JMG-Galleries Best Photos of 2009
In 2009 I was very fortunate to have had some incredible photo opportunities. Selecting my best photos from this past year was much more difficult than choosing my best photos of 2008 and 2007. After taking the time to review the best of the tens of thousands of photos I took this year I narrowed my choices down to the best 50, then best 25 and finally down to these 10 best photos. To view higher resolution versions of these and my other favorite photos of 2009 less the heavy watermark check out the video at the end of this post.
Honorable Mentions:
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Honorable Mention #4: Clark’s Grebe and Fish (Aechmophorus clarckii) This was one of many wildlife photos taken during my Sea Otter Photo Tour trips this year. While Sea Otters are plentiful one cannot ignore the amazing variety of bird life in this area as well. |
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Honorable Mention #3: Sinopah Mountain Reflected in Two Medicine Lake at Sunrise – Glacier National Park In early June I was fortunate to arrive in Glacier National Park after a late snow storm. With in the next few days I was graced with amazing scenery and light. |
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Honorable Mention #5: Yosemite Valley Chapel in Snow Storm The highlight of the later part of this year was to be present for 11 inches of snowfall in Yosemite valley. It was an incredible experience capturing the essence of winter and the holidays while photographing Yosemite Valley Chapel. |
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Honorable Mention #1 Illumination The Sierra foothills are an amazing place and I was quite fortunate to be in the right place at the right time to photograph an Oak tree under an amazing sunset sky. |
My Top 10 Favorite Photos of 2009:
#10: Sea Otter and Sleeping Pup (Enhydra lutris)
The highlight of every Sea Otter Photo Tour is being able to photograph Sea Otter pups with their mothers. This was one of my favorites.
#9: Vine Snake (Oxybelis fulgidus)
While in Costa Rica I was very fortunate to see a master of camouflage, the Vine Snake (Oxybelis fulgidus). Their intensely green scales and leaf shaped head make them incredibly challenging to find.
#8: Racetrack Textures – Death Valley National Park
One of my favorite landscape abstracts taken at the Racetrack in Death Valley National Park during one of my many photo tours this year.
#7: Mount Grinell Reflected in Swiftcurrent Lake at Sunrise – Glacier National Park, Montana
An early morning view of Mount Grinell reflected in Swiftcurrent Lake just before fog obscured the view.
#6: Zabriskie Point Sunrise, Death Valley National Park, California
Remnants of a storm that swept through the Sierra Nevada mountains added to an already amazing view of Zabriskie Point at sunrise. This was one of the many great landscape opportunities to be had during my Death Valley photo tour.
#5: A Brown-throated Sloth and Her Baby Eat Leafs – Corcovado National Park, Costa Rica
Wildlife in Costa Rica is plentiful and this special moment of a Brown-throated Sloth and her baby feeding on leafs was one of the many highlights of my trip. My wife was dismayed that this wasn’t my top choice for 2009 as it was her favorite of the year.
#4: Star Trail Abstract
This ultra long exposure of the Milky Way over silhouetted mountains is among my top favorites this year.
#3: Racetrack Light Lasso – Death Valley National Park, California
Never satisfied with the status quo I had a blast experimenting with some light painting on my Death Valley photo tour. After hours of experimentation I came away with 5 excellent photos similar to this, but this is my favorite.
#2: Pattern Abstract I
In 2009 I was working on numerous photo projects, many of which are still under wraps for the moment. One photo that inspired me to start yet another project was this nature abstract. Stay tuned as there’s more to follow for this project.
#1: Mobius Arch Star Trails
7 hours in the field and numerous more in post-production, this photo of Mobius Arch with star trails in the background came out exactly as I had envisioned. Extremely fond of this location I’m always striving to capture something new when I visit.
Bonus: Best Photo Not Taken By Me…
Normally I highlight photos that I’ve taken through out the year, but this is my favorite photo taken by someone else. Baby G should arrive in early June and if my wife and I are lucky we’ll know the sex tomorrow.
Best Photos of 2009 video
Music “Comfort Zone” courtesy of General Fuzz
Thanks a ton General Fuzz your music makes the video!
