Favorite Photos | 2021 Edition

In what is becoming a tradition, I've combed through my photos from 2021 to find my favorites. In doing so, I realized that some are photos that I think are really good compositions, some are ones that have - to me - interesting coloring, and some are photos that recall a special - again, to me - memory or accomplishment.

Trips: 20 | Tent nights: 87 | Total photos: 4361

I hope everyone enjoys them, and please - feel free to share your favorite below, or if you think I've overlooked one of my photos - of which I know there are a lot - that should be a favorite!

Some of these also appear in the 2022 AdventureTaco Calendar, which you're welcome to pick up. Every calendar ordered contributes a single gallon of gas to my tank. The rest goes to the calendar people.

Order this time, is chronological. I think it gives a neat view of the weather and light as experienced through the course of the year.

January

Here, I like the colors and background compression. The Sierras, from Owens Valley, always seem so striking to me.
(Trip: Tragedy in the Tablelands; Post: same)

My first time to Alabama Hills, the Mobius Arch - with the Sierras visible in the distance - was one of the first things I photographed with my new setup.
(Trip: Right Back to the Owens Valley; Post: It's True What They Say About Alabama Hills)

Perhaps getting a bit old, but I loved the shape of Sharks Fin rising up in front of the Sierras.
(Trip: Right Back to the Owens Valley; Post: It's True What They Say About Alabama Hills)

Driving into the mountains. A surreal experience.
(Trip: Right Back to the Owens Valley; Post: Plunging into Darkness)

The Wave. I first saw this formation when Eric @ETAV8R posted a photo of it, and it is what got me to think of Owens Valley as a destination. He'll never really know how grateful I am.
(Trip: Right Back to the Owens Valley; Post: So We Meet Again, Tablelands)

I just really like colors and composition of this photo. A winter wonderland.
(Trip: Right Back to the Owens Valley; Post: Winter is Coming)

February

Was this etched this way, or did the rock crumble around it? One of nature's mysteries.
(Trip: Mid-Winter Mojave; Post: It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's Pahranagat Man)

Pictographs are a rare find, the pigments more susceptible to time than the etchings of petroglyphs. To find one with so many colors was a highlight of the year!
(Trip: Mid-Winter Mojave; Post:Multi-Colored Pictographs and a Bowl of Fire)

@mrs.turbodb sitting high up in the crevices of a slot canyon.
(Trip: Mid-Winter Mojave; Post:Multi-Colored Pictographs and a Bowl of Fire)

Little Finland sunstar.
(Trip: Mid-Winter Mojave; Post: Camping on a Cliff)

A sense of scale. I always like photos that show how small we really are in the grandeur of nature.
(Trip: Mid-Winter Mojave; Post: Camping on a Cliff)

Composure. This is a favorite of mine simply because... it's so predictable.
(Trip: An Island in the Sky at the Top of the World; Post: To the Top)

When I saw this - just as the sun was rising, I realized why they call it White Rim.
(Trip: An Island in the Sky at the Top of the World; Post: Winding Our Way Around)

Just imagine the possibilities.
(Trip: An Island in the Sky at the Top of the World; Post: Winding Our Way Around)

Chocolate shavings? No, slot canyon mud. Whenever I see undisturbed mud, I smile. No one else has been this way in a while.
(Trip: An Island in the Sky at the Top of the World; Post: Winding Our Way Around)

Layers of awesome.
(Trip: An Island in the Sky at the Top of the World; Post: Artifacts to Arches)

March

How often do you catch sunset on a three-fingered volcano?
(Trip: Owyhee Outback; Post: Mud and Solitude)

April

A big drop. So rarely do photos capture the height/incline of some of the roads. In this case, there's no question.
(Trip: Utah, Re-Ruined; Post: Stymied Again by Lewis Lodge)

I felt like a king standing in Cathedral Arch, looking out over the land.
(Trip: Utah, Re-Ruined; Post: All Alone in Arch Canyon)

Ever since this trip to Comb Ridge - the first where I really noticed it - I have this feeling in my gut like it's the backbone of the earth, and I think that's pretty cool.
(Trip: Utah, Re-Ruined; Post: Following CombRidge to Moonhouse)

This is just amazing. Each gooseneck is called a meander, and I love them!
(Trip: Utah, Re-Ruined; Post: Repeat Failure, and Finally Redemption)

Rolling up on this excavator blocking the road, we had no idea that it would load itself onto a rail car. Mad skillz!
(Trip: Scouting Black Rock Desert; Post: Burning Man Center Camp)

It's amazing where you find art, and I was a huge fan of this work. I was later told it was part of Burning Man.
(Trip: Scouting Black Rock Desert; Post: Our First Day Scouting)

