Well, another year is nearly in the books - with a lot more trips to amazing places, memories made with old and new friends alike. As the end of the year rolls around, I generally find myself looking ahead to what's coming rather than looking back - so I thought I'd step out of my groove and make a pass through all the photos from the last year, pulling out the ones I really liked for one reason or another.
So let's get started.
My Top 11
It's not easy coming up with my 10 favorite photos, so here are eleven. Turns out, also not easy.
In the clouds.
Parking on this helipad on one of the highest roads in Idaho, the truck was literally up there.
The harsh light and extreme blues make this even more dramatic for me. (Idaho)
Soft tranquility.
Snapped at 62mph. (Oregon)
"Wow, look where we get to go."
All I could think as we drove down this road. (Anza-Borrego)
Energy!
I like the dirty water as well, which means it must have been my second time through the same puddle. 
(Hell's Canyon)
My first attempt at lightning, so a cool shot with some sentimental value. (IDBDR)
Solitude.
Mornings in camp always seem to offer some of the most peaceful moments. (Colorado)
Joyous moments,
where our guard is completely down are so hard to catch.
Cool that it happened here, holding a lizard. (Canyonlands)
A special place.
The color of these badlands in the afternoon sun, and their fractal-like patterns make for a place I would return at the snap of a finger. (Death Valley)
Into the moonrise. (Alvord Playa)
The perfect pose.
There are some shots that show off just the right angles; and I happened to find it for the Tacoma here. (Death Valley)
We're all so small in the face of it all.
I always feel small when we're taking it all in, and Mike standing in front of a run-down mine - itself small in the world - seems to capture that perfectly. (Colorado)
Maybe Just Four More
Those before us.
It was both special and eerie to follow Jessi Combs final tracks. (Alvord Playa)
Barren landscape.
I wasn't a huge fan of Craters of the Moon, but there's no denying this dramatic view of hiking up a cinder cone. (Craters of the Moon)
Spring in the desert. (Anza Borrego)
Up we go.
A group of Tacomas winding their way up to the top of the highest peak around is one of the coolest things to watch.
I'm lucky I get to do it as much as I do! (Red Cone, Colorado)
Like I Could Somehow Limit Myself to 15!?
There's just no way, really, that I could filter everything down to 15 photos for the year, so here are the other 60 or so that I thought were in the running. No particular order. Link below the photo to the story that contains it. Enjoy!
Anza-Borrego Part 5 - Palms, Pups, and the Longest Trestle
Unfinished Business in Oregon #1 - Hiking Steens Mountain
From City of Rocks to Craters of the Moon
Hiking Death Valley Part 3 - We Trek Miles Across the Desert
Redhead Down #6: Chihuahua, Webster, Red Cone and Radical!
Ruining Around Utah 2 - Don't Miss Druid Arch
Anza-Borrego Part 4 - Elephant Knees, Wind Caves, and Dinosaurs
Hells Canyon Part 3 - Dug Bar, Gold Mines, & and Horses
Redhead Down #8: Exploring the Champion Mill
Anza-Borrego Part 4 - Elephant Knees, Wind Caves, and Dinosaurs
Whipsaw Trail 2 - Some Winching Necessary
Anza-Borrego Part 7 - So. Many. People.
Whipsaw Trail 3 - Four, Three Wheeling Tacomas
Ruining Around Utah 1 - Stopped in our Tracks at The Needles
IDBDR Pt. 8 - Driving the Lolo Motorway
Ruining Around Utah 5 - Canyoneering Natural Bridges National Monument
Alvord Desert - We Return to Explore (Apr 2019)
We Take Up Residence in Idaho's City of Rocks
Into the Sierra Wilderness - We Set Out On Foot
Redhead Down #2: WTF, There's a Bat in My Tent!
IDBDR Pt. 2 - Across the Snake River Plain
Redhead Down #9: The Last Hour
Unfinished Business #3 - We Find Jessi Combs Last Track
IDBDR Pt. 3 - Stymied By Gates
IDBDR Pt. 6 - Macgruder Corridor and Hell's Half-Acre
IDBDR Pt. 7 - The Curse of the Lolo Motorway
IDBDR Pt. 9 - Move Over, Moose!
