Top Photos from 2022 - Why I Chose Each One and Which is My Favorite

I count down my top 12 photos from 2022, discussing what drew me to each one and which one is my favorite for the year.
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[@macmcmillen6282]

Hey Mike. Thanks for sharing your top photos from 2022 and the stories behind them. When taking what is essentially a landscape photo with wildlife in them, like you did with 399 and her cubs, where do you focus? Do you focus on the wildlife and just stop down on your aperture to increase DOF, or do you follow "landscape focus rules" like focusing 1/3 of the way into the frame, etc regardless of where the wildlife might be in the frame? Similar question for your excellent elk migration photo. Where did you focus? Thanks, and keep up the great videos!

[@FreeRoamingPhoto]

Thanks Mac and sorry for the ludicrously belated reply! With the 399 photo, and similar photos, I pretty much follow standard landscape rules. Since I'm shooting at f/16 for landscapes, but also incorporating wildlife, I tend to focus closer to the wildlife since that's the highlight of the "landscape." With the small aperture, it will also preserve the depth well. In terms of the elk photo, I also treated that like a landscape, but since there was less depth in that shot, I focused more toward the middle of the herd. Combined with a small aperture (f/16 again), that ensured everything on the hill was in focus. Sorry again for the late reply but hope that helps out and that you're doing well! Keep me posted if you're headed this way too!

[@macmcmillen6282]

@@FreeRoamingPhoto Thanks a lot Mike! Will do!