What is your best photo you have taken in 2013 and why?

J

jonneymendoza

Messages
8,444
Edit My Images
No
As the title says please post your favourite picture you have taken this year and why?

I'll go first. Try and follow this format

Picture:

A Journey in life by jonneymendoza, on Flickr

Caption:
I climbed a mountain in the Philippines with just a pair of flip flops. it was difficult and a struggle as i was carrying all my camera gear with me and tripod as well. Just like my journey to the top of the mountain to get this shot, it is like a journey in life. You will have things that will weigh you down. things that give you a disadvantage but if you continue to climb and move forward in life, you will be rewarded.

Reason:
Both the journey to even take this picture as well as how the actual image came out easily becomes number 1 pic i have taken this year by a long shot.

Many of my other pics only required a tiny effort just to go t a particular place and take it but this was hard. Climbing a small mountain in flip flops in 30c temperature with a backpack full of my heavy lenses and camera(5d3, 70-200f.28, 16-35 f2.8) is no easy task and the view as you can see was breathtaking!
 

Range Rover sport luxury edition by autodetox, on Flickr

I detailed my friends Range Rover sport he just purchased & had been dabbling with off camera flash at my unit for a few months, but I had an idea of a new shot I wanted to take, I had no idea how to get there !

He stayed with me for a few hours after the job & we had take out ! :D tried a few things & just couldn't get what I was looking to do, so took 2 individual shots I liked & at home went to PS did some tut's put the 2 photos together, did another tut on how to darken back grounds & after a few hours at home came up with this. He was really happy, I learnt a lot of new stuff & was totally out of my comfort zone having done nothing like this before.

I know its not technically perfect but for my mate & me its was great fun :) This has to be my favourite shot of they year for more than one reason
 
fantastic shot and backstory of that image! Dont forget everyone, Peoples favourite shot could be just a pic of a blank wall but if there was some sort of compelling story/caption behind it that made it there favourite shot, do tell :)
 
Not sure about 'best' but from 2013 I like these...

Goldcrest - just because it had been giving me the runaround for days before I caught him.
8277632463_e66ff37203_z.jpg


Sunrise on Loch Sunart - as it took till about the 12th 5:00am start to get it.
10404747014_81df24cc18_z.jpg
 
Picture:

Edit 1 by Sko77y, on Flickr

Caption:
Attended a car meet in Glasgow (first in a long time) and had discussed with a friend of a friend, about taking some photos of his newly acquired z4.

Stood around freezing at the meet for a couple of hours before leaving and him mentioning a great location he wanted a picture at (Bridge to the Necropolis).

Reason:
First time I had used my new light painting tool, first time doing a client-esque shoot, first time one of my images received positive feedback from non-car enthusiasts. Just a shame about the street lights/white balance!

Not my favourite image, but certainly my favourite image + story :)

Scott
 
8619246067_146c6c6692_b.jpg


Caption:
I had a full frame camera, I had a ultra wide angle lens and I had a 10 stop filter - the goal to take a cliche shot but from a location that no one else has photographed from.

Reason:
Most photographs in life become cliched due to an overwhelming desire to replicate by others. It is nice to have something that I have shot and know it may be some time before it can ever be copied if ever at all!

Footnote:
What I did to obtain this shot was not stupid but risky. That said in the grand scheme of things and what I was setting out to do was of no harm to anyone or anything else ;)
 

Stack Sunrise (Explored) by Danny Birrell, on Flickr

Caption
Chemical Beach in Seaham is a location I've been to many times. Living in the North East you're never sure what you're going to get weather-wise - despite checking all available forecasts - so I've had more disappointing sunrises down there than I care to remember. On this occasion I headed out at about 3:30am to catch the 4:30am sunrise, clambered down a rocky cliffside in the pitch black, chose my spot and waited. Even had time for a quick cliché before the sun made an appearance (rock stack in the FG).

