Unposted 2025 favorites

Image Critiques Weekly Challenge
1

Image(s)

The Watchers: Birefringent Ice, 180 mm macro, 30 shot stack, polarizer required

The Watchers.jpg
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Early Spring: A flood plane look into an Eastern USA forest, 180 mm macro

Early Spring, Eastern Forest.jpg
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Rue Anemone: An early spring wildflower, 180 mm macro, 50 shot stack

Rue Anemone.jpg
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Sporophytes: 180 mm macro, 61 shot stack

Sporophytes.jpg
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Catching Ants: 100- 500 @ 500 from my blind

Catching Ants.jpg
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Stream’s Edge: Oxalis with oof highlights from the stream, 180 mm macro: 10 shot stack

On the Stream's Edge.jpg
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Superhero Reflection: 180 mm macro

Superhero in Reflection.jpg
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A shadow of Herself: 180 mm macro: imagine my surprise when she appeared as a shadow.

A Shadow of Herself.jpg
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Fall at the Confluence: 100-500 @ 100, looking across the confluence of Soda Butte Creek and the Lamar River in Yellowstone NP.

Fall at the Confluence.jpg
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Fall and Winter: A fallen leaf in the ice on my pond: 100-500 @ 500: 10 shot stack

Fall and Winter.jpg
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Image Description

As usual, these are some of my favorites for the year that I have yet to post. They are in date order with most of them taken from my backyard water feature (short stream and pond). I did spend quite a bit of time chasing reflection abstracts (exemplified by the Superhero shot).

Feedback Requests

Hope you enjoy seeing them as much as I did taking them.

Pertinent Technical Details

R5, lens and other info listed with photo.

3 Likes
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What a great set of images. I like a lot your creativity in finding and executing the images. Finding birefringent ice running around rotating your CPL and bending yourself into strange positions to maximize the colors is a very fun way of photographing. Looking forward to that this winter season! I think I can also see you in the ice reflections. My favourite image is the last on with the partly ice covered leaves.

3

Excellent, Mark, particularly considering the quality of the images you posted. You must have had a very good year.

4

Incredible variety. All very nice.

5

Mark, a very fine collection here. My thoughts were exactly the same as @Dennis_Plank with regard to the images you had posted during the year. With that said; I’ll say the Shadow of Herself is out of the norm all the way around and makes the 2025 uniqueness list for me… :star_struck:

6

Lots of good stuff, here, Mark.

7

A great set. Your birefringent images appeal to both the photographer and nerd in me.

Will

8

Hi Mark,
This is a wonderful collection of images for 2025. A Shadow of Herself is so unique and unusual and is my favorite with The Watchers: Birefringent Ice in second place. Over the years you have captured some amazing images from your backyard pond. Beautifully done!

9

Holy cow! These images are so good Mark! That spider! Brilliant.

10

An amazing collection. The rue anemone, sporophytes (with perfectly clear peristome teeth!) and The Watchers are my favorites. I have much to learn about image stacking, and it’s nice to see how it can work so well.

11

I wish I had that many unposted images hanging in my back pocket! As usual, you have a wonderful variety. Merry Christmas!