Whipsaw Trail 1 - Finally Four, We Venture North
Whipsaw Trail 1 - Finally Four, We Venture North
Whipsaw Trail 2 - Some Winching Necessary
Whipsaw Trail 2 - Some Winching Necessary
Whipsaw Trail 2 - Some Winching Necessary
IDBDR Pt. 2 - Across the Snake River Plain
Whipsaw Trail 3 - Four, Three Wheeling Tacomas
Whipsaw Trail 4 - My Trip-Ending Discovery
Into the Sierra Wilderness - We Set Out On Foot
Whipsaw Trail 2 - Some Winching Necessary
Redhead Down #2: WTF, There's a Bat in My Tent!
Redhead Down #3: We Cross into Colorado
Redhead Down #4: Follow Me on the Trail, Not on the 'Gram
Redhead Down #6: Chihuahua, Webster, Red Cone and Radical!
IDBDR Pt. 3 - Stymied By Gates
Redhead Down #6: Chihuahua, Webster, Red Cone and Radical!
Redhead Down #6: Chihuahua, Webster, Red Cone and Radical!
Redhead Down #6: Chihuahua, Webster, Red Cone and Radical!
Unfinished Business in Oregon #1 - Hiking Steens Mountain
Unfinished Business #2 - Highest Truck in Oregon
Redhead Down #8: Exploring the Champion Mill
Unfinished Business #2 - Highest Truck in Oregon
Redhead Down #9: The Last Hour
Double Dose of Indian Hot Springs
Redhead Down #9: The Last Hour
Redhead Down #9: The Last Hour
Unfinished Business in Oregon #1 - Hiking Steens Mountain
Unfinished Business in Oregon #1 - Hiking Steens Mountain
Whipsaw Trail 2 - Some Winching Necessary
Unfinished Business in Oregon #1 - Hiking Steens Mountain
Unfinished Business #3 - We Find Jessi Combs Last Track
In Search of Overlooks - A Fall Trip to Western Death Valley #1
Saline Warm Springs & Cerro Gordo: Once is Enough - In Search of Overlooks #4
Some really great photos you picked out. Thanks for sharing them. I'd love to see the Exif data on #8 A special place from Death Valley. A lot of your photos have that feel to them and I'm curious as to what it is that give them that quality. Your subject (almost always the rig in these types of photos) is large-ish in the frame and the background does not appear small either. That is typically achieved with a telephoto lens of some type, but your backgrounds seems to "cover" a lot as well. Then there is also the ever so slightly blurred background, but not blurred so much you lose the details. These are really well done.
Thanks Keith.
For that photo, I'm not at liberty to share the location, but it was shot with a Canon 80D, and Canon's 18-135 USM lens (which I think is great).
As far as composition goes - I joke with @mrs.turbodb that the truck is my "Travelocity Roaming Gnome" (if you're familiar with that line of commercials) - basically the thing that is "just there" as I look around for cool things in nature to take photos of. Hahahahaha.
My next post is actually all about my camera setup - and how I shoot - so if you're not already, go ahead and get notified by putting your email in over here: https://adventuretaco.com/subscribe/, and I hope you continue to enjoy the adventures!
Thanks for the info and no worries on your secret location. lol
I'm already signed up for your notifications and still working though all of your trip reports. I've found it difficult to find people that put the effort into documenting their adventures with well written and well photographed reports.
I look forward to your photography post. I've been a Canon user since the late '90s and I photographed for several car magazines back in the early 2000s, so I know how easy it is for a vehicle to end up in shots! lol
I currently shoot with my old 1D MkII or the 6D that I bought mainly for Milky Way photos. I sold off most of my big white lenses when when I stopped shooting a while back. I did keep my 16-35 L and my 70-200 L and a few other specialty lenses, but I'm lacking something between those ranges. Maybe I'll give the 18-135 USM a closer look.
Thanks again.
Oh, yeah! That's living. UJ
Tell me about it! We need to go again with pops, that was a great time.