Reason
It's not technically perfect by any means but I'm a sucker for seascapes and nice warm light. It's nice when you're rewarded for getting up at daft-o'clock too :)
 

Jokulsarlon Ice beach by zeb2012, on Flickr
A jewel on the beach
Caption:

In September I managed to go to the one place I’ve always wanted to visit, Iceland and the ice lagoon and the beach at Jokulsarlon.

I got here quite late in the day and decided to visit the beach first as the weather was closing in, I was expecting to see a beach full of ice blocks from the nearby lagoon that had been washed up by the tide but all I got was this single piece on the whole beach and luckily nobody had walked near it so no footprints around so grabbed a few shots including this 44 sec exposure.

Reason:

After visiting on the beach over the next 2 days when it was full of ice as far as the eye could see and talking to the locals I now realise how rare it was to see a beach with little or no ice.

I knew I’d love the shot as soon as I took it.
 
Probably this one from New York over summer. Taken between passing traffic on my Fuji GW690 film camera on Fuji Acros 100 film.

It's probably my favourite as it was a challenge to meter for and even more of a challenge to shoot as I was ducking in and out of the traffic to stand in the middle of the road to get it!
Shame I didn't get the spire dead center in the bridge but you can't win everything.

9331089172_8130c30372_c.jpg


Flickr Link - http://www.flickr.com/photos/ghostsnstuffphotography/9331089172/in/photostream/
 
Last edited:

Swan Lake by jamiewednesday1, on Flickr

I was pretty pleased with it when I took it.

I was debating whether to go out or not as the weather was looking iffy. Sure enough it started getting pretty gloomy from the East but the sun was low in the sky in the West, so I had the idea of trying to catch the colours of the reeds and trees against the dark clouds with the light coming from behind me. Then I realised the dark sky was reflecting in the water giving me a bigger palette. I was seeing how the manual focus Zeiss lens performed while wide open, thiniking it gave quite an impressionist feel. Then the swan showed up...

Anyway I liked it.

Quite by chance I was surfing one day and the Countryfile site came up with details of the Children In need calendar. I decided to send this in, the only photo competition I've ever entered and it got selected.

Still feel very pleased with myself and what's more the Beeb sent me a calendar. Signed by John Craven no less...Whoop!
 
I guess for me it would be this one...although looking at it earlier when looking though my photos of the year I have spotted a couple of faint dust spots that I hadn't noticed until today :bang: I've certainly shot some more interesting photos, certainly more colourful this year but also I kept getting drawn to this one I suspect more because of the story of capturing it and a second evening plus the challenge of doing something that I'd never tried before after accepting a challenge from a Facebook page fan :LOL:


ISS OVER CHESTERTON WINDMILL by mwhcvt, on Flickr

Full details in this thread http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/threads/joining-the-space-race.496013/
 
It's been a good progressive year for me, Hard to choose between a few, but I settled with this!


Surfer(explore No1!!) by mattd85, on Flickr

Many reason why I chose this, It was the very 1st "Photograph of the week" on the Forum :), It placed me 2nd in POTY2013 Nature Round with Practical Photography Magazine, It was featured on flickr explore at the NO 1 spot(phone melted that day), It was one of the most viewed/popular images on the National Geographic website for a number of weeks, but most Importantly it gave me the confidence boost I needed to actually start believing in my work and ability as a photographer :)

Matt
 
Probably this one from my "Guitar porn" series.
I decided to try a low angle and it worked for me, its been pretty well received and currently a 24" x 24" canvas print of it sits on my wall.
Shot with just natural window light, Fuji X-Pro1 & 35mm F1.4. (Exif data is embedded)

Oh its a Shoreline gold Telecaster thinline fitted with Gretsch arrow knobs.

TCx4sqbw_zps69de69ad.jpg



I also loved this quick candid I took of my niece, the light worked well for me that day.

Vikkilight1_zpsc0d45d8e.jpg
 
Last edited:
null.gif
my fav of the year. my wee boy chasing me with the hose.

