Some of my best photographs

Thought I would pick out a few photos which I particularly liked. I’ve read one photography book but apart from that I’ve just been taking countless pictures with my camera. It’s a hobby for me and I’ve tried to get better although I have a lot to learn about editing. Nonetheless most of the pictures are unedited. I’ll give my top 3 at the end.

22/08/2016

Okay this picture is literally just a snapshot from a plane but I thought it was too cool to omit. I took this on one of my old Xperia phones. Going over Iran there were these blood red lakes, which I believe is due to algae blooms. Here’s an article about it: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2016/08/why-giant-green-lake-turned-blood-red-iran-algae/

08/07/2017

So this was taken after an hour long scooter ride in northern Thailand. I took this on my Canon camera and it was the first holiday I was using the camera. I couldn’t figure out why my pictures were blurry but then I found out it was because I was using manual focus! Either way I liked this photo of the rollings hills disappearing into the background. And the blues and greens look quite peaceful.

13/08/2017

So this is a meteor from the Perseid’s meteor shower. You might call it a shooting star. I didn’t have a tripod at this stage so I just laid my camera down on the ground in my back garden pointing upwards. And once I was happy with the direction I kept taking 20 second exposure photographs until I captured this. In fact the shower peaks next month so I might try and better this image.

20/11/2017

I was on my solo trip around North India at this time. On the Triund trek there were some fantastic viewpoints. The reason I like this photo is that it encapsulates the two high villages in the foreground, another in the mid ground, and then in the background, on the right, the city of Dharamshala. This is one of the cases where the photograph can probably be improved with some editing. Although it was quite hazy at the time.

20/11/2017

Captured on the same day, this time right at the top of the hill. Most people stop at the campsite in the picture, or they carry along the path towards a mountain pass. However I took this side route which gave a great view of the campsite below and the mountains to the left. I find this shot aesthetically pleasing, I think because of the foreground, the trail to the right and the mountains to the left.

24/11/2017

This was taken on the same holiday but this time in Solang Valley. We spent 3-4 hours trekking 12km which was really enjoyable. The views at the end are worth it, unfortunately most people drive straight there. I love mountains and these looked amazing. However I think the cabin makes the picture. Try covering it up with your hand and see if the shot looks better or worse. I think worse.

26/11/2017

Another trek closer to Manali, this time the emphasis is more on the river than the mountains. This was in the middle of the day so the sun was quite strong. But I quite liked the rocks and the way the river seemed to lead towards the mountains in the background. The trees are also full of green and yellow colour.

01/12/2017

In the middle of Manali is a nature reserve with these tall trees. At least 100 feet tall. I looked up and thought the trees were looking pretty cool. Then I just went in an area in the middle of 5 trees and took this photo. It is an unusual picture for me to take, but I love it! It’s a peaceful place which I visited a few times en route from my hostel to the town centre.

26/12/2017

On holiday in Iceland we went to see the northern lights. This is actually 3 pictures stitched together and it has been edited to bring out the colours a bit more. The 3 photos were long exposure so you can see the people on the horizon are blurred. My tripod was also quite wobbly, and if you zoom in far enough the stars are not perfectly round. But from afar the sky looks crisp and the lights look amazing! An out of this world kind of scene.

 27/10/2018

Something closer to home, Richmond Park in London. Patience was key here waiting for the deer to move from one field to another. The grassy path lines up nicely and the trees in the background give an autumnal feel.

25/11/2018

Another India trip, this time in the southern region of Kerala. Some people liken it to Venice with all the backwaters. I was on a canoeing trip over the waters and I snapped up this shot of a lotus flower. I used a low f stop number. Without getting too technical that means the object will be in focus and the background will be blurred. As is the case here. I would’ve liked to have included more sky but since I took the picture whilst moving I think it’s still awesome!

25/11/2018

Same day but different kind of picture. I much prefer to capture scenery as it is rather than alter the reality. Although I take mostly nature pictures, I really like this picture because it shows the way of life in this community. Rather than using roads and cars to commute, its boats and canals instead. Here we have a father picking up his child from school. Slightly blurred due to the movement but I like how the boat is seemingly coming into the picture. And those beautiful overhanging palm trees make the photo great!

28/11/2018

Same South India trip, this time in the state of Tamil Nadu. This sunrise point is on the outskirts of a hill town called Kodaikanal. We woke up around 4 or 5am in order to make sunrise. And what a beautiful sight it was! I have several pictures but this is just as the sun becomes visible from the clouds. The trees are silhouetted and the mountains to the right offset the sun nicely. Oh and we had a picnic just after too!

 23/07/2019

We’re in Abu Dhabi this time! The reason I particularly like this photo is that I was purposefully trying to capture depth. I love the texture of the floor fading as you go deeper into the image. The trees form the mid layer, and then finally the slightly faded tall buildings in the background. Abu Dhabi is a city full of awesome architecture.

24/07/2019

The first image was taken on my phone, as was this one! Unfortunately without a wide angle lens I wasn’t able to capture the mosque in its entirety with my canon camera. However a handy wide angle lens on my phone came in clutch to capture the beautiful Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. It is a bit slanted, but there is enough light to capture the sky and the patterned tiling. And enough darkness for the artificial lighting to create quite the peaceful and atmospheric look.

25/09/2019

A few days into my trek in Nepal. This waterfall was shown to me by a local girl in the village of Tal. En route to the waterfall there were these beautiful flower fields. I don’t know what they are and neither did she, if you know please do tell me! I went for a higher f stop number to try and get most of the image in focus. This is also a classic example of the rule of thirds! And what a lovely picture it turned out to be.

26/09/2019

The next day was just… wow! Scenes that would not be out of place in a fantasy movie. I went with the widest shot I could to capture the many waterfalls. The clouds and mist add to the mystical feeling. And I love how the winding trail disappears into the distant valley. Despite the amazing image it does not do justice to the real life views!

30/09/2019

In some ways a similar picture. With the winding river disappearing into the distance between the mountains. However a much simpler view, with the climate much dryer a few days later into my trek. The blue sky adds a bit of colour and the buildings of the villages add character to the shot.

1/10/2019

The next day I went on a day hike to a staggering height of 4600m. It was very windy and very cold at the top. But what a fantastic view of the Annapurna mountains! Experimenting with composition, I placed the stupa to the right, with the rocks in the foreground to the left to try and create a balance. I’m happy with the result!

11/10/2019

I was too tired to full appreciate the back end of the trek. But I captured this wonderful image of Nilgiri mountain. Just starting to walk to the next village early in the morning, I captured the sun lighting up the mountains in the background. The foreground is really dark which is something I can improve upon. But still a great image!

My top 3

I think for uniqueness I would have to go with the shooting star for number 1, followed by the northern lights in number 2. And then number 3 would have to be the hilltop image on the Triund trek. I hope to capture more natural beauty and share it with you guys sometime soon. Follow my Instagram! Let me know if you enjoyed the blog! Do you agree with my top 3?