Best of 2025

[AlanLichty]

I didn't do a lot of traveling this year but I still ended up shooting quite a bit both in the air and on the ground. I took a lot of shots I like but decided these would be the ones to show.

1. From the air - a January sunrise panorama with Mt. Hood in the distance. Mavic 3 Pro at 70mm.

2. At a local wetland greenbelt park with an egret less than an inch from its feet hitting the water. I love what the current generation of mirrorless cameras can do. Canon R5 MkII.

3. A particularly spectacular sunrise panorama in early May with the sun angle far enough north to come up behind Mt. Adams. Mavic 3 Pro at 70mm.

4. A scene looking east at the Reflection Lakes in Mt. Rainier National Park in late September. Lots of neat shots from that trip but this was one of my favorites. Canon R5 MkII.

5. Fall colors were quite amazing this year and the trees in the Columbia River Gorge did not disappoint. This is a drone shot from out over the river looking back at Wahkeena Falls with the Benson Recreation Area in the foreground. Mavic 3 Pro at 24mm.

6. In late October I had a trip to the coast on my agenda with a goal of shooting a set of waterfalls near the headwaters of the North Fork of the Smith River - Kentucky Falls. It's a spot fairly deep in the Coast Range I had been wanting to include in previous trips to that part of the Oregon coast but have always gotten sidetracked. This trip I made it my primary goal and am glad I did as that area has some rare and stunning areas of old growth forest.

This is a view from one of the many bridges that cross over the North Fork along the way. Canon R5 MkII.

7. This is a view of Kentucky Creek from the trail leading to the Upper Falls. Canon R5 MkII.

8. A view from some switchbacks dropping down to the base of the falls. Canon R5 MkII.

9. Upper Kentucky Falls from a spot at the base of the falls. Canon R5 MkII.

10. In early December I bought a Mavic 4 Pro as an upgrade to my camera drone kit and so far am delighted with the new cameras. This is a sunset panorama scene from over my house in NW Vancouver. Mavic 4 Pro at 166mm.

11. A shot of Palisades Falls in the Columbia River Gorge just below Crown Point. Mavic 4 Pro at 70mm lens.

 

[Michael13]

A good year for sure, and hard to pick a favorite from these! But I will go with the first image, it just projects optimism and hope! Just what we need in this day and age!

 

[AlanLichty]

A good year for sure, and hard to pick a favorite from these! But I will go with the first image, it just projects optimism and hope! Just what we need in this day and age!

Thanks Michael - January usually offers up some of the more amazing sunrises of the year although it may be a while since the rains return tomorrow.

 

[JimFox]

Wow Alan! Truly Awesome images! You had a banger of a year.

I will come back later as it's late to pick out my favorites.

 

[AlanLichty]

Wow Alan! Truly Awesome images! You had a banger of a year.

I will come back later as it's late to pick out my favorites.

Thanks Jim - it did work out to be a pretty good year as I sit back and look over the images I managed to shoot.

 

[BlackRockArt]

I didn't do a lot of traveling this year but I still ended up shooting quite a bit both in the air and on the ground. I took a lot of shots I like but decided these would be the ones to show.

1. From the air - a January sunrise panorama with Mt. Hood in the distance. Mavic 3 Pro at 70mm.

View attachment 86300

2. At a local wetland greenbelt park with an egret less than an inch from its feet hitting the water. I love what the current generation of mirrorless cameras can do. Canon R5 MkII.

View attachment 86301

3. A particularly spectacular sunrise panorama in early May with the sun angle far enough north to come up behind Mt. Adams. Mavic 3 Pro at 70mm.

View attachment 86302

4. A scene looking east at the Reflection Lakes in Mt. Rainier National Park in late September. Lots of neat shots from that trip but this was one of my favorites. Canon R5 MkII.

View attachment 86303

5. Fall colors were quite amazing this year and the trees in the Columbia River Gorge did not disappoint. This is a drone shot from out over the river looking back at Wahkeena Falls with the Benson Recreation Area in the foreground. Mavic 3 Pro at 24mm.

View attachment 86304

6. In late October I had a trip to the coast on my agenda with a goal of shooting a set of waterfalls near the headwaters of the North Fork of the Smith River - Kentucky Falls. It's a spot fairly deep in the Coast Range I had been wanting to include in previous trips to that part of the Oregon coast but have always gotten sidetracked. This trip I made it my primary goal and am glad I did as that area has some rare and stunning areas of old growth forest.

This is a view from one of the many bridges that cross over the North Fork along the way. Canon R5 MkII.

View attachment 86305

7. This is a view of Kentucky Creek from the trail leading to the Upper Falls. Canon R5 MkII.

View attachment 86306

8. A view from some switchbacks dropping down to the base of the falls. Canon R5 MkII.

View attachment 86307

9. Upper Kentucky Falls from a spot at the base of the falls. Canon R5 MkII.

View attachment 86308

10. In early December I bought a Mavic 4 Pro as an upgrade to my camera drone kit and so far am delighted with the new cameras. This is a sunset panorama scene from over my house in NW Vancouver. Mavic 4 Pro at 166mm.

