Dawn’s Early Light, originally uploaded by tomkellyphoto.

This past year has been important for me as a photographer, rediscovering my original career in a new and different way. While I’ve been doing landscape, scenic and people photography for some years, I was especially proud of some of the images I was able to create in 2010. Part of it was getting out and being there. But a bigger part was finally feeling like an artist (thanks, Carole)! I hope you enjoy this collection of some of my favorite images of 2010.

You can view the entire collection on my Flickr page by simply clicking here.

DAWN’S EARLY LIGHT

Dawn’s Early Light is simply one of my favorite photographs of all time and my number one for 2010! Empire Pass above Deer Valley and Guardsman Pass behind Park City’s Jupiter Peak are two of my “go to” spots for sunrise. It’s easily accessible by car and provides a variety of vistas. But in all my mornings up there, I had never shot towards the east. That Saturday morning in October, I was more focused on the new snowfall on Guardsman and Clayton Peak, shooting from halfway up the road to Guardsman. All of a sudden, out of the corner of my eye, I caught the rays piercing the clouds to the east. I had maybe two minutes of shooting – more than enough to get a great collection of unforgettable images.
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PARK CITY POSTCARD

OK, technically, this wasn’t a 2010 photograph. It was an image I captured on a December morning three years ago. But it turned out to be a breakthrough image for me as I resurrected it and, all of a sudden, it was on the cover of Park City Magazine! I have long been troubled by this image – a wonderful morning of mystical light illuminating new fallen snow on Park City’s Old Town. It was captured on an old Canon – just a few quick images as I was running to my KPCW Monday morning interview. The quality was marginal. But with a little help from Photoshop, it captured our hometown in a way that only Norman Rockwell could have dreamed.
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WINTER COUNTRYSIDE BARN

It was just a few days before Christmas and the mid-afternoon light was fantastic. Hannah and I ran a shopping errand to Kamas and continued our drive through the valley to the north. I love this drive down the rifle barrel valley with farms and small villages. I’ve always loved this modern barn near Peoa, but had never found it in just the right light. This December day was different. New fallen snow blanked the fields with golden light painting the canvas. It was another great HDR (high dynamic range) opportunity, with this five-stop/five-shot image painting a picture of a lovely barn set in the snow covered Wasatch Mountains.
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BLUE MOSQUE MINARET AT SUNSET

My job has given me a great opportunity to travel. And I’ve always made a point of taking advantage of personal time to explore the world. Turkey was an amazing new experience for Carole and I. It was our first time in a predominant Muslim culture. We spent two days trekking through every corner of the old city in Istanbul, visiting mosques, markets and Roman cisterns. Later, we spent a week on the Turkish Mediterranean coast visiting ancient Roman ruins and an island lunch in Greece. But of all the many images I was able to make, this one of a minaret at sunset best describes our new experience. It was taken from the courtyard of Istanbul’s ancient Blue Mosque – an amazing site in and of itself. The sun is silhouetted against the minaret, while reflecting off the domes of the mosque.
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Click to view Turkey photo set

CLOUDS OVER THE BEARTOOTH

Somehow over the years the northeast corner of Yellowstone National Park has evaded us. On our way home from Wisconsin (via North Dakota), we spent a night in Red Lodge, MT. That August night, it snowed. And we got to break track over Beartooth Pass the next morning. This was truly one of the greatest drives of all time, winding our way up the switchbacks with photographic vistas at every turn. Of all the photographs that day, this HDR (high dynamic range) showing the vast expanse of the Beartooth, which straddles the Montana/Wyoming border, was my favorite.
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Click to view Beartooth photo set

PILLOWS OF SNOW AT DEER VALLEY RESORT

I love skiing at Deer Valley Resort. But I don’t carry a camera often enough. This was one of my first days on the mountain this year, heading up to meet family for an hour or two. I had no sooner stepped off the Deer Crest gondola than a winter wonderland presented itself me – pillows of snow on every tree! This didn’t seem like a spectacular shot at the time – just a wide angle shot of evergreen trees decked in snow with Bald Mountain in the background. And you can never really tell in the field. But when this image appeared on the Mac screen, I fell in love with it. The image captures the beauty of winter and the majesty of a great ski resort.
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Click to view Deer Valley Resort photo set

