Fine Art Nature Photography: Best of 2020 Images

Mickey Shannon | Updated on December 18, 2020

2020 has been an interesting year to say the least. Travel become a much more difficult prospect and many businesses struggled to stay afloat. Like many other business owners and artists, I worried what would become of my business. Would people still value art? Would they still want to invest in luxurious nature photography prints? Thankfully, I was given a positive boost with higher than average spring sales, including some of my largest sales to date and a few major international orders. I added four new countries to a growing list of international collectors that have at least one piece of my art hanging on their walls! And with 2020 drawing to a close, sales were up almost 65% compared to 2019. I don’t say this to brag, but to give hope to other business owners who wonder if it’s possible to do well in what can be trying times. Success stories are harder to come by in 2020, but it’s still possible to do well in a year like this! I feel honored by all of the collectors who purchased fine art from my nature photography galleries this year and really count myself blessed and thankful for it. To all who supported my art, I thank you! With that said, read on to see some of my favorite images from 2020!

An aerial view of a wave at Tunnels Beach in Kauai, Hawaii. — First: Top of the Wave - Prints Available | Second: Napali Coast Crush - Prints Available | Third: Sunset at Kee Beach - Prints AvailableBeautiful photography of Hawaii's lush Garden Island of Kauai.

First: Top of the Wave - Prints Available | Second: Napali Coast Crush - Prints Available | Third: Sunset at Kee Beach - Prints AvailableBeautiful photography of Hawaii's lush Garden Island of Kauai.

Sometimes I looked back throughout 2020, thinking that it was weird that I started my year off on an anniversary trip to Kauai, Hawaii in January. The Garden Island of Kauai is one of the most beautiful locations in the entire world. Naturally, some of my best images came from Hawaii this year. From the top of the Kalalau Valley Overlook to Ke’e Beach and from gentle sunrises on the east coast of Kauai to abstract aerial shots of the amazing waves of the north shore.

An aerial view of sunrise at Tunnels Beach showcases the beautiful waters and scenery on Kauai's north shore. — First: Tunnels Beach Sunrise Panorama - Prints Available | Second: Hawaiian Sunrise - Prints Available | Third: Kilauea Lighthouse Sunrise - Prints AvailableColorful fine art prints of Kauai, Hawaii

Lydgate Beach Park in Lihue, Kauai is a spectacular place to view the sunrise! — First: Tunnels Beach Sunrise Panorama - Prints Available | Second: Hawaiian Sunrise - Prints Available | Third: Kilauea Lighthouse Sunrise - Prints AvailableColorful fine art prints of Kauai, Hawaii

Kansas Photography: Shooting Close to Home

As the year went on, I found a number of photographs from my home state of Kansas also ended up being some of my favorites! I gave wildlife photography a go at Maxwell Wildlife Refuge, capturing the perfect moment with three elk lined up in a row in addition to a bison backlit with amazing golden sunlight! I also explored the beautiful Flint Hills in the late spring and early summer as those rolling hills showed their emerald green beauty, while finding a few new backroads to add to my growing list of possibilities for 2021! One of the images below, Golden Light in the Flint Hills has quickly become one of my best selling prints as well!

Three bull elks line up perfectly at the top of the hill as light from the sunrise casts a warm glow not only on the elk but the grasses of the edge of the Flint Hills at Maxwell Wildlife Refuge. This was actually my first real attempt at any kind of wildlife photography in my career, and I have to say, I am pretty happy with the results. I mean, how often do you get lucky enough to get three big bulls looking in the same direction nearly spaced out perfectly. — First: Sentinels of the Prairies - Prints Available | Second: Golden Light in the Flint Hills - Prints AvailableBeautiful Kansas scenery

A beautiful sunset lights up the Flint Hills to the east of Tuttle Creek Lake in the heart of the Flint Hills. This area has some of the most amazing viewpoints. — First: Sentinels of the Prairies - Prints Available | Second: Golden Light in the Flint Hills - Prints AvailableBeautiful Kansas scenery

Stunning Desert Photography For Sale

Some of my favorite images in 2020 came from the beautiful desert regions of Utah. In all my years of traveling, I had somehow passed up Moab’s two beautiful national parks: Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park. Moab provided an amazing backdrop as I explored these beautiful regions. These regions are full of amazing and profound beauty. One of my favorite moments was finally getting the right sunrise experience at Mesa Arch. I had heard that it can be busy at sunrise, but had a fairly pleasant experience. While there was certain a crowd, it was spaced out nice. I was actually the first person to arrive at the arch, getting the prime spot to grab this amazing moment with my camera!

