Top Ten Photos of 2014

2014 was not such an adventuresome year for us as previous years have been. We did jet off to Kuching for a family visit, and enjoyed a couple of trips to KL, but that was about it. My top ten photos this year are exclusively from Kuantan and KL, and involve more people in the shots.

#10

A close-up of a colourful head used by the Chinese for lion dances during Chinese New Year

#9

Shot this beautiful landscape scene at the gorgeous orchid garden in Kuala Lumpur. I love the leafy frame and the vibrant purple orchids in the background

#8

My favourite shot of the girls from 2014

#7

My parents came to visit us in March 2014. I cheated a little bit with this one, as it wasn't me who took the photo, but I directed my wife as to how I wanted it done, and she didn't disappoint! The waves and the beautiful rocks of Teluk Chempedak complement this photo nicely

#6

Our annual Christmas e-postcard was a real favourite in 2014 due to its colour and creativity. Having all 4 of us smiling nicely for the camera really helps a lot, too!

#5

View of the main entrance of Kuala Lumpur's The Majestic Hotel. Snapped this photo on Malaysia's National Day at around 7:30am

#4

That poor stone buddha! The tripod-cum-weapon! The look of hatred on my dad's face! This is a family photo that will live long in the memory

#3

A combination of four shots of the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur. Just magnificent buildings, a photographer's dream

#2

Walking around the butterfly park in Kuala Lumpur in the sweltering heat, searching for that special photo. I think I found it with this dainty little dragonfly

#1

My favourite family photo is also the top photo of the year 2014. I carried out 4 chairs to the field behind our house, found a nice scenic spot, set up the tripod and timer, and out came this fantastic picture of our family. Couldn't be happier with it!
This is my favourite photo of 2014!

KL Gallery - Favourite photos from March KL trip

In March 2014 we took my parents to KL and these are my favourite photos I took from that trip.

Delicately Poised - KL Gallery #7

A tiny dragonfly sits delicately on a plant at the KL Butterfly Park. Without a macro lens, this was tricky to get right, and I would have loved to zoom in much further.

Top 20 Photos of 2013 - #6

#6

Clicking away at the KL Butterfly Park, I took A LOT of photos, including this image of a dragonfly perched on a leaf. I decided to squat down and shoot this one from below, but it didn't stand out in particular from any other images. It was only when I got home and hooked it up in Photoshop that I managed to blacken the background, and it really stood out. I love the transparent wings, the alien-shaped head and the triangular leaf it sits on. Sometimes, a little Photoshop can produce a lot of good!

Top 20 Photos of 2013 - #12

#12

I am torn when it comes to photos of my children to be included in Top Photos lists. Do I include a picture of my daughter just because she is my daughter and she's cute, or do I omit such an image as it's probably not as technically good as other landscape, nature or animal pictures? I really had a struggle with this one but I believe it is both physically cute and technically pretty. Lauren's hair, dress and sunglasses were all perfect, as were the natural surroundings of the KL Butterfly Park, which framed the image nicely on either side.

Top 20 Photos of 2013 - #18

#18

This dainty butterfly was perched on a fragile branch at the Butterfly Park in Kuala Lumpur. It remained still while I pointed my lens and zoomed in. Other butterflies were fluttering around through the air. The luscious, blurred, green background provided the perfect wallpaper. A number of times this day, I had zoomed and focused, only for the specimen to flap its wings and be off as my finger was on the button. There will be more from the Butterfly Park later in my Top 20.

Kuala Lumpur Butterfly Park

The Kuala Lumpur (KL) Butterfly Park is located on Jalan Cenderasari in the green Lake Gardens area, in the same vicinity as the KL Bird Park and the Orchid Garden. It can be reached via the KL Hop-on Hop-off bus, but we opted for a much less expensive taxi ride there (From Vistana Hotel by the Titiwangsa monorail station, we paid just RM15).

A view of KL Butterfly Park from the starting point

We paid RM10 for adults (Malaysian, or married to a Malaysian and working here - me!) and RM5 for the children.  If you wish to take videos, you will be charged an extra RM4.

The moment we arrived there, we were pleasantly surprised to see our friends from Kuantan! It was such a coincidence but we enjoyed spending time together around the Butterfly Park and afterwards, the orchid garden.

With our Kuantan friends at KL Butterfly Park

There were butterflies everywhere at KL Butterfly Park. Surprisingly it wasn't too difficult to catch the butterflies sitting still on a branch or leaf! As you'll see from the following photos, butterflies were just one of the many attractions at KL Butterfly Park:

I'm sure the butterflies enjoyed seeing this little visitor!

I wonder what kind of butterfly he'll become?

Spotted a little grasshopper

This butterfly was chilling out upside-down!

A dragonfly perched on a leaf

A little frog keeps watch in its pond

There is lots to see and do at the KL Butterfly Park. We really enjoyed ourselves there. There are other weird and wonderful insects inside along with many examples of other butterfly species in a museum setting. You finally end up exiting through the KL Butterfly Park shop. We had a great time there!