NAMEKAGON QUEENS

Grandaughters Hannah and Madeline want to be models. And well they should! I’ve always enjoyed photographing them since they were young. Today, they know REALLY well how to turn on the expressions. They will be models someday! During our vacation in Hayward, WI this August, the girls spent an afternoon modeling for me literally in the Namekagon River. It was a fun photo shoot, both for the girls and I. And they made some wonderful images.
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Click to see full Namekagon Queens photo set

THE OLYMPIC FLAME

The Olympics were a busy time with little opportunities for photography. Being based in Whistler since the day before the Opening Ceremony, I had never had a chance to see the Olympic flame. On the final day of the Games, I had a chance to get back down to Vancouver. It was a sprint to run from the media center over to the flame before catching my bus to Closing Ceremony. It would be extinguished by time I was back. I was somewhat horrified by the ridiculous chainlink fence surrounding the flame. What, was somebody going to steal it? So it wasn’t easy to make a great photograph. While there’s nothing that much special about this as a standalone photograph, the meaning of it to me – at my seventh Winter Games – was very important. And those three minutes I had at the flame were among my most memorable of the Games!
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Click to view Vancouver Olympics photo set

SNOW COVERED ASPENS

In our early days in Park City, we would sometimes hike and bike in pristine White Pine Canyon. Now, it’s the home of The Colony and Canyons Resort. This spring I had a great opportunity to spend a few days photographing for our friend Liza at The Colony, providing me a chance to wander through the area and capture nature after a huge spring snowfall. Aspens are prolific in our community and are a great subject for photographers. In this photograph, the spindly fingerlike branches of the aspens are reaching ever skyward overshadowing the evergreens with their snow covered branches, all against the deep blue Utah sky.
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Click to view The Colony photo set

POND AND SKY

Spring is a wonderful time in Park City. Just a short distance from our home, tiny Silver Creek becomes a raging river, creating small ponds that attract waterfowl and wreak havoc with our early season mountain bike trails. This particular pond was bigger than ever this year. And each evening it presented an opportunity for me to experiment with new filters with the evening sunset – especially when the sky came alive with clouds as it did this particular night.
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FAREWELL FATHER BOB!

This was a happy day for Father Bob, but a sad day for all of us at St. Mary’s. Our beloved pastor and friend left after 15 years on an exciting pilgrimage. In typical Father Bob fashion, it was well orchestrated. We had a great seat for his final mass that day. And it didn’t escape our eyes that he was wearing hiking boots, instead of his normal cowboy boots, under his garments. And there was a brand new backpack resting in front of the altar. I decided to seize the opportunity during mass to run out to the car to get the camera. And I’m glad I did! As mass came to a close, Father left his garments on the altar, donned his backpack, and walked out of the church. There was hardly a dry eye. But seeing his expression of happiness in the series of photographs let us know that all was well.
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Click to view Father Bob photo set

WHITETAIL FAMILY

I love to head out at (or before) sunrise to see what the day presents. It’s such a peaceful time illuminated by the most colorful light of the day. Even those days when you never take the camera out of the bag are worthwhile. And you simply never know what awaits you around the next corner. On this particular day, I spotted a family of three bears … twice … and didn’t get a shot. But I did get about 15 minutes photographing this family of whitetail deer on the shores of Smith Lake near Hayward.
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HANNAH IN LAVENDER
The lavender fields in Mona, Utah were a fabulous photo location a year ago. This year we visited on the heels of a long dry spell and the fields were very muted in color. It was disappointing, having driven down there with Hannah for a sunset shoot. So while I was trying to create scenics with the muted colors, I noticed how much fun Hannah was having wandering through the lavender. So we spent the time modeling and having fun. Hannah’s free spirit came through in every shot!
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Click to view full lavender photo set