Top 6 of 2015

Nubble Lights :: ME

My top of photo of 2015 is hands down the night I got to see the Northern lights for the first time. 🙂  I sat on the rocks in front of the lighthouse, listening to the waves around me, and watched the pillars of light in the sky dance. All around me, I heard other people gasping and laughing at the magic of Mother Nature’s show. It was an experience that I will cherish forever.

The rest of the images, in no particular order are….

Breathing Dreams

This shot of the mighty Taughannock Falls in NY was taken in March.  I have an ongoing photo file of places that I stumble across in my internet travels that have potential…  This location was one of them.  We spent 5 hrs in a car, each way, for a place that on the whole probably wasn’t going to offer many good vantage points for images. But then again, maybe it would. Maybe it needed to be explored. Maybe it needed to be worked at. Maybe… Well, maybe’s are intriguing…so we went.  After all, life is meant to be an adventure. 🙂

Elemental :: MA / NY

Elemental is a shot of Bash Bish Falls in NY.  Beyond having spectacular light luck, and great water conditions (the low water level here was perfect for photos…though maybe less perfect regionally for everything else) I like this photo because it comes with a sense of accomplishment.  I had been coming to this location for the last 17 years (give or take) and was never able to capture the sort of image that did it justice.  This image is a symbol of perseverance.  It reminds me that nature is so very changeable and that great images require patience and persistence to find the right set of conditions.

First Light :: NY

I saw two mind-blowing sunrises this year, and this was the first.  First Light was taken as the Ashokan Reservoir in the Catskills of New York state.  The reservoir is about 2 hours away, and believe me, when the morning came, I didn’t feel like getting up.  But I did, and we (Kyle Van Etten, Scott Davis, Kathy Malatesta and myself) drove there, and it was so very worth it.  The light was magical.  It was a reminder of one very important rule in landscape photography:  You can’t get the shot if you don’t show up.

Cavern Cascades :: NY

Cavern Cascades is one of several great falls in Watkins Glen State Park in NY.  The thing I like so much about this shot is the way the light fell in the gorge, and the varied textures making it absolutely perfect for black and white, which – as you may already know – is where I started my photo journey years ago.  Oh, and the company on this trip was pretty damn nice too.  I met up with Ron Clifford, AD Wheeler and Derek Kind to explore the area for the day.  Such super nice guys and really talented photographers.  I’m very glad to have met them. 🙂

Of Fire and Waves :: CA

Last but not least, is a brand new shot from my last trip of the year.  Earlier this month I went out west to explore Death Valley (California) and Valley of Fire (Nevada).  This shot is from my second mind-blowingest (obviously, that’s a real word) sunrise of the year.  My fellow photographer, Melissa Couture, and I were treated to such a show that morning.  It was one of those times where the photographer and nature lover in me was at freak out level 10.  I felt incredibly blessed to have experienced those moments, watching the colors of the sky shift and burn across the clouds, while the rocks below were painted with a beautiful glow.  It made me grateful for the opportunities I have had in my life, for the chances I’ve taken, for the things I’ve seen and the people I’ve met.  Not a bad way to close out 2015, in my opinion. 😉

Thank you to each and every one of you for the continued support, the comments, the feedback and the love this past year.  It really means the world to me (and to David, my business partner-in-crime!).  Keep on rocking into 2016!

xoxo
Shannon

Tags: EXPLORE, hike, landscape, nature, photo, photography, sunrise, travel, travel tuesday, wanderlust, waterfall, waterfall wednesday