your Flickr stream after leaving this comment.
Happy Shooting!
Justin
Great shots Dan! I also found your website from DPS photo. You take the simple and find the extraordinary!
Mark and Melli, thanks for dropping by and thanks for you very nice words about my photography – I appreciate it! Do let me know if you are out my way.
Dan
Thanks, David. You aren’t the only one visiting via that link! :-)
Hi Dan
Came to your Best of 2009 through Digital Photography School website .
Beautiful photos of the California landscape.
David
Rachel, you are too kind… but if the photographs can evoke even a bit of awe from a viewer I’m happy!
Dan
Wow.. I’m in awe.
David, thanks for your kind comments, especially regarding the “subtle” aspect – that is something that I aspire to.
Dan
Particularly liked how you seem to opt for the more subtle beauty of natural rendering. That particularly shows wonderfully in your triplet landscapes at the Tuolumne River. Excellent job of solving the usual problem of unbalanced elements at Pinnacle Point with a masking passage of fog.
Thanks, Chris. That black and white shot of bike wheels on the rainy street (shot at the start of a Tour of California stage in Sausalito) is one of my secret favorites. I’d like to see it really large!
Dan
Nice pictures Dan! I really love the Cycling shots, and the Muir Woods pictures. You have captured those beautifully as always!
I think my favorite is the shot showing the wheels and the street, that really is an amazing shot showing the feeling of a long hard fought race!
Can wait to see your pics for 2010!
Hey Dan –
I posted my own favorites here –
http://ivanmakarov.com/pblog/wrapping-up-2009/
Thanks, all. I’m grateful that you have taken the time to view these and doubly grateful to those of you who commented. I’m always somewhat surprised when I look back at the year’s photographs to be reminded of the places I’ve been, the things I’ve seen, and the people I’ve met in person and online.
Happy New Year!
Dan
As always Dan, a wonderful collection of images. Looking forward to your collection for 2010 :)
An amazing group of favorites! I love them all because they show me so many different things – the image itself, the composition, the techniques….
The ones I liked are:
Moonlit Steel Towers – love the framing! My eyes go back to this one trying to tell if it’s 3-D or not.
Bear Family in Trees – lol, I just like animals! This is one of those amazingly lucky-to-be-there pictures.
Tuolumne River with the lenticular clouds series – beautiful and amazing to see the different views of the “same” scene.
Flock of Gulls – I like the motion and busy-ness of this picture.
Lupine, Upper Sabrina Basin – I like this because the flowers are bright and draw your eyes back into the mountains….oh, and because I was there too.
I love the bears!!!! Fabulous collection Dan.
This is an amazing & diverse collection of images. Everything from intimate nature to urban life to seascapes – all of them quite engaging in their own way. Thank you for sharing these. I enjoyed my visit!
An excellent collection. You really got around this year – far more than I managed. Great work all around. Cheers & Happy New Year!
Dan, truly a great collection of images. I continue to be impressed with your photography. It is always a joy to see your images, they are indeed inspiring.
Thanks for sharing.
Dan, congratulations for making these excellent images. I am definitely a fan.
Thanks, everyone, for you kind comments!
I always get a kick out of going over the year’s photographs each December. It is amazing how much stuff I’ve forgotten and, in some cases, how I can view the photographs differently now that I’ve put a bit of time between myself and the actual experience of making them
I also try to go through all of my photographs of the year at about this time – not just the 365 daily photographs I’ve posted here but the more than 10,000 frames I exposed this year. I almost always discover a few images that I had forgotten about or that I didn’t understand at the time.
Dan
What a great chance to revisit some fabulous images from the last year! It’s rather sobering to realise that the number of images I’ve posted to my blog this year is only about two and a half times the number you managed to whittle yours down to for your “favourites” list! That said, it must have been a tricky job given the consistently excellent quality of your daily images.
Thanks again!
Beautiful collection Dan. Very inspiring. Thanks for sharing.
Hi, Dan. If these aren’t also your ‘best’ I don’t know if I could handle the best! Wonderful shots you have here. Thank you for posting them so I could see!
Ivan, I look forward to seeing your set of “favorites” – let me know when you get it posted. It is interesting that two of the three that you mentioned are among that that I feel are less obviously attractive to a lot of viewers but which I think area among my better photographs, specifically the “Tarn and Forest” and the “Steps…” photograph. There is a lot I could say about the latter one, but I think I’ll let it speak for itself for now.
Robin, you mentioned two specific photos that I almost included but chose not to in the end. Both of them are among my favorites as well. I went back and forth between the black and white photograph and color photograph of the Basin Mountain scene. To be honest, I can’t decide which I like best! The same was true of the Mare Island photographs. I had a feeling that the photo you mentioned might be more appealing to many viewers than the one I included here, at least as a web-sized image, though I still have an idea about what the one I posted might look like as a print. I actually looked at both when creating this page and more or less mentally flipped a coin.
It is so hard to decide!
Thanks for dropping by and leaving your comments!
Dan
A most impressive assortment of favorites! There are two others I’d have included. First, I’m surprised you chose the black and white instead of the color version of the autumn storm over Humphreys and Basin. The colors were so surreally soft and beautiful that morning.
The other one I really, really liked (that isn’t on your favorites list) is from the series you did at Mare Island, the “Building 101, Corner View”–I really love the color and lighting on that one.
These photos represent a very rich collection of photographs, Dan. Congratulations on a very successful year.
Out of these, I think three stand out the most to me.
Very first one “Steps, Handrail, Mailbox, Door. San Jose, California” – what a find. I love the interplay of geometry with light and color in this photograph.
Next one is “Tarn and Forest, Tioga Pass Road” – I bet this one looks gorgeous as a print. It looks great on a screen too – the range of tones you’ve captured and beautiful shapes make me want to be there at that scene.
Third is one “Fiery Evening Sky, Tuolumne Meadows.” Very Galen Rowell-ish – the color is beautiful, but you’ve also found a very strong composition.
I’ll post my favorite shots soon too on my blog.