Favorite Photos of 2009

I know it's probably customary to pick 10 photos, but I couldn't. I don't think I took as many photos this year as I did last, but I think the overall quality of my shots has improved greatly.

This first shot was taken early this year on a cold, foggy morning down by Utah Lake. There is a horse pasture at the end of this road. I grabbed my 70-200 and headed over. While this shot was chosen for the picture of the day on the website for the British magazine, Digital Camera, the shot below was probably my favorite of the series:



This next shot was taken as my friend Dave and I were headed home from photographing the museum at Hill Airforce Base. As we drove by the refineries in the North end of Salt Lake City, the sun was setting right behind them. The shot below was taken as I was hanging out of Dave's passenger side window as we drove down the freeway.



In February, Dave worked out a chance for us to photograph the Peak Jazz Festival at Thanksgiving Point. They had a few big names there including John Faddis, Frank Catalano and drummer Jeff 'Tain' Watts. I took a lot of shots, but I didn't post very many because we were shooting for someone else, but I think this shot of John Faddis was my favorite.



In March, Dave and I wandered off to this abandoned property near Utah Lake where there's a lot of development going on for sub-divisions. I grabbed this landscape shot before we left with my Sigma 10-20.



Right before the other Filipinos left due to their Visas not getting renewed, they threw a party. It was incredibly dark in this living room and I was using my Canon 50 mm f/1.8 exclusively. This is probably one of my favorite shots of all time.



In April, the weather finally started warming up. My Cousin had recently been engaged and needed photos for the wedding invitations. They asked me if I could do it. This was my first engagement shoot, but I think it turned out pretty decently. I've definitely learned a lot more about lighting and photography in general since then, but for a first time, I think it worked out pretty well. This is my favorite from the set (although I was kind of partial to this shot, too):



In May, one of Mushna's favorite Filipino performers was singing in Las Vegas. Her name is Lea Salonga and she was the lead female role in Miss Saigon in its first ever production, the singing voice of Jasmine in Aladdin, the voice of Mulan in the Disney movies and a lot of other stuff. While in Vegas, I grabbed some cool shots, but I think this was my favorite (and no, it has nothing to do with the sleazy ad for an escort service on the truck).



For my birthday in June, Mushna bought me a 580 EX II Speedlite. This meant I could trigger my 430 EX wirelessly. I picked up a light stand and an umbrella. We headed up to Hobble Creek and took a few photos. I really like this one.



It was really rainy through the beginning of the summer. I got bored one weekend and made a softbox. This is a shot of our wedding rings taken using my softbox and 100 mm f/2.8 Macro lens.



Not long after getting the 580 EX, I decided I needed some wireless transmitters so I could get both flashes off camera. I ended up getting CyberSyncs from Paul C. Bluff, who makes Alienbee's lights. So far they've worked great. This is a shot I took of Mushna using off camera flash through the umbrella. I only used one flash for this.



Here is another macro shot I grabbed in the softbox. I think this is one of my favorite macro shots, ever.



In June, Mushna and I attended the Lehi Roundup rodeo. I had a good seat up in the stands. This shot was taking advantage of the second image stabilization option on my 70-200 which allows for panning. I dragged the shutter a bit and was able to keep the rider sharp. I like this shot the best out of all of them because you can see the second rider jumping off to tackle the steer. I grabbed a few others using this same method, but I really think the shot below is my personal favorite.



In July, my Dad was in Southern Utah for his wife's family reunion. He offered to put Mushna and I up in a hotel so we could visit, so we headed down. On the way down, we went to Bryce Canyon. I took a ton of photos, and really, most of these were among my favorites of the year. You can see the entire set here, but the shot below was probably my favorite.



We also headed north a bit to Kolob Canyon, which is part of Zions. We hiked up to the Hidden Alcove and it was amazing. The shots of the Alcove itself were great, but as far as composition, I think the shot below was my favorite.



While this next shot wasn't that exciting to begin with, I really like how it livened up with some post processing:



I took this shot of Bridal Veil Falls a while ago. Mushna bought a Canon 30D and I wanted to give her a chance to use neutral density filters.



This next shot was taken of a Golden Eagle and the Tracy Aviary in Salt Lake City. It was chosen for a blog on about.com about the Aviary being free during UEA weekend:

http://saltlakecity.about.com/b/2009/09/29/tracy-aviary-free-during-uea-break.htm



Mushna and I went back up to Hobble Creek in the fall to shoot while the leaves were still colorful. I really liked how a lot of the shots turned out, but this one's my favorite of the set:



Finally, on Christmas night, we got all bundled up and took the tripods out to shoot the Christmas lights around Center Street in Provo. I like this shot the best out of all of them because I was finally able to get the white balance correct in post processing.



I know it's customary to do a "Top 10 List", but I tried and couldn't. Hopefully 2010 will bring more great opportunities to photograph. Hope you enjoyed this set.