In most areas of the world this week is all about love so I thought I would stick with that theme and show you some of the places that I absolutely loved photographing and why. So let's do a countdown of my five favorite places:

Coming in at the 5th place slot would be beautiful, sunny and hot Hawaii. I know it pretty much is beautiful everywhere you go here so many might think it should be higher on the list but it comes in further down for me simply because I have a deep love of landscape photography and while it offers many opportunities for great shots it doesn't offer the kind I LOVE to photograph. That doesn't mean it doesn't provide some spectacular views. Check out the ones below!

OHI120Beautiful shoreline along the windward side of Oahu. and my personal favorite that was taken from the balcony of the hotel I was staying in:

OHI121Sunset viewed from the Hilton Hawaiian Village in Waikiki. Coming in in 4th place would be the state of Utah! The only reason I think Utah isn't higher on the list is I haven't been able to explore it more. It truly has a plethora of landscape photography opportunities. When I went I explored southern Utah I was mainly only in Zion National Park and the shot below was one of my favorites. It is such a contrast to my home state of Alaska.

UT102Scappy tree with Zion National Park in the background. Coming in in 3rd place with the Bronze medal is South Dakota and more specifically Badlands National Park. This place is phenomenal!! The contrast between the sharp jagged rocks and the soft prairie is mesmerizing. I am pretty sure I took about 500 photos in the half a day we spent here and could have taken more if the wind wasn't trying to send me to Nebraska!

SD108Badlands National Park

I can resist just one more of the Badlands

SD103Badlands National Park

And in 2nd place with the silver medal dangling around its neck I present the state of Wyoming. Wyoming was a big surprise to me on my visit in 2022. I grew up driving through it as fast as I could because there was always somewhere better I was going. The beauty that I found by slowing down and enjoying myself really left me pleasantly surprised. We briefly visited Devil's Tower, the Big Horn Mountains and Yellowstone National Park. Each one brought its own unique beauty that had me snapping away with my camera.

Pano-BigHorn National Forest, WYLate spring view along the Cloud Peak Skyway Scenic Byway  and in 1st place is still my home state of Alaska! I know I am probably biased as I love mountains and untouched beauty and Alaska has plenty of that to go around but until I find something better it will always hold a special place in my heart.

Pano-Chugach Mountains, AKThe Chugach Mountains surrounded by a sea of autumn colors. Pano-Seward, AKA beautiful Panoramic view of the city of Seward, AK from accross Resurrection Bay. L323The view from the top of Thompson Summit just north of Valdez.

Pano-Seward SunriseA beauiful sunrise over Resurrection Bay from Seward, AK