Sacred Mesa Arch Sunrise - Prints AvailableSunrise at Mesa Arch in Canyonlands National Park is an almost sacred experience!

Fine Art Mountain Photography For Sale

Cosmic Grand Teton - Prints AvailableAirglow gives the night sky a hauntingly beautiful color above Grand Teton National Park.

The rest of my 2020 was spent in the mountains of Colorado, Wyoming and Utah. Having gone to Grand Teton National Park for fall colors in 2019, I wanted to tackle that beautiful mountain range in the spring next. I arrived in mid-June to witness some amazing scenery! From a fog filled Snake River Valley at sunrise (see below) to seeing the famous Grizzly #399 and her four (!) cubs, my time in Yellowstone and the Tetons was amazing! I spent two full nights under the stars to capture amazing airglow colors in the photograph above and also took two excursions up to Yellowstone (those photos are still being processed). Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Park’s are truly one of America’s most beautiful places!

Talk about an epic sunrise! Low hanging fog filled the Snake River Valley below the Snake River Overlook that Ansel Adams made famous so many years ago. As warm light flooded the fog and valley below, the mountains rose magnificently in the distance. The Grand Teton National Park is full of amazing vantage points like this! — First: Snake River Sunrise - Prints Available | Second: Gorgeous Grand Teton - Prints AvailableBeautiful Wyoming scenery at Grand Teton National Park

Sunrise at Grand Teton National Park is always an awesome experience. But when everything comes together like this, those famous peaks produce something special! I spent all night shooting night photography, then waited for sunrise. This epic scene was worth the lack of sleep for sure! When the sky lights up like this, along with vivid warm alpineglow and low hanging clouds in the valley below, you know you have something special! I spent some time photographing around the park after this, as the light was great for hours, including running into the famous Grizzy 399 and her four cubs down the road from here! An epic morning for sure! — First: Snake River Sunrise - Prints Available | Second: Gorgeous Grand Teton - Prints AvailableBeautiful Wyoming scenery at Grand Teton National Park

A month later, in July, I went back to the mountains to capture wildflower images. While Colorado ended up being a bit of a bust, the wildflowers above Salt Lake City, Utah at Albion Basin were out of this world! Some areas had flowers as high as my waist! The mountains and sunset made for some great backdrops as well.

Albion Basin Sunset Glory - Prints AvailableWildflowers grow all over Albion Basin near Alta, Utah

I also visited Colorado multiple times this year, for both wildflowers and fall colors. One place I’ve meant to visit for many years now that I finally made a priority was the iconic Crystal Mill! I managed to visit both in June and September to try and capture those iconic autumn aspens as they turned orange and yellow. It’s interesting to see the difference between spring green and autumn warmth in the images below.

The iconic Crystal Mill is usually photographed in the autumn as the leaves turn orange and gold. But it is also a wonderful place to visit in the spring! The waterfall is flowing heavier than in the autumn and the green of the trees adds a different element to this classic Colorado icon! — First: Green Mill - Prints Available | Second: The Autumn Icon - Prints AvailableA contrast of two seasons at the Crystal Mill.

New Framing Options for Lumachrome TruLife Acrylic Prints

2020 also brought about a new website design and multiple framing options for Lumachrome TruLife Acrylic fine art prints and my premium plaque mount options. Lumachrome’s can be framed in just about any ROMA moulding frames, making for luxurious images. I have opened up the options to include four ROMA Tabacchino 4″ frames and four ROMA Arber 3.5″ frames with the option of black or white linen liners. These frames come hand-made from Italy and are inspired by the beautiful Tuscan hillside. In addition to these mouldings, just about any ROMA or Omega moulding are available if something else suits your design space. In addition to the new Lumachrome framing options, I’m also offering Larson Juhl framing for my premium plaque mounts. Currently I have two options of Belmont Dark Scoop and Belmont Medium Scoop, but there are many more Larson Juhl frames to choose from if one of those two frames doesn’t fit what you are looking for.