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!

Garden of Twists and Turns - KL Gallery #11

The KL Orchid Garden comprises numerous turning paths taking you on a tour of natural beauty. These twisting roots epitomise the layout of the gardens

Kuala Lumpur Orchid Garden

The Kuala Lumpur Orchid Garden has an entrance that could easily be missed, a small pathway leading up a hill that blends in with the landscape, but once inside, you should prepare yourself for an orchid explosion!

The KL Orchid Garden is located in the Lake Gardens area of Kuala Lumpur, immediately opposite the KL Bird Park and just around the corner from the KL Butterfly Park. Entrance Fees are just RM1/person on weekends, and it is FREE on weekdays and public holidays.

A cascade of colour decorates the Orchid Garden in KL. Every turn is greeted by various species of orchids. It was really difficult to make a selection of photos for this post - I wanted to just use them all!

I was drawn to these individual petite orchids. . .

Then there were the larger versions . . .

We spent our time at the Orchid Garden with our really nice friends from Kuantan. We had a very pleasant time admiring the beauty of nature together. . .

Amidst all the beauty, I even managed to get one shot of myself!

And here are more photos of these gorgeous orchids . . .

I just can't help but feel happy while I'm around such wonderful creations . . .

We finish with a flurry of red. I could have spent hours upon hours at the Orchid Garden. With two camera batteries. It's my kind of paradise . . .

Top Ten Photos of 2012

This is the 3rd edition of my Top Ten Photos of the year. It seems to get harder to pick out 10 photos from ever-increasing stacks each year. 

The big thing for my photography in 2012 was the purchase of my first ever professional DSLR camera in November. However, 8 out of my 10 photos were taken with my Panasonic Lumix DMC-F2 point-and-shoot while the other two were taken at the end of the year with my Canon EOS 650D.

Here's the countdown:

Coming in at #10 is an early morning snapshot of Vistana Hotel, accompanied by a palm tree reaching for the deep blue sky:

I captured this photo during our stay at Vistana Hotel early in 2012. Fidelia and the girls were still fast asleep while I went for a morning walk around the hotel and spotted this nice image.

At #9 is a reflection in the lobby at The Zenith Hotel, Kuantan:

While we were spending some relaxing moments at The Zenith Hotel, I whipped out the camera and photographed this lovely image of windows, light and space - 3 things which I love!

Residing in the #8 position is this photo of Leah at Batu Hitam, Kuantan, on a day out with friends from KL:

Leah was still young enough to keep still while I pointed the camera at her - she was probably wondering what that strange little instrument was!

This beautiful bokeh image of the Christmas tree and other lighting at The Zenith Hotel makes #7 on my list:

I was spending a good portion of time in December searching for a good bokeh image to shoot for Christmas. I finally found it at The Zenith Hotel!

This scene of nature in Taman Gelora occupies the #6 spot in 2012:

I love going for a saunter in Taman Gelora when the weather is nice. There is always new angles and views to photograph, and this was one of my favourites from 2012

Making the top 5 is this image of Lauren modelling her new umbrella in January 2012, in at #5:

Lauren posed for some photos with her 4th birthday present, a beautiful pink umbrella. I still love the image to this day!

My entry for #4 is this photograph of Teluk Chempedak beach on a stunningly gorgeous and hot day:

Teluk Chempedak beach is another place where I'm never struggling for new photographs. Can you see the people climbing the rocks in the distance?

Now for the Top 3. My choice for the best 3 photos of 2012 revolved around two camera techniques which are very difficult to execute using a simple point-and-shoot camera. The following three photos will demonstrate:

At #3 is this picture of a mushroom growing amidst branches and leaves beside a road in Kuantan:

This was one photo in a 4-part series in 2012 which I named The Fungus Files. Part 1 can be found by clicking here. I had to focus and re-focus a number of times before my little point-and-shoot camera focused perfectly on the mushroom, having a nice mix of focus and blur in the surroundings.

At #2 is this image of a pink flower taken in Bukit Sekilau, Kuantan, in early 2012:

I've taken many flowers photos but I love the composition in this one. It was hell trying to get the little camera to focus right on the pods, and I imagine people were wondering what my fascination with this flower was!

My #1 favourite photo of 2012 goes to this image of the trees at Taman Gelora, Kuantan:

This tested my little point-and-shoot camera to the limits. Zooming with a small camera dramatically reduces the image quality so this was a tricky one to get right. Just the right distance from the trees and amount of zoom made this my favourite picture of the year!

Click here to see my Top Ten Photos of 2010

Click here to see my Top Ten Photos of 2011

What do you think? Which one is your favourite? Do you agree with the order of my selections? Do you remember any photographs I may have missed out from the Top Ten?

Blog-hop Saturday (13 Oct, 2012)

For those of you who may be interested in this blog's statistics, *Our home called Kuantan* is closing in on 150,000 page views, which should be reached by next weekend.

So this gives me the opportunity to thank each and every visitor to my blog, whether I know you or not, whether you drop a comment or not, whether you are old or new followers. Thank you for visiting and showing an interest in what I have to offer. It's been great getting to know a lot of you better!

This leads me in to an announcement for next week. It's my 30th birthday coming up on Tuesday and I'll be having a guest blogger on Wednesday. Leovi is a talented guy and I'm really pleased that he'll be heading here next week to show his amazing work to you!

Today it's blog-hop Saturday where I show you around some of my other blogs.

First up is Horne Learning Services. Our English learning company is growing with new students filling up our classes. In the most recent post, I'm discussing the important factors that make up composing a great essay.

Over at my Kuantan nature blog you can view a couple of hot pink flowers gracing the roadside.

And finally you can browse my participation in Teaser Tuesday over at Dan Brown Portal, my reading blog dedicated to Dan Brown and other good books.

I hope you enjoy your tour of my blogs. Do drop a comment on any of my blogs to let me know what you liked. Wishing you a great weekend!