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The Welliver Photography Best of 2012

Well, here it is...our best from 2012. Last year wasn't a particularly prolific year of shooting for us, but we did squeeze in a few trips for some focused shooting in new spots. It's always a challenge to narrow down our favorites from the past year to a manageable collection, and in the interest of length, we decided to limit ourselves to 12 images each. Feel free to leave a comment and tell us which images are your favorites! 

Marin County: Golden Gate Bridge at Sunrise by Beth.

Panoche, CA: Brilliant Sunset by Terry. 

Garrapata State Beach: Bowling Balls by Beth.

Kaiser Wilderness: Snowy Trees by Terry. 

Switzerland: Lone Tree on a Snowy Hill by Beth.

Desolation Wilderness: Trail along Lake Aloha by Beth.

Kaiser Wilderness: Snowy Scene by Terry. 

Front Yard, Spreckels: Poppies by Beth.

Switzerland: Kapellbrücke Nacht  (Chapel Bridge Night) in Lucerne by Terry.

Switzerland: Shreckhorn by Beth.

Switzerland: Hut and Eiger by Terry.

Switzerland: Three Alps by Beth.

Switzerland: The view from Männlichen by Beth. Not the best technical execution in this photo, but the story behind this photo is epic. Stay tuned for that blog! 

Big Sur: Bixby Bridge by Terry.

Twenty Lakes Basin, Hoover Wilderness: Trail beside Conness Lake by Beth.

Twenty Lakes Basin, Hoover Wilderness: Cascade by Terry.

Twenty Lakes Basin, Hoover Wilderness: Campsite by Beth.

Columbia River Gorge, Oregon: Multnomah Falls by Terry.

 

Manzanar National Historic Site: Prayer Flags by Terry. 

Columbia River Gorge, Oregon: Waterfall by Terry.

Monterey, CA: Mustang by Terry.

Alabama Hills: Lathe Arch by Terry.

Alabama Hills: Mobius Arch, Rock, and Sierra Crest by Beth.

Alabama Hills: Mobius Arch by Terry.

Iowa: Cold Morning by Beth.

Of course Massey is wondering why she isn't included, so here's a bonus image of the dog posing like a rockstar.

Alabama Hills: Massey in the Mobius Arch by Beth.

We compiled our Best of 2012 in order to participate in Jim Goldstein's annual "Best of" collaborative project. In the next couple week's he'll post a whole long list of links to similar "best of" posts from other photographers. Be sure to check out that list as there is some truly amazing and inspiring work out there! 

Thanks for supporting Welliver Photography in 2012. Big opportunities coming in 2013...plenty of adventures to new places on tap. Here's to textured skies and nice light!

All photographs in this post are available for purchase in our Best of 2012 gallery on our store.

Thirsty Thursday: Golden Gate Bridge Sunrise

Rambler: Beth
Drink at Hand: Ghost Pines Zinfandel

Usually Thirsty Thursday is about pouring something yummy and making those weekend plans. This week I'm changing it up a little bit. Instead of weekend plans, this week's post is about very early morning weekday plans that turned out pretty well.

A few weeks back I had to take Terry to SFO on a Friday morning for a ridiculously early flight. The problem with a flight out of San Francisco at 6:15 means that we have to leave home around 3:15 to get to the airport on time. That's 3:15 with an A.M. after it, or 0315 for my military friends. That's not even early...that's middle of the night. I grudgingly rolled out of bed, fumbled around enough to somehow get coffee in my travel mug (thank goodness for automatic timers on coffee makers!), and put myself and my camera gear in the car to take my darling husband to the airport.

As I dropped T off at the airport, the sky was still dark and traffic was still light...plenty of time to get across the Golden Gate Bridge for sunrise. I could see stars which meant the problematic SF Bay fog wasn't going to get in the way of a good sunrise. As I pulled into the first turnout on the Marin County side of the bridge, I was excited to see some clouds over Angel Island! Given my recent string of shooting sunrises with absolutely nothing in the sky, these clouds made me happy. Of course, as I headed over the little hill to get a good view of the bridge, my excitement quickly dropped...not a cloud in the sky around the bridge. Just clear, blue twilight. Since I was there, and for the first time ever there was no wind, I decided to play around with some different foreground compositions while optimistically hoping that the clouds further north would drift overhead. I gave up on the clouds over the bridge and went back to the clouds. So, yeah, I went to go shoot the Golden Gate Bridge at sunrise and it wasn't everything I wanted it to be. But, I still saw an absolutely beautiful sunrise over the Bay. It was just a beautiful morning in general in every direction. After all that beauty and a quick walk with Massey, I still made it to work just a few minutes late.

Get out there and watch a beautiful sunrise this weekend...or maybe even tomorrow morning!