Scott Turnmeyer’s Countdown of My 25 Favorite Photographs of 2019

Here we are, approaching the end of 2019, and it’s been a fantastic year. Tons of photos taken, opening of our own gallery, many successful workshops and classes. It’s safe to say we are gearing up for a huge 2020, hopefully it will be one to remember.

In looking back over 2019, I wanted to take some time and count down my favorite 25 landscape photos that I took this year. This was not an easy task :) Many could have easily made this list. Some you probably have seen, and for some this is the first time being shown to the public, but will be released soon. All are special in some way, and have a story, and all are available in the gallery, or will be soon.

With that, let’s get this countdown started.

Number 25: Bellagio At Night

#25: Bellagio at Night by Scott Turnmeyer

In May of 2019, I was in Las Vegas for a trip to some street photography on the strip. One night I went for a long walk and did shots as I went. There are some fantastic shots along the lights and beautiful buildings on the strip, like this black and white shot I got of the fountains at the Bellagio.

Number 24: Fall Leaves on the Water

#24: Fall Leaves on the Water by Scott Turnmeyer

This shot was taken in the Shenandoah National Park during my Fall Weekend Workshops in October (next year’s is already registering). We were hiking along the Rose River Trail and this spot was magical. The water level is usually much higher on the Rose River, and the water pouring over these falls, but this time of year the level has dropped and you have whispy small falls into a crystal clear pool. With the lower flow of water in, I could get a clear shot of the leaves in the pool and the rocks underneath.

Number 23: Beacon of Light

There is a lighthouse in Aruba named the California Lighthouse. It is a beautiful beacon during the day, and lite up with spot lights for an even more beautiful scene at night. This trip to the island we found that one of the spotlights on the Northern side of the lighthouse was out, which screamed photo op to me. With the light out I was able to do a much longer exposure without over exposing the lighthouse which now allowed me to get STARS. Always watch for those unique moments.

Number 22: Selfie of the Heavens

#22: Selfie of the Heavens by Scott Turnmeyer

This shot may have been one of the most fun shots to take this year. This is a selfie of me along the Skyline Drive in the Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. It was taken during one of my 2019 Night Sky Photography workshops in the park.

Number 21: Reflections in Fall

#21: Reflections in Fall by Scott Turneyer

Here is another shot taken during my Fall Weekend Workshop in the Shenandoah National Park. An extremely fun and nice couple who came all of the way from Columbus, Ohio was down for the full weekend of photography. They brought along these cool mirrors to try to do some unique shots. In this spot I decided to take a try at a shot with one. Here you will see the mirror is laying up on a rock wall and I used depth of field to blue all of it while focusing on the waterfall reflection in the mirror. Definitely my most unique of the year. Great fun.

Number 20: Belle Grove Sunrise

#20: Belle Grove Sunrise by Scott Turnmeyer

One of my partners is Belle Grove Plantation, located in Middletown, Virginia. This is a historical site dating back to the Civil War. They finished a large refurbishing/renovation of their barn this year and I came out one morning for some sunrise photos of it.

Number 19: Mystic Clouds

This year was about a lot of waterfalls and night sky. I had more workshops in these two areas and we had some great times. Here is a shot taken during my latest one in December. Most people would say you need a clear night for night sky photos, but you never know. Our eyes could not see all of the stars in this whispy clouds but my camera had no problem seeing them.

Number 18: Rose River Falls

#18: Rose River Falls by Scott Turnmeyer

This shot has been one of my most popular of the year, selling a few times in the gallery already. It was taken along the Rose River Falls trail in the Shenandoah National Park.

Number 17: Rattlesnake at Night

#17: Rattlesnake at Night by Scott Turnmeyer

When I take a group of people up into the Shenandoah National Park for Night Sky Photography Workshops we of course are going for the stars and the Milky Way. But I always break out a flashlight and do some light painting as well, which is always a great time. In this shot I used long exposure to get the stars while shining a flashlight at the tree to get the details of it as well.

Number 16: Tree in the Woods

#16: Tree in the Woods by Scott Turnmeyer

One morning in July I was up near Big Meadow preparing for a Waterfall Workshop. It was a great foggy morning, which meant some cool dreamy foggy photos and great conditions for waterfalls. I grabbed this shop near the parking lot area.

Number 15: Sunset on Old Rag

#15: Sunset on Old Rag by Scott Turneyer

This shot is Old Rag, one of the most popular peaks in our area. I don’t get many shots of it as the primary subject so I stopped here late fall after a waterfall workshop to grab this shot just after sunset.

