Well 2018 has, I think been a fairly interesting year all round. Personally it involved some huge changes, including getting engaged, buying my first house and moving from Australia to the UK. It has also personally been a fantastic year for photography. I have had some of my best photography ever classes this year and I have met some really great people. I guess the stand out point has to be that as part of my move back to England, I was able to take 6 weeks to visit some incredible locations and tick off some major items from my bucket list.
Last year, I wrote a post called "2016 - A Year of Pictures and Lessons Learned" where I went through my favourite pictures from 2016. I enjoyed writing that post quite a lot as going back and taking a look at your photos and progress is a really great way to filter out your best work.
So now its 2018, its time to look back over last year and pick out the best.
1. Perth Sunrise
I had a fantastic 3 years in Perth, and this view from Kings Park is, in my opinion the best view in the whole city. It was so worth getting up at 4am to see the sun rise over the city and I will always treasure this shot and the good memories that go with it.
2. Vlamingh Head Lighthouse
One of the reasons I love this one so much is that not many people can say they have taken this shot as its just so damn hard to get to! You need to get a 3 hour flight from Perth up to Learmonth airport and then drive up to the very tip of Western Australia. Its an incredibly quiet and isolated spot, absolutley gorgeous at sunrise.
3. Perth Boathouse v2
The first print I ever sold was of this boathouse. Its a picture that I love as it was one of the first images I took that I thought was good enough to sell. I wanted to go back and take the picture again a year later and this is the result.
4. The Lonely Church - Vic Iceland
Iceland was a difficult place to photograph. For starters I was only there for 4 days, and it rained relentlessly all day. Typically landscapes look best with lovely wispy clouds, blue sky and soft sunlight, low dark rain clouds not so much. This shot I love because I feel the sharp angular church with the bright red roof stands out as a shard of colour against the dark harsh sky,
5. Matamata - New Zealand
I think I want to live in New Zealand. This shot was taken early morning before my fiancee and I went on the Hobbiton movie set tour. New Zealand is quite simply one of the most photogenic countries I have ever visited, and of all the photos I took, this I think just sums it up in one shot.
6. Machu Picchu Sunrise
This may also be my favourite shot I have ever taken. A lot of effort and planning went into getting this one. Waking up at 2am and hiking up the side of a mountain through the jungle in high humidity all whilst carrying my camera and tripod. All the effort was so worth it to stand at the Sun Gate and see the sun rise over this incredible place.