Hello WU Friends:
Prompted by a desire to enjoy some of the great WU pics in the archives and share them with you - I began the Best of Month blog series a year ago. As the year went on, I realized that I had missed some best of shots as my research got more complete as the months passed.
So here's one more blog in this series giving you a look at some of the highest rated pics on this site. Again, I've tries to find the highest/most rated shots of the photogs - so these shots are really selected by the raters. I usually post 60 shots per blog adding them over a couple of weeks - so check back if you want to see them all.
Thank you for all who have shared your stories and added comments this past year. I truly appreciate my world wide extended family on WU. A very merry Christmas to all of you.
Mitch
Tornado over Black Lake, Michigan, during the October 18, 2007 tornado outbreak. This tornado was rated EF1 with winds up to 94 mph. Damage consisted of a barn destroyed just north of M-68. The sporadic damage path up through Black Lake was 1/8 mile wide and around 10 miles long. Some tree damage was seen around Black Lake. The photo taken by Nathan Krinsky from the back deck of his home on Black Lake in northern Michigan, 15 miles southeast of Cheboygan. The sun was setting at 5:25 pm EDT when this photo was taken, and if you look closely, you can see a rainbow, thanks to the spray kicked up by the tornado.
Small aurora that started right at sunset tonight. Stayed just a stream for most of an hour. Hopefully we will see more in the next few days. You can see more Northern Lights photos in my folder here and at my web site www.northpolegallery.com
I was out looking for some geese in flight when I scared up this rooster pheasant (along with several hens.) It's about as close as I've come to one with a camera in my hands.
Talk about luck... No, I did NOT wait for the gull to fly across the sun! But I am very glad it did.
Looks like green velvet.......... (
jaydee)
Very beautiful, also very cold(-35c)BBRRRR !!
I thought I was gonna have frostbite getting these pics!
This is just the broadside of a cardinal. Testing my new lens, and it works wonderfully. First auto focus telephoto I have had, and for these 75 year old eyes, it is wonderful. I fought getting it, but now I am glad to have it.
Very hard to take pictures of water falls while it is raining. I was wiping my lens off between every shot. The umbrella couldn't stop the water fall spray coming from the front or the rain that was coming in from the side. Still, I had a wonderful time seeing these HUGE falls.
In a secluded valley just off San Pasqual Valley by the San Diego Wild Animal Park.
Jogging trail parallel to Magazine St. in Audubon Park
The fog traces the path of the Buffalo River in Arkansas' Ozark Mountains.
There were four deer headed in my direction. I stopped in the road to let them pass. This one seemed as though it was dancing across the road as I snapped the photo through my windshield.
I can never do anything with these feathers when they're wet!
Weather report were about 25 km/h winds. Instead this port town Ventspils got about 25m/s few hours ago. There is too risky enter into seaport. Stormy weather is reported in many paces around Europe Atlantic side today.
Wet snow changes everything.
My Favorite Sqirrel Tail Hat
Double-ended goat :-) (
Leelee)
No, it's just two Valaisian (?) Goats lying together in the sun. The front parts of the animals are black, the hind quarters white, which achieves that funny result.
Early evening rain showers gave way to create a tube of foggy mist snaking through the New River Gorge.
This shot was taken on the 10th of july when a cold front moved thru chicago pushing hot and humid air in front of it , its called a
Storm moving through Hastings NE around 8:48 PM
Sunrise at Lake Windermere
this little hummer was trying to figure out how to drink from a hummingbird feeder..It had not been off the nest long...and found some refreshing nectar I had made for it...
Funnel over the neighbors (
slars)
This funnel became a tornado that traveled a 1-mile path while staying on the ground for 30 minutes! The damage began less than 1 mile from where this picture was taken.
This is a photo of a ship about to go down. The huge swells just beat her bad>
Does not look like a stirrup at all, but it is too pretty not to take some pictures.
Fly Me To The Sun? (
Ralfo)
After taking pictures of the Sunrise this morning I was setting up my telescope to look at the Sun. Two miles east I noticed some airplanes that flew close to the Sun. One look like it was heading directly into the Sun. This is it!!!
Sun Dogs. As the sun got higher it created a double halo with coronas on both
Another view of Cedar Falls (
slieb25)
Cedar Falls at Hocking Hills State Park near Logan, OH
Visit to zoo in Edinburgh.
For about the past month I've been trying to get some good lightning photos. I've had my Digital SLR for about a year and a half now, and am just now finally starting to get the hang of using it.