Why. I had this shot in my mind a few days before. The sun was in the right spot, He Was in front of a dark bush. And having to manual focus, it came off. Plus I like it.

11472549375_f6b8d18c98_z.jpg
 
Last edited:

raindrops ( explored - thank you ) by damianmkv, on Flickr

One of my first photos that made explore this year, it was also one of my first goes at macro with a Raynox DCR-250.

I was looking for something to shoot for practice and came across this shield bug. Wanting to make it a bit more interesting, a grabbed a small watering can and sprinkled a few drops from above. Fortunately, the bug wasn't bothered and stayed still. The photo was tweeted by Flickr as well.
 
Last edited:
Probably this



I loved the concept behind it.. still do...


"Going Home:

We are all made of stars.

The iron in our blood; the carbon in our cells; the calcium in our bones. All these elements were forged inside dying stars as heavier and heavier elements are fused together when stars lose their battle against gravity. When the star finally expires in natures most spectacular firework show - the Nova, these elements are spread throughout the universe to create life elsewhere. This is where we came from. Our own sun awaits this fate too, and its death will fuel life elsewhere. The cycle repeats until entropy has used all the universe's energy.

We are all made of stars.

This series of images is a whimsical look at our species' long fascination with the heavens, and Man's desire to reach the stars... to go back to our beginnings... to go home."


However, I tend not to work in an image by image basis. Almost everything I do seriously, is project based, and results in a body of work.

still working on this series.


Can't decide though, because I liked this project too.



"As populations increase, and arable land is usurped for building, more and more commercial endeavours are being designated as environmentally sustainable. As our population increases beyond our planet's nominal ability to support it, how sustainable are we as a species as a result of our efforts?"
 
Last edited:
My first traditional landscape taken on my Linhof.

Fallen Leaves, West Burton Falls by mark_mullen, on Flickr

Caption:
West Burton Falls in the Yorkshire Dales

Reason
It is my first proper landscape taken with my Linhof Technikardan. Although not a technically difficult shot to take it was the fact that I'd carried my gear out into the flow of the river, set up, levelled the camera, focussed and composed on ground glass under a darkcloth with a loupe, metered using my spotmeter, closed the shutter down, set the shutter speed and aperture, removed the ground glass, fixed the adaptor plate in place, fixed the digital back to the adaptor plate, connected up the trigger lead and shutter release, cocked the shutter and stood back whilst the mechanical shutter whirred away. The delight at seeing the finished shot, making sure it was sharp and exposed correctly and knowing I'd done it myself on a view camera was fantastic.
 
Would have to be this one.


Scarlett Photo shoot by TCR4x4, on Flickr

My two friends with their baby girl. I had offered them a photoshoot when she was born, and they took me up on the offer a few months later. It was shot at thier house, and for this image I used just my nikon d5100 and Nikon 35mm f/1.8.

Certainly not my best photo ever taken, but for me this one actually had a purpose, unlike most of my other work which I just do for fun and has no real value to anyone.
I was completely out of my comfort zone, I don't really ever shoot people and I'm really not a "kiddy" person, so doing both was a huge challenge. The reason I ended up using the d5100, was the d700 seemed to upset the baby and she wasn't really cooperating. I found the d5100 was small enough as not to worry her, and I ended up getting some fantastic photos. It was hard to choose just one to show, but I thought the eye contact on this one made it.

This photo along with many others from the day have been put into a photo book and sent to the grandparents for Christmas. Also been put on a canvas and is hanging pride of place in thier front room.
I know these photos will live for many years, and probably be shown to all her friends and boyfriends in years to come which makes me very proud to have produced something that someone will treasure and keep enjoying for many years.
 
Last edited:

The Humble Minnow Meets The King by photogramps, on Flickr

As a child I was very familiar with minnows, I spent many hours first catching them in nets and later using them as bait for eels etc. - for over 60 years, to the best of my knowledge, I had never seen a Kingfisher and had a longing to find and photograph one.

