Top 10 of 2013

It's that time of the year again... time for some reflection and to pick my top 10 shots of the previous 12 months.

Picking this year was tough... REALLY tough... mostly for 2 reasons:
1. You are your own worst critic, and if you are constantly improving, you find it hard not to over-critique previous work
2. Some shots had a story to them that made them special, even if they weren't as technically good as others.

Well, after much deliberation, and some peer consultation (yeh... I cheated a little and asked a few friends!), here are (in no particular order) my top 10 of 2013... enjoy!

I love this shot because I had tried to lure a hummingbird to my garden for 2 years, with no success.
This success was a result of a Moose Peterson tutorial on Kelby Training, and a new hummingbird feeder!

Picking this particular one, from a group of this session's shots, was tough - I loved a few of them!
Captured just off the beach at Porteau Cove, I stalked this guy for about 30 minutes,
gradually (& very patiently) getting closer...

My favourite shot from the 2013 Wedding Season. :-)

Walking with Mr Kelby... and a few thousand others! | Chilliwack Photographer

The kids are in bed... and the rain kept away the over-estimated hoards of trick-or-treaters.... so I am sitting here, desperately looking for ways to occupy my hands in a way that doesn't involve the small pile of unwanted chocolate bars sitting a few feet away from me. It is to my blog that I turn! So... where has my camera taken me lately? A few places actually - and it's quite a relief after the little break I unwillingly took.

One of the recent highlights involved 2 hours of uninterrupted selfish shooting, courtesy of a guy called Scott Kelby. OK, he wasn't actually there, as such... but he is the brains behind a worldwide event, where groups of photographers gather together on one particular day, share their love of the lens and just shoot to their hearts' content.

It is called Scott Kelby's Worldwide Photo Walk, and our local meet was at the Blue Heron Reserve, just down the road from us. Now, many of the Walk Leaders chose urban (usually downtown) settings, so it was actually a really nice change to have a more rural location... and a chance to practice more of those bird shots that I have wanted to do, this year.

Here is a little taster of my day's efforts...

  So... what did I learn from my day?

1. Don't forget your coat on a rainy day! (Yes... I put mine out ready to take but it didn't make it to the car. Thankfully a VERY nice fellow shooter had a spare!)
2. Carry a waterproof camera cover in your bag. (Mine has sat in my bag unused for months... until this day. It was very wet and that $7 purchase probably saved me $$$ in repairs!)
3. Other photographers are not that scary! (Who knew?!)
4. Every photographer should give themselves a little "me and my camera time" occasionally. (Shooting 100% for yourself is the best therapy ever!)

I've been published!

Very VERY excited - I have just had 3 of my photos published in a magazine! Yay me! I am now an "Internationally Published Photographer"! (Did I mention I was excited?!) The photos, all taken on the beaches of West Vancouver, are featured in the latest edition of 72 & Rising - a fantastic aquatic-based magazine which covers all things water-related...

My images (right), as featured in 72 & Rising!

The magazine aims to bridge the gap between the marine science community and us regular land-lubbers. It pretty much covers every aspect of water-related life that you could be interested in -  conservation, science, art, photography, water activities, travel, adventure and even cooking(!) - but does it whilst secretly educating you. Since we are so reliant on (yet so abusive to) our planet's unique covering of H20, I see absolutely nothing wrong with that!