I've been driving out to the middle of the country during storms trying to capture lightning, but every time I get to my destination and the storms are gone.
This time I just stayed at home and propped up the camera on the tripod, kicked back in a folding chair with a cold one and some smokes and started snapping pictures with the remote control. 8 second shutter speed at 100 ISO seemed to get the best results.
Out of about 150 photos, I had 15 REALLY good ones...this was definitely my favorite of them all though
Monday Morning Rainbow (
DenJ)
This rainbow made me late for work this morning. View looking at St. Thomas,US Virign Islands Airport.
This waterspout was spotted off the north side of Sunshine Key.
Taken from Interstate 15 near Brigham City Utah
Saw these neat looking clouds and figured I would share them with you all.
Enjoy!
The Sky had something planned all along.
The Night draws near and we wait expectantly...
Such beautiful colors tonight. The very last light of the day.
I can't explain the title, it's just what I happened to think of while lookng at it. The muted colors look a little like an impressionist painting; pastel-like.
The Sisters loom above the fog while the afternoon sun shines on the Sitka waterfront. The morning fog gradually gave way to more and more sunshine during the six hours of daylight that Sitka has in mid-December. Of course, we'll take any sunshine we can get this time of year.
true black%white without any editing...
Sunrise (pre-sunrise) at Pine Glades Lake in Everglades National Park. This was a favorite straight from the camera.
The Snowman and Chickadee (
Jayne)
Handy use of the tail for an umbrella.
Page: 1 — Blog Index
Have a great day!
Shane
The story behind the picture is as described with the photo but I got some nice reactions from other WUG users. Some felt reminded of "push-me-pull-me" from Dr. Doolittle :-)
One wrote:
Like "Push Me-Pull Me" (the two-headed llama) from "Dr. Doolittle." :-) My boys were small when the movie "Dr. Doolittle" was famous. One day we took them to the petting zoo & there was a llama there. They began yelling, "A one-headed llama!"
I wish you a merry Christmas and a very happy New Year!
Andrea
As for the inspiration behind the photo, this was a 10-15 year snowfall for us, and with four kids, two of them five year old twins, this was a Very Big Event! My cabin has bright floodlights high on the gables, and when snow falls, much time is spent at the upstairs windows watching the snowflakes drifting down. I wanted to preserve that feeling of the lights and the snow. I ran around the yard to avoid tracks, and tried many shots to no avail. The flash was useless in the still falling snow and without a tripod my timed exposures were blurred. So with freezing fingers and a wet camera it was back into the house to grab a tripod. This time was more successful, but I couldn't get a clear view of the house for the trees. I kept circling and found a spot where lights seemed to jell, took a final shot, and ran shivering back to the warmth within. When I showed them to the missus, she scrolled through them, got to the last one and said, "post this one, that's pretty good..."
The rest is history...
Thanks, Mitch, for your efforts in compiling these wonderful views of the world we live in... your labor of love is greatly appreciated!
Long Live Wunderphotos!
Ridge
Cedar Falls is located in Hocking Hills State Park near Logan, OH. It is one of my favorite places to take nature pics. It was really my inspiration to do waterfalls as my specialty.
I probably have been to this waterfall 10 times over the past years and this has enabled me to plan when to attend for best lighting conditions. The way the light reflects off the back of the shot and the rocks in the foreground of this shot really is what makes it good IMO.
Again thanks and glad to share my experiences.
Thanks so much for posting all these beautiful holiday treats! Hope you and yours had a wonderful Christmas and have a fabulous New Year! Love those Valaisian Goats -- you don't know which end is up! LOL's!!
I guess you can say I got lucky with that shot, as I remember I was REALLY wanting her to stand still right in the middle of the flower so I could get a picture like this. Up until this shot, all she was doing was scurrying around the petals, which I suppose I was sort of chasing her with the camera, so I guess it was my fault too. Well, she finally did stop and "pose" for me right in the middle of the flower (almost like she knew I wanted her to), and in part thanks to her cooperation, I received my very first AC here on WU =)
I have made many trips to Selby Botanical Gardens over the years. It's a virtual smorgasbord of unusual and exotic flora set beside the bay near downtown Sarasota, FL.
This particular tree, the Morton Bay Fig, has always been a favorite stop of mine and I've always photographed it. But on this visit, the first since I became serious about my photography and with my new camera in tow, I took a shot of this tree from every conceivable angle, distance, zoom in, zoom out, etc. It was difficult picking a photo for submission but this was my choice. As it turned out, it was a pretty good choice.
