My 2010 Favorites: Wildlife

Originally, I was going to have a top ten personal favorites, when I realized about 90% of them were animals, so I switched to wildlife.  Really, my top ten wildlife photos are my top ten wildlife photos of Alaska, with a few randoms thrown in, and it’s because of those randoms that this post is happening.

1. Caribou. Walking.  This ranks pretty high in my favorites.  I like the backlighting, and I like how the caribou are walking towards me.

2. Moose in the Morning.  Ah, this photo is from our last minute decision to drive through Denali National Park for my last morning in Alaska.  This girl was walking along side the car for a while, just 20 yards off.  Again, like the back lighting from the morning sun.

3. Moose and the Mountain.  I like this photo because of the mountain backdrop, even if it takes a lot of attention away from the moose.

4. Sea Otter Therapy.  Okay, I love this photo.  It looks like a therapy session going on in the water.

5.  Bear and Cantaloupe.  This fella made it to the favorites because as adorable as she was, and as much as I wanted to give her a bear hug (yes I’m a dork), she was actually quite large, with very large claws, and those cantaloupes are very shredded.

6. Lynx in the Bushes.  This fella made it to the top ten just because of its backstory.  We were driving through Denali National Park when we noticed a bird standing on the side of the road.  When the bird was spooked by our car and flew off, Alenka, in the backseat, happened to catch some movement in the bushes.  It’s a total fluke we found him.

7. Marine Loving Bird.  I’m a fan of birds, perhaps it’s jealousy of the fact they can fly, or maybe I’ve been living in Portland too long (put a bird on it!).  I enjoy taking photos of them, if only it weren’t so difficult.  This bird is in the top ten because 1) he’s crisp, 2) the backdrop works for him, and 3) he’s a bird.

8. Duckling with an Attitude.  You looking at me?  Definitely a top ten personal favorite.

9. Eagle Perched.  I like the negative space in this photo, and I also like the fact that it’s a real bald eagle that I managed to see in Anchorage, not Homer, Alaska.

10. Bald Eagle.  There’s another shot of this eagle I got where the trees create a nice framing and composition, but I prefer how spread out his wings are.  The story behind this shot amuses me too.  We were watching the eagle (see above photo), waiting for it to make a move, when we heard the sounds of a train approaching.  The tree that the eagle was perched on was right by the tracks, and our first reaction was disappointment that the eagle would be scared off.  This was quickly replaced by our easily distracted minds when we began focusing on the approaching train.  The train blew it’s horn, the eagle took off, and I barely managed to regain focus (both in mind and in camera) to capture this shot.

Bonus favorites:

They aren’t so much wildlife animals, but I like these photos, so I wanted to include them.

Howling Sled Dogs.  The story behind this is one of the reasons I like this photo, the other being that I love dogs.  We were paying a visit to the sled dogs in Denali National Park, when I walked into the center space of the kennel.  It was at this point one rowdy pooch decided to start on a huge howlfest at me, and managed to convince many others to participate.  Instantly, I was surrounded by howls.

Oso Basking in the Sun.  I love this photo of Little Dog.  She parked herself in the middle of the sidewalk, and sunbathed.

Smiley Giraffe.  Heh.  So… not quite wildlife at all, but I love the giraffe, thus I love the photo.