Your Best/Favorite Image of 2015

It's becoming a tradition that I start off these threads each year. It's time to reflect back on the past year and have some fun while doing so. Post your favorite image taken in 2015. No critiques allowed, just "great shot" and "WOW".

Post as a reply to this thread, your ONE favorite image that YOU took this year. If there's a backstory then tell us about it and why it's your favorite.

If you want to comment on an image and it is not the last post, just click "Reply with Quote" on the image you want to comment on.

Happy Holidays and a Healthy New Year to All!

The Moderators

I'll start us off. I took this image while on a Winter Yellowstone Workshop led by Dale Franz. It was unseasonably warm and the snowpack was very low the first week in February. One of my goals going into the trip was to capture some wildlife in fields of snow. Despite the low snowfall, the weather and this fox cooperated for just a few minutes and I was able to capture this image. I wanted the minimalist look to it without a lot of detail in the snow.

Rachel

when I first opened this, I thought, "oh, it didn't come up," and then as I scrolled down, oh, my. I love the minimalist look of this. So many metaphors come to mind. thanks.

Very nice!! Evocative environmental shot a gorgeous creature!

Although not in flight, Ive always liked this shot, as it was my last shot before I drove out of the nature reserve, close to where I live. Capturing this bird against a foliage BG, always brings out the best in him, especially when the tail is blowing in the wind.

Hi Stu. I remember that image. Lovely!

Wonderful images Rachel and Stu.

This Kingfisher shot is my fave as it took quite a bit of patience to capture. I moved into a new neighborhood three years ago that has a 35 acre lake. I finally found a perch that she habituated regularly enough to wait for a shot (in full camo of course - the neighbors think I am crazy :S3. After several tries she came to the perch and stayed for about 20 seconds. In this image she is making her rattling call and lifted her tail and perked up quite a bit for just a second or two.

Nice idea Rachel. All the shots so far are wonderful. Here's one of my favorites from this year:

Coyote Hunts In Snow - Explored' by David Stephens, on Flickr

One of my faves. I spent a few weeks this year, photographing these small grebes. I worked out their daily routines, and discovered the best place to get closer :S3: Yes it was a great experience

Little Grebe aka Dabchick

Will

Great shots everyone! Fun to see how our favorites are not the "perfect" ones. This image of a dowitcher is my favorite for 2015.

Nice to see all these great images. This is my favorite image of the year because I had been experimenting with ways to light insect images using bounce flash with white card and this one is just about what I was trying for.

I had always wanted to shoot a heard of elephants near water with a wide angled lens, but the opportunities don't come so easy. Few guides are knowledgeable enough to position the vehicle precisely at a river crossing and wait for the herd to come to you. If you see a heard and race towards the elephants, the chance is they will move away or get agitated or even charge the vehicles. On this occasion, our guide at Mala Mala knew exactly where the herd would be crossing and positioned the vehicle precisely at the crossing. It really shows that with wildlife photography, it is much better let the wildlife comes to us than us come to them.

5D3
1/800, F11, ISO-400, Aperture priority

Thank you and Happy Holidays!

Loi

Macaroni Redemption

I was so blessed in 2015 that it is very difficult to pick a single image as a favorite but this one ranks right up there. To learn why, see the "How Often Do We Get a Second Chance? Redemption in the Snow" blog post here.

This image was created on the 2015 Cheesemans’ South Georgia Expedition with the Induro GIT 304L tripod/Mongoose M3.6-mounted Canon EF 400mm f/4 DO IS II USM lens, the Canon Extender EF 2X III, and the amazing Canon EOS 7D Mark II. ISO 400. Evaluative metering +2/3 stop: 1/640 sec. at f/11 in Manual mode.

Center AF point (Manual selection)/AI Servo/Rear Focus AF as originally framed was active at the moment of exposure. The active AF point was just below and behind the bird’s gape.

Arthur Morris said:

Macaroni Redemption

I was so blessed in 2015 that it is very difficult to pick a single image as a favorite but this one ranks right up there. To learn why, see the "How Often Do We Get a Second Chance? Redemption in the Snow" blog post here. ...

