Top 10 Photos of 2015

It is always great looking back over the photos of the year. So many memories and so much fun. 2015 was the year in which I ditched my DSLR during our England trip, and opted for the easier-to-use-and-carry handphone and ipad. In December, as usual, the auto focus on my DSLR decided to stop working again, so I am using my Canon entirely in manual focus mode. It has been a challenge and I am still learning how to make use of all the features and functions on the camera.

Following are my Top 10 photos of 2015:

#10

I love this photo of these small white flowers lying upside down on the ground with their stalks standing up straight in the air. They arrived in this position after a heavy downpour detached them from their plant

#9

My daughters loved their new dresses from their English grandma so we went out to the park for a photo shoot. Here they pose perfectly atop a slide complete with umbrella to provide some relief from the scorching sun. Natural light is always my preferred condition to shoot in

#8

Posing for a photo in front of the all-white Masjid Abdullah in Pekan, Pahang. 

#7

Visited this stunning mosque in Pekan

#6

A night view of the Petronas Twin Towers in KL surrounded by residential condominiums. I like that there is a gentleman visible in a unit mid-way up the photo

#5

The London England temple on a cold autumn afternoon. Yellowing leaves decorate the surroundings and provide a natural frame for this beautiful scene. This was taken with my Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime handphone

#4

This image became one of my most popular facebook profile pictures of the year. This was originally in video format, whereupon I took this screenshot. I was doing an experiment putting ten mentos mints into a bottle of coca cola!

#3

The top 3 photos are of my highly photogenic and beautiful sister Florina. This one was captured at Citadines ApartHotel in Kuching while we were on a family holiday. On just my 2nd attempt I managed to get this shot of her hair flicking the water in a spiral motion

#2

I swear she should be gracing magazine covers with shots like this! Taken poolside at Citadines ApartHotel, Kuching, Florina effortlessly models swimwear with poise and a smile.
Note: I edited out a child swimming in the background

#1

My favourite photo of 2015 was taken near the start of the year and features the modelling of Florina at a recreation ground in Kuantan. Here she posed under a slide inside this cylindrical space with weathered green paint on the walls. Just love this photo!

Kuching Trip, June 2015

Our annual Kuching trip to see family was another great experience for us, particularly as we had new nieces, nephews and cousins to see this time around. Although it was too short (just 5 days) we made the most of it and had a very enjoyable time. All of our flights went smoothly and were very pleasant, though the flight back to KL did seem rather tiring despite it being under 2 hours.

Here's the video of our take-off from KLIA2:

Lauren with her cousin, Ethan

With my beautiful niece, Bintang

Lauren joins her cousin, Noah, and his mummy for a picture

The weather in Kuching was so hot, a different kind of heat to Kuantan, and each journey out the house was tiring. My wife and Urai took Lauren on a small boat ride across the river to buy some kek lapis (layer cake) on our 2nd day. I rested at home as it was just way too hot.

I did sleep well though at night in the living room. We congregated the sofa and sofa bed to make one large 'mattress' and had a good sleep there.

Kuching Waterfront

Leah celebrated her birthday with a Frozen birthday cake

Party games

Party games

Urai and Anna cracking up!

The ladies

Family photo

A stunning ice-cream waffle!

Pushing the limits of my aging body!

We also had a great one night stay at Citadines ApartHotel together as a family. Took lots of photos and tried these gorgeous ice-cream waffles at a restaurant downstairs.

The Spring shopping mall, Kuching

Going swimming

Kuching at night

And here's a short video of our safe landing back at KLIA:

Amateur Model Photoshoot at Citadines ApartHotel, Kuching

Here are a few shots of my favourite photography model, Florina Michael. She has featured here before. I've known her and watched her grow up since she was 9 so it's very easy to photograph her. She simply says, "Duncan, take my photo like this," or "Duncan, take my photo like that," and I snap away. Occasionally I put forward an idea for a shot, but it's very free and easy.

She was even kind enough to take a photograph with me!