Outdoor Photography of Japan, The 16 Best of 2011

This is Page 1 of 1 - The 16 Best Photos of 2011
posted: December 29th, 2011

This page includes sixteen photos which I have selected out of approximately 9,660 photos which I kept during 2011. I consider these the best of the best. There are no thumbnails - what you see on this page is what you get. I would really like to hear your thoughts on the single photo which is the VERY BEST of the entire year. There is 1 photo from January, 2 from March, a collage from April, 5 from June, 3 from July, 1 from August, 1 from September and 2 from November.

This first "Best Photo" of the year was taken on January 1st during a New Year's trip to Tsuru-no-yu - the "Hot Spring of the Crane" in Akita Prefecture. More photos similar to this are on Page 1 of the January Photo Pages - HERE.

The second "Best Photo" of the year was taken on March 6th. This shows Mt. Fuji with a cloud umbrella over the top of it. In Japanese this is referred to "Fuji no casa" or Fuji's umbrella. This photo is an HDR Photo - it was created from 2 exposure-bracketed photos using Photomatix Pro software. You can find similar photos to this on Page 1 of the March Photo Pages - HERE.

The third "Best Photo" of the year was taken on March 13th. Usually we take photos of plum trees, we seldom pick out individual branches to shoot. This photo shows that maybe we should pick an individual branch more often. You can find more like this on Page 1 of the March Photo Pages - HERE - go to Row 7.

The fourth "Best Photo" of the year is a collage consisting of 8 photos taken on April 15th, at Mt. Kakuda in Niigata Prefecture. This collage shows Hepatica nobilis var. japonica f. magna. You can find more like this on Page 2 of the April Photo Pages - HERE - go to Row 12.

The fifth "Best Photo" of the year was taken on June 18th in Akita Prefecture at Akita's Mt. Komagatake. It is Amida-ike (Amida Pond) in near whiteout conditions. There are more photos similar to this on Pages 1, 2 and 3 of the June Photo Pages starting in Row 8 of Page 1 - HERE.

The sixth "Best Photo" of the year was also taken on June 18th at Akita Prefecture's Mt. Komagatake. It was taken from a ridgeline looking towards Mt. Kodake. This is from Page 2 of the June Photo Pages and more like this can be found - HERE.

Here is the seventh "Best Photo" of the year. It was also taken on June 18th near Akita Prefecture's Mt. Komagatake. This flower is the "One Leaf Orchid" - Dactylostalix ringens - quite a rarity, even more of a rarity to capture 2 of these flowers in a single shot. There are more photos similar to this on Page 3 of the June Photo Pages, in Row 9 - HERE.

The eighth "Best Photo" of the year - taken on June 24th - is a photo of Mt. Mizugaki, in Yamanashi Prefecture. It shows how rocky/craggy this mountain is. More photos of this mountain can be found on Page 4 of the June Photo Pages starting in Row 3 - HERE.

The ninth "Best Photo" of the year was also taken on June 24th at Mt. Mizugaki, but this one is of the beautiful clouds and was shot from the summit of the mountain. More photos of this mountain's summit area can be found on Page 4 of the June Photo Pages starting in Row 11 - HERE.

The tenth "Best Photo" of the year was taken on July 9th. This is fog on the Tadami River at Aizu Yokota in Fukushima Prefecture. This - and similar photos - can be found on Page 3 of the July Photo Pages starting in Row 20 - HERE.

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The eleventh "Best Photo" of the year was taken on July 16th at Oze National Park. This Edelweiss (Leontopodium fauriei var. angustifolium) photo was taken near the summit of Mt. Shibutsu (2,228.1 m = 7,310 ft). There are similar photos on Page 4 of the July Photo Pages, starting in Row 7 - HERE.

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The twelfth "Best Photo" of the year was taken on July 17th as we were hiking from our campground in Oze National Park back to the place where we would catch a bus and head for home. It is a stunning shot of the sun rays coming through the trees in the morning. This photo, as well as other early morning shots can be found on Page 5 of the July Photo Pages, starting in Row 1 - HERE.

The thirteenth "Best Photo" of the year was taken on August 9th from the summit hut of Mt. Choukai (2,236 m = 7,336 ft) in Yamagata Prefecture. It shows the shadow of Mt. Choukai and a nice series of anticrepuscular rays over the Sea of Japan. It was shot at 4:50 AM and enhanced with Photoshop to bring out the rays. There are several photos similar to this on Page 3 of the August Photo Pages, starting in Row 7 - HERE.

The fourteenth "Best Photo" of the year was taken on September 23rd at Kinchakuda, in Saitama Prefecture. This shot is of a dragonfly sitting on a Cluster Amaryllis - Lycoris radiata. You can find several photos of Cluster Amaryllis on Page 2 of the September Photo Pages, starting in Row 2 - HERE.

The fifteenth "Best Photo" of the year was taken on November 18th at the Tama River near Mitake Station. It is the "Famous Ginkgo Tree". We visit here every year and you can find many photos of this area over the years. You can find several similar photos on Page 3 of the November Photo Pages, starting at the top of the page - HERE.

And now we are at the sixteenth and final "Best Photo" of the year. This HDR (High Dynamic Range) photo was created from 3 exposure-bracketed shots and was taken at Nagatoro, in the Seibu Chichibu Area of Saitama Prefecture. This is just above the Arakawa River. More photos from this adventure can be found Page 4 of the November Photo Pages, starting in Row 5 - HERE.

Thanks so much for taking the time to look at this page of the sixteen best photos of 2011. I would love to hear from you - your opinion of the VERY BEST photo of the year - you don't have to limit your selection to these photos, you can choose from any photo posted on the website during 2011.

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