Check out more of General Fuzz’s great music at http://www.generalfuzz.net
Technorati Tags: landscape, photography, wildlife, stock photo, travel, fine art, photo, best of 2009, favorites of 2009, best of, Mobius Arch, Galen’s Arch, Death Valley, Death Valley National Park, Racetrack, star trails, Costa Rica, Corcovado National Park, Glacier National Park, Vine Snake, Oxybelis fulgidus, Sea Otter, Enhydra lutris, Â Yosemite, Yosemite National Park, Yosemite Valley Chapel, nature, Clark’s Grebe, Aechmophorus clarckii, stock photo
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These are really amazing photographs! It must have been insanely tough for you to pick such a few. I really love #8 – the landscape abstract.
very nice work
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Great set of photos, as usual, Jim! I look forward to seeing everyone else's as well this year.
Happy New Year!
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I especially like that monochrome shot near the end, Jim.
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Congratulations on your number 1 image of the year and the best of luck. As for the others, a very fine selection and I believe I've seen a good number of them on NatureScapes. Best wishes for 2010…
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Congratulations on the new arrival!
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My vote for the top spot goes to Sinopah Mountain, with second being Clark’s Grebe and Fish – but hey, to each their own. All good stuff.
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Great photos!
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Love the photo of the otters truly precious capture!
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[...] JMG-Galleries Best Photos of 2009 » JMG-Galleries – Jim M. Goldstein Photography. [...]
Great photos… I really like nature/landscape abstracts so I can't wait to see more of your project in that area.
And congrats on the upcoming arrival!
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Congrats Jim on the news of the family addition! Oh yeah, and great set of photos summarizing your productive 2009.
Looks like 2009 was a year of great travel as well.
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What a beautiful display of images, no way I could pick from them Jim, amazing work !!
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Jim,
Congratulations on the impending addition to your family (“Baby G”, as you called him/her). I'm looking forward to seeing what will come out of your new photo subject.
As for your list…it would be hard for me to narrow down from your plethora of incredible photos. You have certainly helped to narrow it for me. But if I had to pick my favorite, I could not narrow it down to less than two – a tie, if you will, between “Mobius Arch Star Trails” and “Racetrack Light Lasso”.
I am somewhat disappointed that Mobius Arch & Stars II didn't make your list. That's a good old classic night-shot that illustrates so much about what you stand for – what everyone is truly missing by a) not traveling and b) adding (light) pollution into this world. I guess as a former Boy Scout who's traveled to such remote places and as a Lighting Designer and Landscape Architect who is working to eliminate unnecessary light polution…this shot (or any like it) really speaks to me.
Thanks for sharing.
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[...] Jim Goldstein’s Personal Best 2009 [...]
Jim –
My sincere congratulations on the upcoming addition to the family. You might not like how much times new baby will take away from photography, but it's actually more fun anyway, so it's never a regret.
I hope all goes well.
PS – Beautiful photography!
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Thanks nuwomb. This year was extremely difficult to rank my year end photos. I languished over it for several days. I'm not sure it was the best use of my time, but it definitely got me to think about my work. The rankings matter less than the individual enjoyment each person gets out of my highlighted photography. I'm glad to hear “Racetrack Textures” resonated with you.
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Thanks Justin. So far so good with submissions this year. There will be a lot to look at. Great photographers and great photographs. I'm looking forward to making the final posting.
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Thanks Dan. The monochrome shot at the end holds the greatest mystery too.
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Thanks and thanks for taking the time to view them all let alone comment.
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Thanks Laurie!
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These were all impossibly hard to rank. The fact they all made the post to be featured is what matters most. Thanks for your vote
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Thank you Rutger and happy new year!
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Thanks. Otters are tough not to like
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You'll be pleasantly surprised. I'm eager to share what I've been working on, but it's going to be a bit longer before I finish the project. Thanks for the congrats
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2009 wasn't bad for travel. It'll offset this coming year I'm sure. Thanks for the congrats on Baby G.
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Thanks Bernie. It wasn't easy!
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Travis thanks for the well wishes and thoughtful comment. A couple photos from my Mobius Arch & Stars series were on the bubble. I included Mobius Arch & Stars II in the video… proof it was in the running. I really liked that one for the same reasons you do. It's painful to not be able to see the star filled sky at night. It's liberating when you see it and really puts your place in the universe in perspective.
