Outdoor Photography of Japan, The 12 Best of 2010

This is Page 1 of 1 - The 12 Best Photos of 2010
posted: December 24th, 2010

This page includes an even dozen photos which I have selected out of approximately 11,300 photos which I kept during 2010. 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 a single photo which is the VERY BEST of the entire year. By the way, just because there are an even dozen photos, this does NOT imply that there is a single photo from each month. There is 1 from March, 5 from July, 1 from October, 3 from November and 2 from December

This first "Best Photo" of the year was taken on March 14th during an outing at Tsugaike Kogen - the Hakuba Mountains in Nagano Prefecture. You can find more photos similar to this on Page 2 of the March Photos Pages - HERE.

The second "Best Photo" of the year was taken on July 23rd. The area is once again the Hakuba Mountains in Nagano Prefecture. Amazingly, 5 of the Best Photos of 2010 are from this adventure. We summited 5 major peaks and the weather was amazing, so everything was amazingly picturesque. This photo is actually 2 photos stitched together, it is Hakuba Ooike (Hakuba Big Pond). This panorama was also enhanced with Shadow Illuminator Pro. You can find similar photos to this on the July Photos Pages - specifically pages 4 and 5. Page 4 is HERE.

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The third "Best Photo" of the year was also taken on July 23rd. It is an amazingly beautiful Lily - Lilium medeoloides - against a blue sky background. You can find one more like this on Page 4 of the July Photos Pages - HERE - go to Row 11.

The fourth "Best Photo" of the year was also taken on July 23rd. It is an amazing shot of Lagotis glauca. There were many of this flower, but it was mostly past its peak. There were a few still in bloom though. You can find one more like this on Page 4 of the July Photos Pages - HERE - go to Row 17.

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The fifth "Best Photo" of the year was taken on July 24th - still part of the same adventure though. The mountain in front of us is Mr. Yari (Yarigatake) (2,903 m = 9,525 ft), taken as we descend Mt. Shakushi (Shakushidake) (2,812 m = 9,226 ft). There are more photos similar to this on Page 5 of the July Photos Pages - HERE.

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The sixth "Best Photo" of the year was also taken on July 24th. It was taken looking BACK at Mt. Shakushi (Shakushidake) and Mt. Shirouma (Shiroumadake) as we approached the summit of Mt. Yari (Yarigatake). Again, this is from Page 5 of the July Photos Pages - HERE.

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Here is the seventh "Best Photo" of the year. It was taken on October 23rd, from Owakudani - in the Hakone Area. The mountain back there is, of course, Mt. Fuji. The grass we are looking through is called Susuki Grass (Miscanthus sinensis). There are more photos similar to this on Page 3 of the October Photos Pages - HERE.

The eighth "Best Photo" of the year - taken on November 5th - is an intriguing photo of Swertia japonica (Senburi in Japanese) taken looking into the sun. This was found at the summit of Mt. Hinode (902 meters = 2,959 feet), in Tokyo. You can find more photos of Swertia japonica on Page 1 of the November Photos Pages - HERE - starting in Row 6.

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The ninth "Best Photo" of the year was taken on November 14th at Mitake - beside the Upper Tama River. We came out to this place on both November 13th and 14th to take photos of Fall Colors. You can find several more photos like this on Pages 2, 3 and 4 of the November Photos Pages. Page 2 is HERE.

The tenth "Best Photo" of the year was taken on November 26th at a small park in Chofu City. This - and similar photos - can be found on Page 4 of the November Photos Pages - HERE.

The eleventh "Best Photo" of the year was taken on December 4th at Koishikawa Botanical Garden, in Tokyo. It is a 2 photo panorama overlooking the pond and some nice fall colors. There are similar photos on Page 1 of the December Photos Pages - HERE - beginning in Row 3.

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And now we are at the twelfth and final "Best Photo" of the year. It is of M. Fuji and it was taken on December 11th from the summit of Mt. Takao. It has been enhanced in several ways using Photoshop CS5 to bring out detail and contrast. The original, un-enhanced photo can be found on Page 1 of the December Photos Pages - HERE - in Row 12.

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Thanks so much for taking the time to look at this page of the dozen best photos of 2010. 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 2010. Note that these are only my photos, please don't vote on Kazuya's photos from the website.

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