Best of 2024

Mike Lewis

Staff Member
Sorry to be so late to the party, lots of things going on these days for me. Thanks for looking, and for any feedback as well.

So it was hard to keep this to 10 images, which I guess is a good thing :) I have divided this into categories of scenic and astro, with nightscape included in astro in this case.

Scenic
The big trips in 2024 were an expedition cruise to Alaska's Inside Passage in May, and a redo of a 2009 trip that hit Grand Teton NP, Glacier NP, and Waterton Lakes NP in July. There were of course other shorter excursions and day trips as well. Here are my favorites scenic images from 2024:

1) Fjord Jewels - Glacial ice freshly calved off of the South Sawyer Glacier floats by as we cruise up into the Tracy Arm Fjord in Southeast Alaska towards the face of the glacier, out of view still ahead.

LRCC_sRGB_FW_TAP10332-NR-333-334_FuN.jpg



2) Skilak Lake - Beautiful Skilak Lake shows off its wonderful colors in the afternoon sun as we drive along the rugged Skilak Lake Road in Southeast Alaska.

LRCC_sRGB_FW_UTIFF_TAP11162_3_4_FuN.jpg



3) Morning Light - A sunbeam brightly illuminates a forested ridge below as Going to the Sun Road reveals its true beauty in the wonderful light of morning.

LRCC_sRGB_FW_TAP28246_7_8_Balancer.jpg



4) Tetons in Midday - The dramatic rise of the Grand Tetons, combined with the orientation of the major roads in Grand Teton National Park make for a low key close-up view during a midday drive through the park.

LRCC_sRGB_FW_TAP29053-Enhanced-NR.jpg



Night Sky / Astrophotography
I did not have as prolific of a year with astroimaging, but did still get some images I really liked. With some comets and big solar storms, there were also some nightscape opportunities for images as well. I realize these get put into the landscape galleries on FW, but I include them here under astro...

5) The Jellyfish Nebula - The Jellyfish Nebula is a supernova remnant (SNR) that is thought to be located approximately 5,000 light years distant.

LRCC_sRGB_FW_sRGB_IC443_NBasRGB_HT_GHS_CT2_PSCC_WithStars.jpg



6) Deep and Dusty Cocoon - The Cocoon Nebula (IC-5146) is portrayed here in a wider FOV, showing the extensive dust and glowing gas in the region surrounding the actual nebula itself.

LRCC_sRGB_FW_UTIFF_V4_CocoonSVQ100_HaRGB_AdvSharp_PSCC_WithStars_LHE.jpg



7) The Clamshell Nebula - The Clamshell nebula is an emission nebula near The North America Nebula in the sky, in the constellation of Cygnus.

LRCC_sRGB_FW_Sh2-119_CC_NBNorm_GHS_NXT-50_LHE_WithStars.jpg



8) The Soul Nebula - This classic emission nebula is located in the constellation of Cassiopeia near the Heart Nebula and is estimated to be ~6,500 light years distant.

LRCC_sRGB_V2_Rot_FW_UTIFF_IC1848_CC_Mix3_LHE_DSE_PSCC2-HP_WithStars.jpg



9) Comet Byway - Bright moonlight illuminates a mountain road as Comet Tsuchinshan-Atlas 'sets' behind the trees ahead, near Nederland, CO, USA.

LRCC_sRGB_FW_TAP29693-Enhanced-NR.jpg



10) Geomagnetic Storm! - A G4 level geomagnetic storm lights up the skies across the country with aurora, including Colorado!

LRCC_sRGB_FW_TAP29639-Enhanced-NR.jpg
 

AlanLichty

Moderator
I can see why you had trouble choosing just 10 - you got some amazing images from a wide swath of places this last year. My favorites of the astro images are #7, #8, and #9. #1 and #4 are my favorites on the landscape side of the set. All of them are quite outstanding.
 

JimFox

Moderator
Staff member
A very nice year Mike!

I think #4 is my favorite landscape image. #5 and 8 are my favorite Deep Space images. #9 and 10 are special captures of some special moments.
 

Kyle Jones

Moderator
Nice work with these Mike! I really like #1 as a landscape. The soft light works well. I love #5 as a dramatic astro shot and the colors in #7 are beautiful.
 
Top Bottom