View attachment 86309

11. A shot of Palisades Falls in the Columbia River Gorge just below Crown Point. Mavic 4 Pro at 70mm lens.

View attachment 86310

Alan, the #1, #8, #9, #10 are beautiful, I love these aerial shots ! You had a fruitful year !

Oliver

 

[AlanLichty]

Alan, the #1, #8, #9, #10 are beautiful, I love these aerial shots ! You had a fruitful year !

Oliver

Thanks Oliver - Making up a list like this makes you appreciate what all you actually did during the year. I don't always think of that while it's happening.

 

[Comet Hunter]

Great captures Alan, I enjoyed them all

 

[AlanLichty]

Great captures Alan, I enjoyed them all

Many thanks Ed!

 

[Mike Lewis]

Alan,

a tour-de-force in both drone and terrestrial photography. My favorite drone shot is #10 and my favorite mirrorless shot is #4, with #3 and #9 also making the list.

#3 - A great sunset capture!

#4 - love the depth in this one, and that little splash of red in the foreground is very special.

#9 - a perfect waterfall study, with a shutter speed that shows motion while retaining some nice water detail too.

#10 - Just a killer shot - an advertisement for having a drone. I sold my Autel a while ago, and then decided I wanted to jump back in with a smaller drone when the Mini 5 Pro came out, but by then things were so uncertain I did not pull the trigger. I am still on the fence about it, and soon, they will be impossible to buy here. But in any case, your new Mavic 4 Pro is killing it here.

ML

 

[AlanLichty]

Alan,

a tour-de-force in both drone and terrestrial photography. My favorite drone shot is #10 and my favorite mirrorless shot is #4, with #3 and #9 also making the list.

#3 - A great sunset capture!

#4 - love the depth in this one, and that little splash of red in the foreground is very special.

#9 - a perfect waterfall study, with a shutter speed that shows motion while retaining some nice water detail too.

#10 - Just a killer shot - an advertisement for having a drone. I sold my Autel a while ago, and then decided I wanted to jump back in with a smaller drone when the Mini 5 Pro came out, but by then things were so uncertain I did not pull the trigger. I am still on the fence about it, and soon, they will be impossible to buy here. But in any case, your new Mavic 4 Pro is killing it here.

ML

Many thanks Mike - drone photography has been a major player in my photography for the past couple of years but the Mavic 4 Pro just boosted that to a new level with its upgraded camera systems. Its still a bit short of what my mirrorless camera can do but the two camera systems combined are making my photo hobby a lot more fun

 

[Jameel Hyder]

Wonderful set of images - not surprisingly the drone shots outnumbered the ones from the ground. My favorites are #1, #5, #8 and #11.

 

[AlanLichty]

Wonderful set of images - not surprisingly the drone shots outnumbered the ones from the ground. My favorites are #1, #5, #8 and #11.

Thanks Jameel - that shot of Wahkeena in #5 might be my all time favorite view of those falls.

 

[Jeffrey]

Alan, you had a great year! Always nice to see your aerial views.

 

[Kyle Jones]

Nice work Alan - I'm sure different photos will strike me at different times. For the moment, I'm going with 3, 5 and 8 as favorites.

That light in 3 is amazing. You could have almost any scene below it and I'd like it. I like the fall color with the falls in the background in 5. For me 8 just edges out 9 with the way the water is rendered and the clean forest scene around the falls.

I hope you have a great 2026

 

[AlanLichty]

Nice work Alan - I'm sure different photos will strike me at different times. For the moment, I'm going with 3, 5 and 8 as favorites.

That light in 3 is amazing. You could have almost any scene below it and I'd like it. I like the fall color with the falls in the background in 5. For me 8 just edges out 9 with the way the water is rendered and the clean forest scene around the falls.

I hope you have a great 2026

Thanks Kyle - #3 was one of those sunrise light shows that might be hard to beat - just the right sun angle and cloud positions for a color show that seemed to go on forever. The Gorge put on a show that rivaled 2023 for exceptional fall color and fall colors aren't normally a PNW strong point. #9 may have a more clear view of Kentucky Falls but the opening in the tree cover part way down the switchbacks in #8 is a fun view. Happily I had the whole place and trail to myself and could just take over the trail with my tripod to get the shot. I am already thinking about a return visit to explore more of the Smith River headwaters.

 

[Roger Bailey]

Alan, really enjoyed the Photo's you took this year! I particularly enjoyed the shots of Kentucky falls, and the drone photo of Wahkeena Falls!

 

[AlanLichty]

Alan, really enjoyed the Photo's you took this year! I particularly enjoyed the shots of Kentucky falls, and the drone photo of Wahkeena Falls!

Many thanks Roger - the Gorge offered up some exceptional colors this year and exceeded my expectations along the waterfall corridor. I usually get a bit closer to the Wahkeena Falls but in this case the fall leaves made me change the viewpoint. I have been up in the Oregon Coast Range within a few miles of Kentucky Falls as a crow flies on quite a few occasions but had no idea what a gem this visit would turn out to be.

 

[Rick Nantais]

Great panoramic shots, my fav is #10, over Vancouver, the colors are wow !

 

[AlanLichty]

Great panoramic shots, my fav is #10, over Vancouver, the colors are wow !

Thanks Rick!