I came across the End of Year Contest hosted by the Photography Lovers community a while ago, it's about sharing your favorite images of the year and why they make your favourite list. There are a lot of amazing photographers on Hive, and we can't all churn out high quality images like them. However, I think in additional to the technical side of taking a good image, the personal story behind an image is also very important. Here's some of my favourite images from 2021.
Cambridge, July 2021
In July I went to Cambridge for my nephew's University graduation ceremony that didn't happen because of Covid. He choose to graduate in absence, meaning not to attend a graduation ceremony this year, and to do it at a later date. That makes perfect sense as hopefully he can do it in future with his parents presence. Cambridge is a beautiful city and is famous amongst many other things, punting along the river. I think this image represents Cambridge so well.
Bristol, July 2021
With international travel out of the question, I spent a lot more time travelling around UK, including places in my home city that I've never been. One of the most infamous thing about my home city Bristol was that it used to be vibrant slave trading port around the 17th century. Today Bristol has as strong arts culture including Banksy, and these colourful houses. It is located nearby the docks where ships used to sail in and out with goods and people. Nobody can change the past, nor forget about it, but we have to look forward, and I think these colourful houses represents the new Bristol.
London, June 2021
I like this photo for two main reasons. The first is the structure being built on the right. I had no idea what it was when I saw it, and later on found out it was a viewing point which cost you £4.50 to climb 22.5m up to see.... nothing. It was supposed to be the newest tourist attraction in London but it was so bad that it got blasted by everyone. Now you can go free of charge. Absolutely bonkers if you ask me.
On a more serious side, this is one of my favourite photos of the year because it was a rally I attended in London to support the democtratic movement in Hong Kong. During the last 12 months, thousands of people have fled from Hong Kong to UK due to China continue eroding people's freedom. This was the first time that many of them can march freely on the street to protest against the China Communist Party.
London, December 2021
I tried to hone in my photography skills this year, and instead of just click and shoot, I've been working on better composition. This is one that I feel quite satisfied with. It was taken at Highgate Cemetry, a cemetery in London with many famous residents including none other than Karl Marx. I took this image at ground level using the mix of green and dried autumn leaves as the foreground, and the crucifixes as the background. The focal point of the image is supposed to the the twig sticking up like another crucifix. I didn't quite nail that as it's not in focus and there's another branch sticking up behind it that spoils the concept.
Last and not the least another this I did this year was to learn amigurumi, that's crocheting small objects. It was a bit easier than expected, and although the things I crochet don't turn out exactly as expected, the process has been fun. My favourite amigurumi is this baby Yoda and his cradle that I made from my nephew. I like this image because of the journey of getting there as I felt so proud when I finally completed it.