Top 10 Photos of 2016

2016 was another good year for photography with a number of great shots to choose from. 70% of my photos in the top 10 were taken with my iphone 5s as I made the transition from carrying around my bulky DSLR to using the convenience of the iphone. The iphone camera produces best results outdoors in the natural light and a few of my top 10 were taken in those precise conditions.

#10

We stayed at Laman Sentosa Boutique Hotel Kuantan in October and had a great time there. The children went for a dip in the pool and I naturally looked for photograph opportunities. The abstract image I came up with is a view of falling water. There was a little waterfall at the pool so I walked behind it, took some videos and pictures, and was delighted to come up with this highly artistic shot! (iphone)

#9

I love being at the beach. Sometimes it is a simple image that can endure long in the memory, like this birds eye view of seashells taken at Batu Hitam, Kuantan. (DSLR)

#8

It was indoors with artificial lighting, which is not my preference for good iphone photography, but it is the content and not the quality that gets this one into the Top 10. My wife and her four sisters are the subject for this shot that I captured crouching down and to the right of centre. Sometimes a change from the regular angle makes a difference. We were in Kuching attending our cousin's wedding on this occasion. (iphone)

#7

Welcome to Pavilion shopping mall in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia! As you can see from this viewpoint I shot, it was all decked out in lavish Christmas decorative elements when we went there in December 2016. The two-tier carousel was provided by Swarovski and contained a world-first 3 million crystals, embedded in the floor, horses and everywhere. We queued for a long time and were grateful that we did because it was a great ride! (DSLR)

#6

One of my favourite photos of the year! My two girls with their favourite aunty. Aunty Urai determined to do a photoshoot with them before she went back to Kuching, and we took a load of really lovely photos. For some reason, I am drawn to this one above the others. I just think it's very cute! (iphone)

#5

The only tussle with in-flight photography is ensuring the camera focuses on the outside landscape and not on the plane window. Once it does that properly, you are good to shoot some fantastic images. This picture is part of the Kuala Lumpur landscape just minutes after take-off from KLIA during our short hop back to Kuantan. (iphone)

#4

I love this atmospheric shot which is full of texture. It takes me right back to the moment it was shot! There was a storm brewing up and the humid heat had turned into a cooler breeze with spots of rain. I like the fact that there are people walking on the beach, sandwiched in between the fierce storm clouds and the plants in the foreground. I literally spent about 10 minutes out on the beach snapping photos of the weather system before I had to take cover. (iphone)

#3

The sunrise on our 6:30am flight from Kuantan to KLIA. It is thrilling watching the sunrise and sunset on an airplane. You get a whole different view to the one from the ground. On this particular morning, there was a splendid mixture of grey, silver and white wispy clouds punctured by the blazing yellows, oranges and reds of the rising sun. It was just a 30-minute hop but I spent near enough the whole half hour snapping pictures out the window. (iphone)

#2

This lady has featured prominently in almost all of my yearly Top 10 photos. It's easy to see why. Florina is a natural model and the camera loves her. More perfect settings at the beach half an hour down the road from Kuantan. Storm clouds beginning to whip up, lots of natural light, and slightly cooler-than-usual temperatures. Florina and I wanted to make the most of these favourable conditions and I took a couple of dozen pictures and videos in a 10-minute spell. There were a lot of good results but this one was as close to perfect as I have ever taken with my iphone. Thanks to my sister Florina for her flash and eager modelling skills! (iphone)

#1

So my top photo of 2016 is this magnificent family photo (Malaysian side) we took at the Riverside Majestic Hotel in Kuching near the end of 2016. Since we all live in various parts of Malaysia, it is always a highlight when we are all together once or twice a year. We had booked 3 rooms to accommodate us all, but upon check-in, we learned that the hotel had overbooked and didn't have enough rooms for us all, so out of the goodness of their hearts, they gave us the one and only PENTHOUSE in the entire hotel! You can imagine, we ran around in a state of joyful panic exploring every inch of the two-floor suite we were given! Taking a family photo in the grand living room was at the top of our list and this was taken right before we attended the wedding ceremony of our cousin. It is not the sharpest due to the low light, but it sure is our overwhelming favourite!

That's a wrap for 2016. Looking forward for more photography adventures in 2017!

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!

Sarawak River, Kuching Waterfront

The Sarawak River divides Kuching and is a focal point in this city. My wife and I when we were newly-weds, went on the Sarawak River Cruise.

Sarawak River Cruise

The cruise around the Sarawak River lasted 90 minutes and blended day with night.

The Waterfront area is now an extremely popular hangout place in Kuching where one can take a stroll, eat, or find entertainment.

Panoramic view of the Sarawak River, downtown Kuching

The DUN, a Sarawak State Legislative building, now dominates the skyline at the Kuching Waterfront, along with the famous Hilton Hotel which can be seen on the far right in the picture above.

The DUN sits on the banks of the Sarawak River, Kuching

Hanging out at Kuching Waterfront

And perhaps the biggest attraction is the long line of souvenir shops right opposite the Sarawak River which are a big draw to foreign tourists. I have been frequenting these shops since 2003 and there is so much great Sarawak stuff there. Here's a video of the souvenir shops I shot this year:

If you need to get across to the other side of the river, there is a sampan service. It costs a cheap RM2 per person for a few minutes ride to the other side. Take a look at this sampan ride in the video below:

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!