{"id":6989,"date":"2014-12-20T22:24:27","date_gmt":"2014-12-21T06:24:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.oceanlight.com\/log\/?p=6989"},"modified":"2019-07-08T05:18:57","modified_gmt":"2019-07-07T21:18:57","slug":"natural-history-photography-best-photos-of-2014","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.oceanlight.com\/log\/natural-history-photography-best-photos-of-2014.html","title":{"rendered":"Natural History Photography – Best Photos of 2014"},"content":{"rendered":"

My Best Natural History Photographs of 2014<\/strong><\/p>\n

This is the eighth year in a row I have done an annual retrospective. 2014 held less “serious” photography for me than any of the previous 20 years. Life gets in the way, and running a photography business is 60% administrative, 25% photographic and 15% chaotic. Nevertheless I still consider myself to be a fortunate photographer and would not trade places with anyone else (OK, perhaps Neil Armstrong in 1969). My creative goal for any one year is, as it always has been, to shoot 3-4 world-class images and 10-15 portfolio-quality images. Thanks to some special opportunities I was able to experience this year — including two stabs at aerial photography, one great outing to Utah, and a dream safari in Kenya — I was able to bring home some satisfying images. Here they are! Note: if you like these feel free to check out previous years’ favorites as well: 2013<\/a>, 2012<\/a>, 2011<\/a>, 2010<\/a>, 2009<\/a>, 2008<\/a>, 2007<\/a>. Also, be sure to check out Jim Goldstein’s blog<\/a>, where he collects the “best of the year” collections of many talented photographers. Thanks for looking, and best wishes for 2015<\/strong>!<\/p>\n

\"Light<\/a><\/p>\n

Light Painting and the Milky Way and Stars over Delicate Arch, at night, Arches National Park, Utah
Image ID: 29288<\/a>
Location: Delicate Arch<\/a>, Arches National Park<\/a>, Utah<\/a>, USA<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Full<\/a><\/p>\n

Full Moon rising over San Diego City Skyline, viewed from Harbor Island
Image ID: 29121<\/a>
Location: San Diego<\/a>, California<\/a>, USA<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Lunar<\/a><\/p>\n

Lunar Eclipse and blood red moon sequence over Arch Rock, planet Mars above the moon, composite image, Joshua Tree National Park, April 14\/15 2014.
Image ID: 29201<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Clearing<\/a><\/p>\n

Clearing storm clouds over Broken Hill, overlooking La Jolla and the Pacific Ocean, Torrey Pines State Reserve
Image ID: 29416<\/a>
Location: Torrey Pines State Reserve<\/a>, San Diego<\/a>, California<\/a>, USA<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Lunar<\/a><\/p>\n

Lunar Eclipse Sequence Over Broken Hill, Torrey Pines State Reserve. While the moon lies in the full shadow of the earth (umbra) it receives only faint, red-tinged light refracted through the Earth’s atmosphere. As the moon passes into the penumbra it receives increasing amounts of direct sunlight, eventually leaving the shadow of the Earth altogether. October 8, 2014.
Image ID: 29412<\/a>
Location: Torrey Pines State Reserve<\/a>, San Diego<\/a>, California<\/a>, USA<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Aerial<\/a><\/p>\n

Aerial photo of gray whale calf and mother. This baby gray whale was born during the southern migration, far to the north of the Mexican lagoons of Baja California where most gray whale births take place.
Image ID: 29017<\/a>
Species: Gray whale<\/a>, Eschrichtius robustus<\/i><\/a>
Location: San Clemente<\/a>, California<\/a>, USA<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Torrey<\/a><\/p>\n

Torrey Pines cliffs and storm clouds at sunset
Image ID: 29102<\/a>
Location: Torrey Pines State Reserve<\/a>, San Diego<\/a>, California<\/a>, USA<\/a><\/p>\n

\"African<\/a><\/p>\n

African elephant herd, Amboseli National Park, Kenya
Image ID: 29531<\/a>
Species: African elephant<\/a>, Loxodonta africana<\/i><\/a>
Location: Amboseli National Park<\/a>, Kenya<\/a><\/p>\n

\"California<\/a><\/p>\n

California Brown Pelican head throw, stretching its throat to keep it flexible and healthy
Image ID: 29085<\/a>
Species: Brown Pelican<\/a>, Pelecanus occidentalis<\/i><\/a>, Pelecanus occidentalis californicus<\/i><\/a>
Location: La Jolla<\/a>, California<\/a>, USA<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Balboa<\/a><\/p>\n

Balboa Pier, sunrise
Image ID: 29138<\/a>
Location: Balboa Pier<\/a>, Newport Beach<\/a>, California<\/a>, USA<\/a><\/p>\n

\"San<\/a><\/p>\n

San Clemente Island Pyramid Head, the distinctive pyramid shaped southern end of the island
Image ID: 29358<\/a>
Location: San Clemente Island<\/a>, California<\/a>, USA<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Lionness<\/a><\/p>\n

Lionness and two week old cub, Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya
Image ID: 29793<\/a>
Species: African Lion<\/a>, Panthera leo<\/i><\/a>
Location: Maasai Mara National Reserve<\/a>, Kenya<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Lion<\/a><\/p>\n

Lion female, Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya
Image ID: 29917<\/a>
Species: African Lion<\/a>, Panthera leo<\/i><\/a>
Location: Maasai Mara National Reserve<\/a>, Kenya<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Milky<\/a><\/p>\n

Milky Way at Night over Arch Rock, Joshua Tree National Park
Image ID: 29196<\/a>
Location: Joshua Tree National Park<\/a>, California<\/a>, USA<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Scripps<\/a><\/p>\n

Scripps Pier and moving water, pre-dawn light, La Jolla
Image ID: 28984<\/a>
Location: La Jolla<\/a>, California<\/a>, USA<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Leopard,<\/a><\/p>\n

Leopard, Olare Orok Conservancy, Kenya
Image ID: 30081<\/a>
Species: Leopard<\/a>, Panthera pardus<\/i><\/a>
Location: Olare Orok Conservancy<\/a>, Kenya<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Stars<\/a><\/p>\n

Stars over Corona Arch at Night, Moab, Utah
Image ID: 29242<\/a>
Location: Corona Arch<\/a>, Moab<\/a>, Utah<\/a>, USA<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Palomar<\/a><\/p>\n

Palomar Observatory at Night under the Milky Way, Panoramic photograph
Image ID: 29342<\/a>
Location: Palomar Observatory<\/a>, Palomar Mountain<\/a>, California<\/a>, USA<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Mixed<\/a><\/p>\n

Mixed Herd of Wildebeest and Zebra, aerial photo, Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya
Image ID: 29824<\/a>
Species: Zebra<\/a>, Equus quagga<\/i><\/a>
Location: Maasai Mara National Reserve<\/a>, Kenya<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

My Best Natural History Photographs of 2014 This is the eighth year in a row I have done an annual retrospective. 2014 held less “serious” photography for me than any of the previous 20 years. Life gets in the way, and running a photography business is 60% administrative, 25% photographic…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8601,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[147],"tags":[211],"class_list":{"0":"post-6989","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-the-years-best-photography","8":"tag-best-photos-of-the-year"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oceanlight.com\/log\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6989","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oceanlight.com\/log\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oceanlight.com\/log\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oceanlight.com\/log\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oceanlight.com\/log\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6989"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.oceanlight.com\/log\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6989\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oceanlight.com\/log\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8601"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oceanlight.com\/log\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6989"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oceanlight.com\/log\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6989"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oceanlight.com\/log\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6989"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}