Mickey Shannon Photography

Top 10 in 2024

It's that time of year where I write up what my favorite images from this past year were. From bluebonnets in Texas to fall colors in Colorado and from adventures to Canada to experiencing two rounds of stunning Northern Lights displays here in Kansas, there was a lot of ground covered. Check the comments to find out what my favorite ten images were!

Not too late to get a puzzle, calendar or book for Christmas! Order by Wednesday to guarantee Christmas delivery. For those wanting a print, I can still do paper prints up to 36x24" in time for Christmas as well. Message me if interested in one of those.

International Mountain Day!

Which basically just gives me a reason to post some of my favorite mountain images. 😅 I've been blessed to see some of the most famous mountain ranges of Europe and North America over my years as a photographer. From many trips to the Colorado Rockies to the Alps in Europe to the Canadian Rockies and all over the American West, all of these locations are represented in my Mountains Collection. Enjoy!

Introducing the Mickey Shannon Photography Gift Shop!

I've just launched my new gift shop page on my website. This new page is where you can find my Kansas is Beautiful book, new collectors edition puzzles, 2025 wall calendars and a new item I've launched called "Art Squares". Check the comments for a bit more information!

For those in my hometown of Wichita, come out to Mark Arts tomorrow (Wednesday, December 4th) from 5:30-7 p.m. to hear me give a tour of my work in the gallery! Hope to see you there!

A sneak peek of the new gallery exhibit at Mark Arts this month! Come listen to a tour of my work on Wednesday, December 4 from 5:30-7pm or visit the exhibit anytime between November 19 – December 14!

New collectors edition puzzles are available now!

As promised last week, puzzles are now up on my website! They measure 20x27" at 1,000 pieces. I have three options to choose from:

Bellagio Bellezza: Enjoy piecing together the magic of these steps in Bellagio, Italy on the shores of Lake Como.

Historic Crystal Mill: More of a mountain person? Enjoy Colorado's iconic Crystal Mill when you finish this puzzle featuring the beauty of autumn in Colorado.

Sunflower Encore: And for my Kansas fans, a classic sunflower scene should do the trick with Sunflower Encore!

More details in the comments!

Kansas City! come see me now through Sunday at the Kansas City Holiday Boutique in Overland Park! If you need tickets, let me know. I have a few left.

For those in the Kansas City area, come see me this week at the Kansas City holiday boutique! I will have my new puzzles along with wall art, calendars, greeting cards, loose paper prints and my Kansas is Beautiful coffee table book!

If you need a ticket I have a few left to give away. Just message me!

The Grand Scenes vs the Intimate Scenes

It's amazing how one evening can yield some fantastic results. This was my first night in Colorado back in October for fall colors. I made a detour to go photographing with a friend up on Capitol Peak. The aspens had lost quite a bit of leaves. If truth be told, the grand scene just didn't have the feel I had hoped. So many trees had dropped their leaves and the clouds just wouldn't move over the peak at sunset for a little color.

But taking out my telephoto lens opened up a whole new world of possibilities! I spent an hour or so just looking at every angle of the mountains before me. And as the sun slipped further and further behind the mountains behind me, the light changed each intimate scene in different ways.

These were some of my favorites! Which is your favorite?

"Autumn Road"

Nothing beats cruising the backroads in the Flint Hills looking for new compositions. This was taken out near east of Alma, Kansas as the sun was close to setting a few weeks back. While the trees certainly add something, the real gem of the Flint Hills in the fall is certainly the grasses, as they turn to golden, brown and orange hues. The way the light plays off the hills is just an amazing experience at sunrise or sunset on a fantastic autumn evening!

Apparently today is National Bison Day. Happy national bison day! This was taken at Maxwell Wildlife Refuge/The Friends of Maxwell back in February of 2020 on one of the winter sunrise tours. Might have to do that again this winter!

Legendary photographer Thomas Mangelesen shared a heartfelt tribute to Grizzly 399. She was the Queen of the Tetons and I feel blessed I was able to see and photographer her with her four cubs in 2020.

Personal Message and Tribute to Grizzly 399 from Thomas D. Mangelsen Receiving news of 399’s passing is a day we all feared would come

"Country Road Autumn Sunset"

Outside of a quick three day trip to Colorado at the beginning of the month, most of my fall travel plans didn't work out. However, I have made the most of trying to get out in the Flint Hills a few times to enjoy the fall colors. While nothing compares to seeing the Northern Lights above our skies, this sunset probably takes second place! I was driving backroads between Topeka and Alma, seeing what I could find. This fantastic sunset lit up the sky. It stayed colorful for quite a while, letting me get a few different compositions. This was probably my favorite. I'll share more this week, but the best thing about driving the Flint Hills is the fact that you can get the best compositions by just exploring. What might not look as good in the spring might look excellent in the fall. Or vise versa. There's something fantastic about the warm hues of the grasses in the fall here too.

RIP Queen of the Tetons

News came out yesterday that the "Queen of the Tetons", Grizzly #399 was fatally struck and hit by a vehicle two days ago in the Snake River Canyon, south of Jackson, Wyoming. She was often referred to as the most photographed grizzly bear in the world. I was fortunate enough to encounter her in June of 2020 with her four cubs. She was known for teaching her cubs to look before crossing roads, along with keeping them close to roads knowing they had a better chance of survival from predatory male grizzlies. When I photographed these images, a male grizzly was on the other side of the meadow. Both 399 and the male grizzly kept glancing at each other from across the meadow. She was known for having numerous cubs, and many of the famous grizzlies in the Teton region were her progeny. She currently had one cub, who has not been spotted since the fatal accident. Hopefully it is alive and well.

"Brilliance"

On my recent trip to Colorado for fall colors, every single day was greeting to 100% clear skies. So I had to look closer, which meant pulling out the telephoto a lot to isolate lights and shadows. One of my favorite moments was after photographing sunrise up on Kebler Pass. I had waited out the light with another photographer who arrived shortly after me before dawn, taking turns shooting both the grand sunrise and a few moose down below us. When I was happy with those shots, I went exploring further into the forest, and came around the corner to see this lone tree lit up by the rising sun. The darker trees still in shadow behind it really made the brilliance of the colors on this tree stand out. While the sky and clouds had little drama when I was there, the actual color of the aspens were some of the best I had ever seen. Besides the typical yellow and gold, there were stands that turned orange and even a deep red in places that were just unbelievable!

I have another fall colors trip coming up soon that I need to get ready for so my next Colorado post will likely be a photo dump of all of my images from that trip.

Here's my take on Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS that has been in the western skies after sunset for the past few nights. I missed the best two days to photograph it, but managed to make it out last night. I had been scouting a vantage point near Teter Rock that would offer a nice vantage point of the stacked rocks up up on the hill. I wasn't as happy with my shots of the comet as it crested the horizon - likely due to the moon being so bright - so I took a shot of the comet from 30 or so minutes before and blended it with the foreground, trying to keep the location of the comet intact so that it was an accurate representation. I also used a 200mm shot of the comet with a 400mm shot of Teter Rock. I underestimated just how far away from Teter Rock I was. Had I kept both at 400mm, I would have needed multiple shots of the comet to fit the entire tail in. All in all, I think the blend worked out just fine. Hopefully you enjoy it!