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Thanks Ivan. We'll see how drastic an impact Baby G has on things. I'm imagining that many projects will be on temporary hold for quite some time.
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I'm a fan of the bonus picture
(Congrats!)
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Wonderful images! Talent to spare in both landscape and animal shots! Kudos and blue skies in 2010!
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Simply stunning work Jim! I love the star trail shots. I want to know how to to them. I will keep digging!
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Jim,
I recall most of these as they appeared on your site, so it is obvious they left an impression on not only you. Each one left an impression on me from the first time I saw them. An excellent group of images that highlight skill and creativity.
Congrats on the bonus one as well.
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Not only are these your top photos of 2009, these are some of the most creative I have seen from the past year.
Congrats on having the 1st child, Jim!
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A very nice collection of photographs, Jim.
My favorite must be #2 Pattern Abstract, but then again, all of them are very good.
Best Wishes
Seung Kye
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Jim wrote: “The monochrome shot at the end holds the greatest mystery too.”
Indeed! Having three grown (for the most part…
children and having celebrated our 34th anniversary earlier this week, I can only say that the mystery becomes even greater over time.
Best wishes to all three of you!
Dan
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Cool set, I like the two original takes you did on the Racetrack.
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they are indeed beautiful …. for me, the nature abstract is just gorgeous … lovely post >> Gina
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these are fantastic. the bonus photo of course being by far the most technically difficult image and by far the most exciting. congratulations again. may 2010 be filled with as many beautiful images and experiences.
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these are fantastic. the bonus photo of course being by far the most technically difficult image and by far the most exciting. congratulations again. may 2010 be filled with as many beautiful images and experiences.
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Love those star trails!
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I love the light trails, and light painting. Those images are totally different than what people come to expect. Thanks for mixing it up and reminding us we don't have to conform to a certain “standard” or “norm!”
Congratulations again on that last one!
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[...] Best Photos of 2009 – Jim M. Goldstein | JMG-Galleries [...]
The Star Trail Abstract is my favorite, it's not so obvious as other shots, great job on that! Captures eyes immediately:)
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Excellentlty captured, wonderful foothill oak silhouette sunset sky image. I'm envious. Have had my eyes out for such opportunities many years and never managed a real winner. Main issue is foothill elevations with their pretty oak dotted landscapes, often cattle grazing lands, are almost entirely behind barbed wire. Even if one sits on such a situation hoping for the sky to cooperate, nailing the exposure is never easy.
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Tried logging in using the Facebook link however it said it was invalid. I would say my fave among the photos comes from your honorable mentions. I really like the one of Two Medicine Lake.
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[...] Best Photos of 2009 – Jim M. Goldstein | JMG-Galleries [...]
[...] Best Photos of 2009 – Jim M. Goldstein | JMG-Galleries [...]
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your copyright thing is very annoying –and I have no wish whatsoever to snitch your pictures. Why don't you find another, l;pess visually intrusive, way to protect yourself –for example, by posting your pictures with too few pixels to reproduce sucessfully., ,
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if abortion is murder, then ultrasound is child pornography. the latter part was a joke. congratulations on your baby.
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My favorite had to be photo #2 – Pattern Abstract I. I think it's because it's so simple, and the details of the grains of sand are so untouched. I would love to see more of the abstract of nature. And the rest of your photos are beautiful as well – loved the trail of the stars. Thanks for sharing and the inspiration of the possibilities!
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i love enjoying your photos…
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Super, very, very beautiful.
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very nice pics
i like it 2 much
star poto very nice
i wish 2 know how u take it
best regard
bulafy
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[...] Best Photos of 2009 – Jim M. Goldstein | JMG-Galleries [...]
[...] Best Photos of 2009 – Jim M. Goldstein | JMG-Galleries [...]
Hello Jim, I just wanted to say that you create some really really excellent work and you're a true inspiration. Well done mate. If you ever have some time, do you mind reviewing my work and giving some tips for improvement? I'd really really appreciate it. Thank you
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These are some truley amazing photos. It's impossible for me to pick my favourite.
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