A great outdoor photo can elevate: take us from a mundane, Monday-morning transit commute to the top of the Swiss Alps; from a quiet night on the couch to the middle of an African savannah or old growth forest.
Below are just a few of the great outdoorsy photos that transported and inspired the team here at Wyld in 2018.
CRITT NICOLE
(@crittnichole)
There's so much wonder in this photo. The vastness of the stars, the crispness of those Colorado peaks. What's beyond those pines, before the foothills. Give us a headlamp and some good boots, because we're fixin' to find out.
JORDAN RAYNOR
(@jordanraynor)
You can nearly feel the dimming of the sun here, bringing in that cool autumn PNW breeze that skirts in just below the fog.
EM GORZELNIK
(@emgphotodesign)
Point Pelee National Park is quite a place. It holds within in the very tip of Canada, a tip that sways and shifts with the sands and currents. It's a place unique for marshlands and a rest stop for monarch migration (seriously, go in October!). Gorzelnick captures the uniqueness, of the Point itself with this photo, as her subject looks off the end of country into the distance.
AMI VITALE
(@amivitale)
The playfulness in this photo is great. Here, a mature panda seems to play hide-and-seek in the forest. It's an emotive moment captured by the expert Vitale, a National Geographic photographer at the top of her class. If you like this one, Vitale published a book this year on her panda photography.
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KYLE HELMOND
(@kylehelmond)
There's no doubt that Yosemite provides incredible views. With this photo, though, Helmond seems to have peeled back an undiscovered version of the park, a place between seasons, between temperatures, between elements. This Yosemite feels delicate and secret, an outdoors that is more a moment than a place.
TIM LAMAN
(@timlaman)
Here there is ferocity, and wisdom, and confidence. Yet, looking to the heavens, we remember that even the king has his advisors. An emotive, evocative wildlife photo from one of the great wildlife photographers.
MARCO BAUER
(@marcobauer)
We don't need to see the climb to know it was difficult. Yes, it was hard, but as we see here, above the canopy, above everything around except the camera - it was worth each grip.
NAILUS VISUALS
(@nailusvisuals)
What other sky is like the night skies over the desert? Nailus Visuals captures the possibilities beautifully here.
TOM ALEXANDER
(@tom.alexander)
If you only take to the outdoors to get to where you've been, you're really missing the fun of it, aren't you.
AMAR KRISTJANSSON
(@arnarkristjans_photography)
Goliath-like form? Check. Harsh elements? Check. A strong woman facing it all down? Check. An epic adventure, captured in one frame.
RAY LIVEZ
(@welivez)
Ok, while this may not strictly speaking be an "outdoor" photo, we love that the birds and sky are the focus here, and Livez has deftly cast the Gotham architecture as near-natural forms.
BEAR GRYLLS
(@beargrylls)
For us, there's tons to love about this photo posted by Chief Scout Bear Grylls. The man, still versus the wild, with his cameraman beside him, focusing on helping another adventurer summit the rock face. There's near Renaissance-level expression on their faces -- the grit, the focus, the cooperation of teaming together outside. Aesthetically, the clouds offset the cliff structures beautifully.
SHASHANK KHANNA
(@shashankkhanna)
From the dew drops on the lilies to the sun breaking through the cracks of the Big Sur rocks, this photo draws you in, and then keeps giving.
MICHAEL MATTI
(@michaelmatti)
Matti says it best in his caption: "This is probably the most magical guanaco I’ve ever seen."
CHELSEA AND BERNARD SATHERLEY
(@kiwidroneography)
Craggy rocks and waves. It's a combination that begs us to explore. We love how the Satherley's photo highlights the intimacy of the natural details, even from the great heights of their drone.
PATRICK BENTLEY
(@patrickbentleyphotography)
This photo draws us in. You might not realize what the scene is for a minute, and it invites us to look closer, waiting for the reveal. (Still waiting? It's hippos.)
TOBIAS MESSERLI
(@tmphoto.ch)
It doesn't matter if this is a sunrise or a sunset, the feeling here inspires us to be there to see the moment. You don't get this view from the couch.
TIMO JARVINEN
(@gotfilm)
Here is the power of the ocean. A giant swell, with surfer Koa Rothman in the pipeline, perfectly giving it scale. The reaching and blending of the wave with the splendour of the skies elevates this to something beyond. Two shaka hands 🤙🤙 high on this one.
GREG SACCO
(@gregsacco)
A moment, quite literally frozen on the cold banks of Lake Superior. Here, Sacco has taken the harsh, desolate and biting cold environment, and in the captured mix of earthy greys and polar whites has made it look incredibly inviting.
What did we miss? Drop a link to your favourite outdoor photo of the year in the comments below.
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