While so many people have wished this past year away with all the turmoil and a global pandemic, I don’t like wishing a year of life away. There were some positive things to enjoy such as a less demanding schedule with many events not being held giving more opportunity to slow the pace down. Many chose to explore parks near them at a rate not seen before. I felt lucky to get out camping a few times during the summer and fall and I know many of you did the same as securing a campsite was more challenging than usual. Sometimes alone and other times with my girls. That is something I absolutely enjoyed and cherished as I know these times are limited. This has been a difficult year to travel to some amazing destinations and photograph them but I still managed to capture some beautiful subjects and scenes. At times I had to focus more on creating the shot instead of going out and capturing a beautiful landscape. Concentrating on micro scenes near me was a way of adapting to the conditions. Something I really enjoy doing. Also, playing with LED lights provided a unique form of photography in these more intimate shots. Here are a few of my favorites of 2020 beginning in the top left corner and proceeding clockwise:
The great conjecture of 2020 with Jupiter and four of its moons near Saturn. The skies cleared briefly as these two planets appeared next to each other in the evening sky shortly after sunset.
It just doesn’t seem right to have a compilation of photos without including a snowflake in the mix. Each one is unique and interesting to examine in detail. You can see more here: http://monopolytraveler.com/enjoying-more-snowflakes/
Lightning crawling across the sky. There were a couple of fantastic storms producing incredible lightning this past summer. They provided for some amazing views and a few opportunities for pictures. A couple of them can be found on this post: http://monopolytraveler.com/stormy-nights/
Orchids lit up. Early spring can sometimes be a challenge to find interesting subjects to photograph as the snow melts but plants haven’t emerged yet. Fortunately I had an orchid in full bloom and decided to play around with some lighting options. Check them out here http://monopolytraveler.com/lighting-up-orchids/
Coming across coyote pups. While on the hunt for early blooming native orchids I found myself in the middle of a den of young coyotes. It was a lot of fun and at the same time kept me on alert. Here’s that story: http://monopolytraveler.com/a-spring-afternoon-surprise/
Spring blooms in the morning sunlight. Hungry for distractions from the pandemic, early flowers began to bloom providing an opportunity to work on some macro photography outside. More of those are here: http://monopolytraveler.com/early-spring-flowers/
Ladybug taking a sip. Some of my plants produced a few blooms during early spring before much was growing outdoors so I setup a flower using water to work on photographing reflections. A ladybug happened to be climbing on one of my plants so I moved it to my scene creating more interest in the pictures. The story can be read here: http://monopolytraveler.com/experimenting-with-composition/
Fall colors in Northern Minnesota. While spending a week on the North Shore of Minnesota with my wife, the colors rapidly changed making for some beautiful views. http://monopolytraveler.com/fall-colors-in-northern-minnesota/
Checking out the campsite. A common site when camping in the upper Midwest are camp squirrels. They’re so cute how could I not spend a little time photographing them?
Under the stars. One of the best places I’ve been to see the night sky is in Northwestern Minnesota. I couldn’t believe how dark it is bringing out more stars than imaginable. It was so much fun outlasting the mosquitoes to capture the Milkyway. For more you can read it here: http://monopolytraveler.com/stargazing/
And winter returns. The day before I came across these bloodroot plants ready to bloom and then a late snow storm arrived just in time for Easter to cover them in snow. These early spring flowers make for some fun photos with fresh snow. More pictures available here: http://monopolytraveler.com/and-winter-returns/
Multiple seasons. The first goal here was to take a few Senior photos as my youngest daughter is preparing for her final year of school. Unfortunately the setting sun went under the clouds making the session a bust. As spring approached I came up with a new idea and wanted to see what a photograph containing winter and summer together would look like. Here’s that post: http://monopolytraveler.com/multiple-seasons/
Anther abstract. Another of my photos from the spring blooms in the morning sun outing. I liked this abstract view of a Hellebore flower with anthers covered in pollen.
A moody Lake Superior under fall leaves. Waves crashing against the hardened granite lining the shores of Lake Superior in Northern Minnesota as the wind howled brought some great water spouts and sounds. If not set to travel for the day it would have been fun to watch as these waves provided some great displays. The stories here: http://monopolytraveler.com/a-moody-lake-superior/
Quiet sunrise. After spending much of the night under the stars in Northwestern Minnesota, I stuck around to watch one of the first sunrises of the summer. A little morning fog and no wind made for a beautiful and peaceful sunrise for my last morning at Hayes Lake State Park.
Finally an opportunity to photograph an otter. For the past couple of years I’ve been in search of otters to capture with the camera. While out to watch the sunrise one came from behind me and eventually came up to see what I was doing. What an unexpected treat!
The center photo is my daughter who’s about to graduate from high school. I have several of her senior photos that I really like but kept it to one on this collage.
It was challenging to keep it to these pictures. Many of them are in posts from 2020 while others haven’t made it there yet. Maybe early this year a few stories with these photos will show up. Please enjoy these photos as there will be a whole new set of them in 2021. The collage is included below as pictures may be cropped in the top picture.
