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!

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!

Top 20 Photos of 2013 starts tomorrow

Starting tomorrow I'll be posting my best 20 photos from 2013, one per day. I have spent some considerable time deciding which photos to include, which were the most meaningful, and which had stories behind them. I'm also looking forward to visiting others who have signed up for this blog-hop to see the images and stories they have captured.

Here is a photo that didn't make the top 20:

Posting this photo today is making me think twice. I really love this picture! It's our human tendency to rank things. We like to put things in lists. Perhaps there is no such thing as a Top 20 of photos taken in a year. Maybe we just have a whole collection of equally satisfying photos.

Here's another of my favourite photos of 2013:

Took this early one morning. I usually switch off the flash for sunrise/sunset pictures. Forgot to change the settings and captured this palm tree leaf lit up in clear detail with the soft blurry colours of the sunrise behind it. Came out just perfect! It ranked just outside my top 20 as I have another favourite sunset picture which you'll see in the coming days.

One more photo I'd like to share today:

I love watching the birds on a day to day basis here. I actually have a number of photos of them lining up on electricity lines outside our house. A nice picture, but I have no personal story to tell about it, or any standout reason why I love it.

So tomorrow we'll begin with #20 on our lists. Perhaps ranking our photos sorts out what is really and truly meaningful to us, something that goes beyond the image we see with our eyes, which carries a deeper sense of purpose. Hopefully, I have a few of those sort of photos in my Top 20.

Check it out from 1-20 January, 2014 at *The Kuantan Blog*.

Select and share your best photos of 2013

It's the time of year where we look back and remember the great places we've been, things we've accomplished and plan ahead for the future.

It's also time when I select my favourite photos of the year. They come in all types: portraits, scenery, food, nature, abstract. I usually determine my very best photos by the degree of difficulty to shoot them and the personal significance of them.

I thought it would be great to share my favourite photos with all of my blog readers, as I have done in previous years (see right side-bar for my Top Tens). But I'd also love to see YOUR best photos of the year too.

Running from Jan 1st to Jan 20th right here on *The Kuantan Blog*, I'll be hosting a blog hop entitled "Top 20 Photos of 2013" and it's open for everyone to join!

If you have a blog/website and would like to share your best photos with more people, simply take a minute to join this blog hop by visiting the page at the top of the blog. Here's the link: 

Top 20 Photos of 2013 blog hop

This is my first time hosting an event and I'd love to get more bloggers involved!

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?

Top Ten Photos of 2011

Hello and welcome to Kuantan for my top ten photos of the year review. You may remember some of them from earlier posts. I had around 30 pictures, all of which could have featured in the top ten, but after much consideration, these are the best of the best.

10. At number ten is a hanging bridge over Lembing River, in the quiet town of Sungai Lembing. My wife, Lauren, and a friend stand midway down the bridge.

9. In at nine is this hot photo from Bukit Sekilau. Children stand in front of the raging fire as the fire crew make their way to the scene.

8. In eighth position is this lovely perspective picture of a road bridge in Singapore overlooking Marina Bay.

7. At seven is this picture of Lauren and her aunty Urai surrounded by sun, sea and sand at Damai beach, near Kuching.

6. This abstract image makes sixth spot. A torchlight shines down on a diamond to create this light show on the wall.

5. From the 18th floor of Park Seven condo, I captured the raindrops on the window, with the iconic Twin Towers in the background.

4. In fourth slot is this lovely yellow flower. It wasn't until I reviewed the image later that I noticed one bug homing in on another sitting on the flower.

3. In third place is this fascinating image of 'the smiling gecko'. After spending half an hour getting him out of the kitchen, we got him to the balcony on a Cornflakes box, where he smiled for a photo!

2. Second prize goes to these two flies on an orchid branch, copulating fully oblivious to my lens. I held a piece of white paper behind them for focusing purposes, whilst snapping the picture with the other hand.

1. My best picture of 2011 is undoubtedly this night scene of Marina Bay, Singapore, from the wobbly Helix bridge. It was dark, I was tired, the suspension bridge was bobbing up and down, but the picture came out crystal clear.

Which photo did you like the best? Would you have chosen a different number one?!

Top Posts of 2011 - Part 3

Part 3 of my Top Posts of 2011 go through the months of January - April. Here are some of our best moments . . .

1. Right at the start of the year I compiled my top ten photographs of 2010 which I enjoy doing at the end of every year.

2. In January we had a most lovely stay at The Zenith Hotel courtesy of the General Manager. It had only just opened it's doors so we were among the first to see around the hotel and a short while later, stay there for a night.

3. I am a sufferer of headaches and migraines, and it is not at all pleasant, in fact it can be highly debilitating. So my blog post about headaches and migraines was long overdo and it was responded by some very positive comments.

4. In March there was a large fire just down the road which we first smelt, then viewed from the window, then I had to go down there and get some closer pictures. This image was the most enduring, with the young children looking excited in front of the huge flames:

5. During the month of April I took part in the April A-Z blogging challenge, which was one big highlight for me. I gained a wealth of new followers and comments, and good things happened during that month. I particularly enjoyed blogging about the letter 'X' for "xenodocheionology" which was a popular and unique 'X' post.

So that's the highlights of the blogging year done and dusted. The next thing will be my top ten photos of 2011 which will be coming soon.

Have a very happy new year wherever you are!