Best of 2019 – My Top Images

It’s time to look back and take stock of the crop of images for the year. Here is my selection for 2019:

Details for each image:

1. “Boat Quay,” shot in the town of Kurashiki, Japan, a tranquil image with reflections.
2. “Koi Reflections,” autumn leaf reflection of a pond shot in a Zen garden, Kyoto, Japan. Just a natural reflection, no polarizer.
3. “Sweeping Temple Steps,” shot of a monk clearing the steps, in Kyoto, Japan.
4. “Restaurant Owner,” portrait of the owner, shot in Ukyo, Kyoto, Japan. Not posed, just pointed my camera at her and asked if I could take the shot. Model release translated into Japanese for me by a guy eating a squid on a stick at table three.
5. “Ghost Bamboo,” intentional camera movement, shot in the bamboo forest, Kyoto, Japan.
6. “Cross Hatch Pattern,” this is a Satori symbol found in a temple, shot in the rain, Kyoto, Japan.
7.  “Ceiling Triangles,” shot inside the IM Pei designed Miho Museum, Shiga, Japan.
8. “Tunnel Walker,” shot outside the Miho Museum in the approach tunnel, Shiga, Japan. I didn’t wait for the figure to walk in, rather this was a grab shot and I got lucky that everyone in Japan seems to wear black a lot (including this subject.)
9. “Public Market,” long exposure shot of the fish monger market sign, Seattle, Washington. A typical shot I know, but I have always wanted to bag this one so bucket list item checked and included in this year’s list.
10. “City View Cab Ride,” shot from the back of a cab at night (motion blur/paint with light) traveling across Seattle, Washington.

It’s hard to talk about 2019 without mentioning the “elephant in the room,” as it were. Yes, the majority of my shots came from Japan this year. In 2019, I spent the better part of December in Kyoto and managed to catch autumn in full glory, not to mention take home more than a few thousand shots. Since many of these are still in post, this is my best guess at my best of crop for 2019 (I’m sure if you asked me next month, I’d have different images for you, but it’s January and time to make the list, so here you go.)

As far as subject matter, it seems like I’m “sneaking in,” more abstract images. By “sneaking in,” I mean they are kind of creeping into my aesthetic more and more, or perhaps I am growing more fond (accepting?) of them. I can’t seem to do a favorite list, a top 10, or whatever, without thinking about some kind of abstract. It’s a trend anyway. Apart from that, 2019 graced me with my usual smattering of architecture, a bit of night work, some of the environment portrait type images I like to do from time to time, and a hint of nature which is always fun. Travel wise, I shot in Seattle, Japan, and close to home, in downtown Austin, the Domain, and the water gardens. I did more of my bed series, lots of water garden images, and then there was Japan. What can I say about Japan, right? (Phew!)

I hope you had a great 2019 and your crop of images was a feast for the eyes. I can’t wait to see what everybody has done over the year and hope that you had a great 2019 photographically and other ways too. Happy New Year!

Until next time…

2 Comments

  1. marydaylo
    Author
    January 5, 2020 / 3:37 pm

    Beautiful!

  2. Carol
    Author
    January 10, 2020 / 9:25 pm

    Thanks, marydaylo!

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