I finally got the opportunity this year using a pop-up hide next to a river in Somerset - I was absolutely fascinated by this colourful little bird and was able to photograph it in all sorts of poses as it was very obliging, finally posing with the minnow for me and this was my first Explore photo :)

The morning spent photographing this little bird and his dad was the most fulfilling and long-awaited photographic event of my life.
 
DJL_2941.jpg


I'm interested in the way that nature is constantly reclaiming the human-altered environment, and also how people use the land. This picture is from a project/series about traffic and plants.

I like this particular picture because it is not only about the above, but it contrasts the slow and steady growth of plants with the speed of cars. It also plays with the nature of photographic representation with the motion blur, distorted wheel and 'invisible' tyre. Finally there is the abstract form of the image which maintains enough information to remain readable. From a position of personal satisfaction it was a picture which evolved through a process of refinement of viewpoint and technique.
 
Pookeyhead said:
Can't decide though, because I liked this project too.



"As populations increase, and arable land is usurped for building, more and more commercial endeavours are being designated as environmentally sustainable. As our population increases beyond our planet's nominal ability to support it, how sustainable are we as a species as a result of our efforts?"
Click to expand...

Your inner Andreas Gursky is showing :)
 

Batfish by Pooleypix, on Flickr

This was on a dive that was meant to be dedicated to shooting grey reef sharks up close. Before we went into the water I had to make a gamble - if the current was running fast, they would get right in our face and my tokina 10-17mm would be perfect, but a slower current meant they would stay a little further away. I went for the wide angle gamble, but the current was too slow and they stayed around 15 feet away, so after getting frustrated with no really good shark shots (despite having 22 of them around!) I saw the light beams and changed tact - this was the result which I was very happy with.

Some cracking shots on this thread though
 
There are so many wonderful shots here. The stories behind them are great as well. I especially like the baby shot and how the photographer recognized it wasn't his best shot but how special it was none the less because it would be shown proudly for many years to come. I want to put a shot up but I have many favorites from this year. I guess I will pick the one that touches me the deepest.
 
View attachment 2681

This is the best image for me this year because it is from the first batch of images I photographed, developed and printed myself. Its not perfect but like all firsts it has a place that cannot be claimed by any other of my images.
 
T's Anything country bumpkin! by Cg_Girl on Talk Photography

Probably this one, it was taken very early on in the year when i started a 365 ( and failed)... certainly not perfect but it was close to what i was aiming for and knowing how much stress the start of the challenge was i liked it and one i would like to go back to just to see if i can do better when the snow comes again this year but with the film camera instead!
 
This is a shot I took while on vacation in South East Asia. I ended up in Cambodia not knowing what to expect. The cab driver suggested a place they called the Floating Village. This is a remote village built on stilts located not far from a huge lake. Every year during the rainy season it floods and completely surrounds the village making their front yards a big lake. They live this way for 6 months are so out of the year. There a store, church/temple, school and even a police station all surrounded by water. The thing that got me was the kids. They played in the water as I played in my front yard growing up. Just being kids being kids andView attachment 2691 it was really a site.
This shot is not the greatest but I like it because of the timing of it. I was on a moving boat when I was shooting the entire set so it was a bit challenging. I have only been shooting for less then two years so I am proud of myself for being able to adapt to the situation and still getting some respectable shots. I feel like I'm capable of getting most shot in a controlled environment but pulling it off on the fly makes me fill as though I am growing as a photographer.
 
What a great thread. I will have to have a dig through some of mine and get one up.

Damian, the shield beetle with the Raynox is superb. My shots with the Raynox are largely rubbish. Just goes to show what can be achieved in the right hands.
 
This one from the other week without a doubt.


'Stupid Hat Season' by Lee|Ratters, on Flickr

Self timer, balanced on a step of a slide over the local park. Not perfect by far but after splitting from their mum beginning of this year the past 11 months have been pretty difficult at times especially to begin with as I missed them so much & love them so much.

These two Munchkins are my world!! :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top