Thanks again, Mitch, and especially for this great blog of photos you've put together. I wasn't even aware of it but you can be sure, I'll be checking often. It was my pleasure to share this 'wonder' with everyone at WunderPhotos.
~Helen (*;*)
I hope everyone is well. My family enjoyed a Christmas with all present (all five from my bio pic) - which was the best present.
Glad to see some of this months photogs adding their comments. Leelee, I hope you read the comment by masshysteria. This is one of the main reasons I started this blog - for others to enjoy shots in the archives.
RidgeWrunner, after reading your comment I love your shot even more - and my wife also makes the final call on a group of pics - I'd call on her opinion often.
slieb25, synthman19872003 and MissKitty2 - thank you for adding to the enjoyment of your pics with your stories.
And idzrvit, MNTornado, myvalleylil and masshysteria - thank you for stopping by with your well wishes.
Mitch
The puppy's first snow was shot at my Niece's house. My sister is coming up from Indiana to pick here up for Christmas so I went out and shot a ton of pictures. She's a 8 week Golden Retriever, One of 10. One photo for a single frame and then the rest for a collage. Which I will give to her for Christmas. I had just bought the Nikon D300s and thank God for 7 fps. It really helps when trying to get those action shots. I also did the same for my other sister which lives close by. She also will receive the photo's for Christmas. It was a cold day and me and the pup were getting cold, They learn fast where to go to get warm, right up to the front door. As far as the photo being posted on your blog that will be my gift. Just what I wished for too.
Thank You Steve G
My Hazy Sunrise was taken during an early morning trek to Everglades National Park. The everglades can be quite interesting especially during the pre-sunrise hour and that morning was no exception. A brief hike around the lake led me to this spot. I took a few shots then stopped to reflect on wanting to "bottle that moment". I think we all get such inspiration from our captures and our buddies on WU. I look forward to seeing the rest of your pix Mitch. Thanks so much!!
The story behind the field of flowers is that is was winter and after days and days of seeing snow, ice, sleet and generally COLD stuff on WU, on my way home one day the patch of color caught my eye and I had to navigate a few dirt roads to get to where someone had sewn all those seeds. We don't get much snow and ice here in San Diego but we do get great sunny days.
LOVE the tiger shot now up in the AC section. Some friends pitched in and got me a new D5000 so mebbe when I figger it out I'll get a good tiger shot also....(hope hope) Rod
Mitch
The saying goes "If at first you do succeed, try not to look amazed". Well I am amazed anyway. I am also very honored and pleased both with the AC and with the invitation to comment on my photo included here.
We had a low of 23 the morning of "Only The Lonely" and I looked out the window to see this awesome freezing fog and the slightly pink light. I wound up taking a total of 14 photos of different exposures and focal lengths, that I ultimately filtered down to 2. I selected the one you have already seen and apparently that was the right thing to do. But I still like the companion photo which I titled "Lonesome Is Me". I have just posted it to my Blog so you might see it if you wish.
As afar as editing is concerned, I bumped the contrast, nudged the hue and gave it a short sharpening.
Thank you all for your very kind comments and ratings on my efforts.
Regards & Happy New Year!
Julia (Doesiedoats)
And icmoore, you're welcome and we love the birds shots you capture in your yard!
Mitch
Happy New Year, Mitch!
Carol
sorry that it took so long to answer to you, but i am really glad, that my picture is here.
this image was taken in Estonia, at Soodla river. i must say, that this is one of my favorite places.
I always enjoy spending time looking at your selection of photographs.
thank you very much and have a great weekend.
Gams
So photomom3 and kuuono, you're welcome, but you earned a spot in this blog.
PhillipDallas2534 and seflagamma, thanks for stopping by.
Now, it's on to a new project for 2010. I've been contacting many of the regular WU contributors asking them to choose their top favorite pics they've ever submitted. Then I'm grouping theme by themes of emotion / feeling.
So, if you want to join in, start by choosing your 5 shots and sending me the titles and the dates. Then I'll email you back with the theme choices.
The first theme will be photos that symbolize Strength. For some of us, we may need some inspiration in this area to make it through Winter or a difficult situation.
Thanks again for all the comments and stories provided for the Best of Blog Series. You all helped make this a rewarding experience for me and many others.
Mitch
Viewing: 1 - 25
Page: 1 — Blog Index