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Great story (follow his link) and image Artie. That's actually quite a simple image, perfectly exposed with a high resolution camera and an exceptional lens. All that allows us to see the Macaroni in detail we can't see with our eyes alone. Even with a great spotting scope we can't appreciate this level of detail, having the time to study the miracle of the feather patterns, eye detail, etc. just keeps drawing me to bird photography.

I'm glad to see that you seem to love your 7D MkII as much as I do mine. I see people dissing it all the time, but it's been nothing but a joy to me. With good technique, combined with Canon's best lenses, it's an amazing tool at an incredibly affordable price.

2015 was a very good year for me. Local rarities, unusual sightings, awesome behaviour stuff...but I keep coming back to this image of a humble and way abundant Eastern Gray Squirrel munching away on fruits during a snowfall in a local urban park. It shows you do not need to go far, or get "species of interest" to get something that just clicks.:S3:

David Stephens said:

Great story (follow his link) and image Artie. That's actually quite a simple image, perfectly exposed with a high resolution camera and an exceptional lens. All that allows us to see the Macaroni in detail we can't see with our eyes alone. Even with a great spotting scope we can't appreciate this level of detail, having the time to study the miracle of the feather patterns, eye detail, etc. just keeps drawing me to bird photography.

I'm glad to see that you seem to love your 7D MkII as much as I do mine. I see people dissing it all the time, but it's been nothing but a joy to me. With good technique, combined with Canon's best lenses, it's an amazing tool at an incredibly affordable price.

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David Stephens said:

Great story (follow his link) and image Artie. That's actually quite a simple image, perfectly exposed with a high resolution camera and an exceptional lens. All that allows us to see the Macaroni in detail we can't see with our eyes alone. Even with a great spotting scope we can't appreciate this level of detail, having the time to study the miracle of the feather patterns, eye detail, etc. just keeps drawing me to bird photography.

I'm glad to see that you seem to love your 7D MkII as much as I do mine. I see people dissing it all the time, but it's been nothing but a joy to me. With good technique, combined with Canon's best lenses, it's an amazing tool at an incredibly affordable price.

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Thanks. And yup, I love my 7D II especially when it is pretty bright out. A guy called me today and complained that he could not make sharp images with his. I told him to look in the mirror
a

Daniel Cadieux said:

2015 was a very good year for me. Local rarities, unusual sightings, awesome behaviour stuff...but I keep coming back to this image of a humble and way abundant Eastern Gray Squirrel munching away on fruits during a snowfall in a local urban park. It shows you do not need to go far, or get "species of interest" to get something that just clicks.:S3:

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Too friggin' cute! a

Arthur Morris said:

A guy called me today and complained that he could not make sharp images with his. I told him to look in the mirror.

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There was actually a major focusing issue with many bodies when the 7D2 first came out. They have since fixed the problem (without making any admissions), but maybe this guy had one of those copies? I'm not saying this guy has one of those early bodies, but it is a possibility.

Marina Scarr said:

There was actually a major focusing issue with many bodies when the 7D2 first came out. They have since fixed the problem (without making any admissions), but maybe this guy had one of those copies? I'm not saying this guy has one of those early bodies, but it is a possibility.

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Could be. I had one of the first and it was fine. Most times it is operator error. I have found that because of the pixel pitch that it is a bit harder to make sharp images with the 7D II and the 5DS R when using long glass than it is with previous camera bodies....

Hope that you are doing well. a

ps: he just bought his last week :S3:

Marina Scarr said:

There was actually a major focusing issue with many bodies when the 7D2 first came out. They have since fixed the problem (without making any admissions), but maybe this guy had one of those copies? I'm not saying this guy has one of those early bodies, but it is a possibility.

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Mine was in the first mass shipping. I have run into users in the field that have their settings all screwed up, either using too many AF points or not using high enough shutter speed. That seems very basic to us, but lots of users, based on my small in-field sample, don't know how to use the camera. (I find owners of Nikon 7100/7200s making the very same errors). Surely, there might have been some bad examples, but I think the reports are overblown. Anyway, that's ancient history since, "They have since fixed the problem."