2024 Top Images
I haven’t been great about posting on my blog this year, but that doesn’t mean I wasn’t out taking images! This year was full of so many highlights for me. Here’s a full list of the places I’ve been:
Yellowstone - 2 trips in January and May
Colorado - February, November, and December
Big Sky, Montana - ski trip
300 mile hike on the Hayduke Trail in Utah
Southern Arizona - why not?
Pennsylvania - a few weeks in May and November
Vermont - 5 months working with the Green Mountain Club
Great Smoky Mountains - fall colors trip
Spirit of the River (CO)
If you’re not sure what you’re looking at here, this is an American Dipper! They’re my favorite birds, and I spent a good amount of time this year photographing them. This image was a lucky moment where the bird took off while I was taking long exposures.
2. Sundance Stormlight (UT)
Dark Canyon was one of the highlights of my hike on the Hayduke in Utah. This shot was taken on the climb out of the canyon on the Sundance Trail, a brutal and poorly defined trail that wasn’t helped by the water I had to carry out in preparation for dry miles ahead. The view was stunning though!
3. Muley Sunset (UT)
Capitol Reef National Park was another highlight for me on the Hayduke! This image was taken in Lower Muley Twist Canyon, an area off the Burr Trail that more people should check out. I love the shadow on the dominant canyon wall in the image.
4. Icy Grizzly (WY)
My May Yellowstone trip was all about bears! My friend and I saw over 30 bears in 6 days, which was exactly what we were hoping for. As is becoming tradition for us, one of our best encounters was on the first day before we even made it to our Airbnb. This grizzly was covered in ice and walking the shoreline of Yellowstone Lake, making for an awe-inspiring image of the top predator in the ecosystem.
5. Nest Building White-Throated Sparrow (VT)
One of my favorite parts of working as a caretaker with the Green Mountain Club in Vermont is being out in the backcountry 5 days a week and getting to know your area well! This year I worked on Mount Abraham, and early in the season I noticed a pair of white-throated sparrows that were consistently around the summit. After a few weeks I watched the female bird working on building a nest and was able to get this shot at the perfect moment!
6. Serenity (VT)
When you talk about Vermont, so many people immediately think about fall and the dramatic colors. While that is a stunning time of year, I’ve learned to love the lush greens of summer just as much. This image simply feels like Vermont to me. The conditions were special, and I love the ferns in the foreground along with the balsam fir trees covered in lichen.
7. Peekaboo! (VT)
The biggest development in my photography this year was that I started to setup camera traps! Over the past few years I’ve found how hard it can be to find and get close to mammals in the wild. They’re skittish, and many of these animals are nocturnal. That has led me towards camera trapping, a photography technique using an infrared motion sensor, external flashes, and a solid housing to protect your camera from the elements. This image, Peekaboo, was my favorite camera trap image of 2024. I setup my camera at this tree to try to get images of the beavers that had been chewing on it, but I found that it was popular among lots of other animals in the area as well! The raccoons were frequent visitors, and I love the pose from this curious guy. I have some big ideas for camera trap images in 2025!
8. Fall in the Smokies (TN)
After wrapping up my work in Vermont, I decided to take a trip to the Smoky Mountains in Tennessee to catch the fall colors there! That trip was amazing, with fun wildlife sightings and great leaf peeping. This waterfall image ended up being one of my favorites from the trip, I love the foreground rock covered in colorful leaves.
9. Return to Kuwohi (TN)
I’ve been to the Smokies once before; 6 years ago it’s where I went on my first backpacking trip! It’s incredible looking back at that trip and how much my life has changed in the years since. The loop I hiked started and ended at the summit called Kuwohi (formerly known as Clingman’s Dome), and on my fall colors trip this year I knew I wanted to go back! The observation platform at the summit was smaller than I remembered, but I was able to claim a spot with my tripod to setup for this sunset, a classic shot of the layers of the Smoky Mountains.
10. Ermine Portrait (CO)
This encounter happened at the end of December, so this is my first time sharing this image! I found this weasel in the Poudre Canyon, west of Fort Collins, CO. Not only was it not scared away by my presence, it seemed to be curious about me! It kept darting between rocks and peering out at me, slowly coming closer and closer. I have so many cool shots from this day, but the details in this portrait stand out to me.
If you made it this far, thank you so much for reading! If you want to stay up to date with my photography (including seeing some behind the scenes of my camera trapping), consider signing up for my monthly newsletter below. I hope you have a happy new year filled with adventure!