Number 14: Into the Heavens

#12: Into the Heavens by Scott Turnmeyer

Earlier I showed a shot of a night sky shot at Rattlesnake, where I also did light painting. Here is close to the same shot without. Look at the Milky Way.

Number 13: Fall from Stoney

This is proof that you just never know what you will find. During my Fall Weekend Workshop in October, we had a .5 mile hike that Friday for sunset photos. The weather was great, except for some clouds, but I went up anyway. So glad that we did. While the clouds didn’t break to get the sunset, we had fantastic views from this rock cliff of the beautiful colors below.

Number 12: Fall Leaves

Most people head to the big falls on the trails for photos. I, on the other hand, prefer the smaller cascades. They take more climbing and work to get to, but the rewards to me are always worth it. Like this shot take close to Dark Hollow Falls in Fall.

Number 11: Foggy Morning

Perspective means a lot. This shot was taken one foggy morning in the Shenandoah National Park, but what makes it more unique is the perspective. My camera tripod is very low to the ground, giving these tress a more massive appeal.

Number 10: End of the Day

This is probably the newest photo on the list, taken Christmas Day, 2019 in the Shenandoah National Park. My wife and I decided to head up in the afternoon to see what the sunset brought us. And here is what it brought.

Number 9: Gazebo with LOVE

Ah, probably my most popular photo of 2019, it definitely rates in my top 10 favorites. This is a new perspective of the Gazebo along Main Street in Front Royal, Virginia, just after they turned on the holiday lights for the season. For only a few days the LOVE sign was there, so I could not miss the opportunity.

Number 8: Purple Sunrise

The colors in the shot, especially seeing a print of this in our gallery, definitely make this a top 10 shot to me. I took this at Hogback Overlook along the Skyline Drive in the Shenandoah National Park in July during one of my sunrise photography workshops.

Number 7: Butterfly

I don’t do a lot of macro shots, but this one I would consider my favorite and it was exactly what I wanted to get. Taken in a butterfly farm in Aruba.

Number 6: Winter Night

Here is another example of dealing with what you got. During my Night Sky Photography Workshop in the Shenandoah National Park in December, we had some clouds. Looking north the lights from nearby Front Royal, Virginia caused issues doing star photography. Instead, I decided to utilize this cool looking tree as a silhouette to the clouds and went with black and white for more detail between the contrast. The hint of the stars at the top of the photo just added to it.

Number 5: Fall in Dark Hollow

#5: Fall in Dark Hollow by Scott Turnmeyer

This year’s colors in the Shenandoah National Park, especially above 2500 ft elevation was absolutely stunning. One of the best years that I have seen yet and we had peak color for my Fall Foliage Weekend of workshops. This shot was taken along Dark Hollow Creek.

Number 4: Lunar Eclipse

This shot is a top 5 choice because of one thing, the stars. Taken in January of 2019, this shot of the lunar eclipse allowed me just enough exposure time to grab some stars in the background without over exposing the moon like you would on a full moon lit night.

Number 3: Fall Sunrise

The same Fall Foliage Weekend as shown in previous photos didn’t disappoint when I took our group to Hazel Mountain Overlook for sunrise on Saturday morning. We had a small break in the clouds just as the sun rose and look what it gave us. Almost made #1 for me.

Number 2: Dark Hollow

This has been one of my favorite photos of the year since taken in July. I have taken a lot of Waterfall Workshop Groups to the base of Dark Hollow Falls, but this morning was special. It was a foggy morning, which I had not seen before, which helped me get this stunning shot.

Number 1: Waking up the Mountain

#1: Waking up the Mountain by Scott Turnmeyer

And rounding out the list at #1 this year is this shot. It’s a sister to the Hazel Mountain Overlook shot taken at #3 on the list, but this shot was about 3 minutes before that one. That small break in the clouds gave my group of workshop goers and unbelievable sight as the sky lit up over the fall foliage of Hazel Mountain. Absolutely stunning, and it just as amazing to be there and see it first hand. You know you have a good one when everyone in your group gasps when the colors hit.

And that rounds out my top 25 shots that I took in 2019. I’d like to thank all of my workshop participants who joined me on the mountains this year. We had a fantastic year of sunrises, sunsets, night sky, waterfalls and fall foliage. I’m already registering for workshops and classes for 2020, so don’t miss out on even more opportunities and special times like the ones above.

Countdown of My 25 Favorite Photographs of 2019