The glow in the sky as the sun sets across a playa is always one of my favorites. The halo/silhouette it created in this case was magical.
(Trip: Scouting Black Rock Desert; Post: Burning Man Center Camp)

Just a few minutes after the halo/silhouette, the sun was entirely off the Black Rock Desert, and I was reminded - again - how small we are in this world. I love it.
(Trip: Scouting Black Rock Desert; Post: Burning Man Center Camp)

This is a great shot of the Milky Way, made even more special to me because it is my first shot of the Milky Way.
(Trip: Scouting Black Rock Desert; Post: Milky Way, Murder, and High Rock Canyon)

The proudest lizard in the world? I also really liked the pronounced blue on his neck, in addition to the belly.
(Trip: Scouting Black Rock Desert; Post: Milky Way, Murder, and High Rock Canyon)

May

Boom!
(Trip: Owyhee West; Post: Wandering into the Unknown)

The fanciest lizard in the world?
(Trip: Forty-One Miles of Mesa; Post: Would You Like Another?)

The joy of nature. It was like the clouds were highlighting this mesa - emanating as rays from its glory.
(Trip: Forty-One Miles of Mesa; Post: Make it a Loop)

A new perspective. This was me playing around with angles, and I really liked how it came out.
(Trip: Forty-One Miles of Mesa; Post: Epilogue)

Looking back in time.
(Trip: Forty-One Miles of Mesa; Post: Epilogue)

June

Reflection. Deep in an underground cavern, this formation reflected from a pool.
(Trip: NMBDR; Post: Headed South, We Dive Deep into the Past)

I sense a lizard theme this year. I give you, the grumpiest lizard in the world.
(Trip: NMBDR; Post: Out of Fuel)

Beautiful bones.
(Trip: NMBDR; Post: Out of Fuel)

The drama of a stormy afternoon, with the green grass of spring and orange highlights of Corkscrew Gulch. Colorful Colorado at its best.
(Trip: Wet and Bumpy through the Alpine Loop; Post: same)

July

I don't get many shots of myself, but I really like this one with the local mountain.
(Trip: One Night at Mt. Rainier; Post: same)

September

Smoke from wildfires all over the west made for a soft, yet colorful, morning at Lavina Lookout.
(Trip: Rady Can’t Wait; Post: Into Canada and Up to Lavina Lookout)

I always like overlooks, and this one is one of my favorites of the year.
(Trip: Rady Can’t Wait; Post: Lunch with a View)

This view was one of the most spectacular I found at Rady Creek. The fact that the trail is scheduled for closure as soon as the snow melts makes it all the more special.
(Trip: Rady Can’t Wait; Post: This Trail May Be Closed Forever)

The colors, as I crested Pettipiece Pass were some of the most vivid I'd seen all year.
(Trip: Rady Can’t Wait; Post: Poor Planning Over Pettipiece Pass)

After two years of devastating wildfires in California, I had a chance to return to a favorite location. Smoke was still thick, but not everything was lost.
(Trip: Aftermath; Post: Up the Mountain)

The flag flying behind a 1st gen Tacoma destroyed in the Dixie Fire. Resilience.
(Trip: Aftermath; Post: Through Land Ravaged by Dixie)

October

Nothing special about this location, I just liked the composition with the unique camp shades.
(Trip: Last Minute Rush; Post: In Search of Warm Water)

The light, bright colors in this photo make me smile. It's light an airy, in a way that I usually don't associate with fall.
(Trip: Last Minute Rush; Post: Into the Mountains)

I've come to enjoy the first few moments that sun hits the mountains almost as much as the colorful skies.
(Trip: Last Minute Rush; Post: Unexpected Success)

I had no idea what to expect as I visited the ghost town of Bodie, and I certainly didn't expect what I found. The light on the Standard Mill - still standing so proud - was perfect.
(Trip: Last Minute Rush; Post: The Town of Bodie)

November

I'm not usually a fan of weird edits, but these burros feel like they jump out of the photo to me. It's so surreal, that it became a favorite.
(Trip: Into the Owlsheads; Post: Wandering Rocks and Lost Lake)

There's nothing all that special about this Milky Way shot except that it looks cool and I haven't taken many - I think this is my third attempt - so I'm still intrigued by them.
(Trip: Into the Owlsheads; Post: Lowest Peak in the Park)

December

At Death Valley's Racetrack Playa, Mike took a different approach - walking around The Grandstand - than everyone, who seem to be drawn to climbing on the rock island.
(Trip: Back for More; Post: Buzzed by a C-17 Transport)

 

Thanks for reading, and I hope you've enjoyed. Onward to - hopefully - another fun year!

 

Not enough for you? Check out #favphotos from other years