As many of you probably already know, I’ve been a semi-active participant on a website called Viewbug for a few years now.  I’ve uploaded a few hundred photos from my portfolio and added most, if not all, to a contest or two at some point.  Today I’d like to feature some of my best landscape photos according to their “Top Class” or Trifecta award count.

5. Blue and Gold

With a current 9 Trifecta awards and counting, Blue and Gold easily makes the top 5 list.  This beautiful panorama landscape of Henry’s Lake Idaho at sunrise is one of those photos which I am immensely proud of.  Catching the transition between blue hour and golden hour isn’t easy to do and is even more difficult to do in a 4:3 aspect ratio (normal camera frame dimensions).

With this photo, I stretched things out.  I managed to capture the beginnings of golden dawn peeking over the mountains to the northeast while the southeast is still in the grasp of twilight.  The mirrored reflection of the lake at dawn really emphasizes that transition.  It’s no wonder that this photo has received several Trifecta awards already.

4. Ancient Red Skyscrapers

This photo was the beginning of a series of landscape photographs which I’ve been taking at Bryce Canyon National Park.  While at the much less visited Mossy Cave trail, I turned to take a last minute shot of the towering hoodoos right next to the road.  Thanks to the cloudy skies, I had good and even light for the scene in front of me.

The red landscape of Southern Utah has been a fascination for many a photographer, myself included.  After all, it’s not just anywhere you can find red dirt.  I managed to find the right positioning of the hoodoos and the rise in the ground to balance out the photo’s foreground and background to my satisfaction.  This is a popular photo for Trifectas with 10 and counting.

3. Upper Mesa Falls

Upper Mesa Falls is a gem on the Snake River which most outside of Southeastern Idaho aren’t really aware of.  It can be a quick side visit near Island Park if you are on your way to Yellowstone National Park via West Yellowstone.  It’s even handicap accessible with boardwalks.  What you don’t want to do is risk falling into the river.  The Snake River is swift, treacherous, and has claimed many lives already.  There’s another less spectacular waterfall only a short ways downriver too.

Due to the obvious shape of the canyon, there’s about one view of this spectacular waterfall.  It’s popular with Idaho photographers for a reason.  I took this photo while I was still a photography student.  How I managed to nail the composition while hand-holding is a mystery to me.  It should be obvious why this photo has won 14 Trifecta awards already.  It’s gorgeous.

2. Candied Canyon

With no surprises here, we have another entry from Bryce Canyon.  This time from the park proper at Sunset Point.  This orange beauty has racked up a Trifecta award count of 18 to date and still continues rolling.  Many a photographer, amateur and professional alike, has parked themselves on the rim of the canyon here to take a shot.  Most don’t do so during winter though.  The canyon transforms into something amazing when dusted with snow.

Up on the rim, the wind blows cold and hard.  You want to be bundled up a lot if you plan on spending time here during winter.  Still, if you have the patience, or luck, you can catch the canyon in a state where most people don’t see it (covered in snow).  If you’re prepared with your camera, you can come back with quite the landscape photograph.  It looks so idyllic.  Is is any wonder it keeps winning awards?

1. Ice Castle

This particular landscape photo should come as no surprise that it’s my current top Trifecta awarded photo with 21 awards and counting, especially with its recent challenge (mini-contest) win.  It’s stunning.  It’s gorgeous.  Also, it’s a very unusual shape for an ice formation, even on a waterfall.

Despite the dark and cold tone of this landscape photograph, it has quickly become my top photo on Viewbug.  People really seem to love this photo.  You’d have to be blind not to see why.  The composition is spot on.  The silky water adds a texture contrast to the static icy formations on the rocks.  It’s beautiful.  You can really feel the cold emanating from this waterfall.  It’s my top photo for a reason.

I’m very happy that this particular landscape photo also made my list of top five awarded landscape photos.

Conclusion

I hope you’ve enjoyed seeing some of my top landscape photos on Viewbug as voted on by other members.  Let me know in the comments section below if you would like me to do a feature like this every so often.  I’d love to hear your thoughts on the matter.