Its that time of the year again, time for my now annual photo wind up with 2019 taking centre stage this time around with a showcase of some of my favourite/best images taken across the course of the year.

I have had one of, if not my best and most interesting year’s photographically wise, with the most diverse range of photos I have taken to date. From landscape to macro, wildlife and now with the DJI Mavic Pro drone, a whole new world of photographic opportunities suddenly opened up to me, making 2019 one of my best yet.

DRONE

So where better to start than with some of my favourite drone images of the year. The drone has been a complete unrivalled success since I took the plunge back in April, and has subsequently been carried around with me almost every time I go out. I have been able to capture images I could have only dreamed of getting, and once I got to grips with how it all works and not petrified it will crash at any moment, I have been able to capture more and more impressive and interesting images taken across Industrial areas and busy cities, to forests and lakes and the sea. Even my weddings got in on the act with the drone being used for group photos and shots of the wedding venue from the sky. All the while producing some really amazing and surprising results. Below are just a few of my most favourite images, but it was very hard to cut this down, as there really were some absolute gems almost every time I took the drone out.

Some of the images produced by the drone have been so good that I have selected the image above of a fallen tree, taken on a recent trip to Poland, as on of my photo’s of the year. This was closely followed by the image below, taken during the harvest of a lone combine harvester in a sea of wheat.

Best of the rest

Uniformity, repetition, lines and shapes was something I particularly gravitated towards, with many of the most striking images I took including these aspects within them. Hopefully a lot more like these again for 2020 where I will be looking to add some ND filters to the drone to see if this will have an impact on the images, particularly with glare over water which I find a real challenge cutting out currently.

BIRDS

Of course a large part of my personal photography as with most years has been wildlife, which I have continued to try and improve on throughout the year with my trusty 400 mm F/5.6 swinging by my side most of the time.

Often frustrated, and rarely satisfied, this is an area of photography I love, and always come back to. From wildfowl at Slimbridge, to garden birds in the lake district, bird photography in 2019 saw the continuation of my pursuit for the ‘perfect bird’ photograph which will continue on into 2020.

The images below are a small representation of what I was able to capture this year, with 2020 hopefully continuing this trend, with Puffins top of my list to photograph.

Best of the rest

MAMMALS

I will find it hard to beat the magical moment I had up in the Lake district back in March this year. After a fruitless day searching for the timid red squirrel, I had given up all hope. Turning back towards the car and a dark mood, I stopped to take some photos by a bird feeder off a path close to some woods. What happened next made my day, and makes it into my top photos of the year. A great moment of 2019 I will not forget.

Best of the rest

MACRO

2019 for me, along with the drone was all about the macro. I could have filled a whole blog on its own with just macro images taken with my favourite 100 mm F/2.8 macro lens, so keeping this post down to the very best of these images was hard work. From over 5 types of Ladybirds, though to caterpillars, bees and flies, I photographed it all, and as I did my fascination with the miniature began to boarder on an addiction. I spent most of the summer with one eye trained on any hedgerows near me, with my camera close at hand, ready to try and one up the last image I had taken, or photograph a new species in the undergrowth. The stag beetle however still eludes me so the hunt will continue onto 2020.

Best of the rest

STUDIO PORTRAITS

Portraits are one area of 2019 that have taken a real backseat, as getting anyone to pose for me is a real challenge without having to pay someone. I find that this is an area of photography that I actually get really good results from, but for some reason do not feel as comfortable doing. This is in some part to the lack of experience I have doing studio work and the interaction required with the subject to get the desired results. I have big ideas for studio portraiture work in the future, but not the conviction or confidence to carry them out at this time. Hopefully this will be an area I am able to look into in more detail next year.

LANDSCAPE

Landscapes again featured in 2019 but with a lot less prominence. As I have previously discussed in other posts, I really struggle with getting a landscape Image that I really like and this year was no different, but for a few notable exceptions. The main issue I have with them is that they take the most to set up (tripod, filters etc), and give the least reward to me back. Because of this I tend to overlook the landscape and lean heavily towards the wildlife, macro and now drone side of photography.

So that is all she wrote for 2019, and what a year it has been. 2020 has a lot to live up to, but with the prospect of a lot more trips away, it will hopefully give me lots more opportunities to push myself and get some more amazing photos for next year.

The main thing for me is that I have enjoyed my photography even more than ever this year with more opportunities that ever to delve into this very addictive world it has been a great outlet for me and hopefully this will continue long into the future.

FIN