In previous years, by best photographs of the year have centred on the quality of the image and in some cases the moments they captured. This year, I've created 20 categories for the collection for 20 photographs taken in 2020. Most of the categories represent common types of photography, but I've added a few to the mix that allow for some tailoring to my joys of photography, people and places.
There's a hint at an order of the photos, but the first one is the the photo I submitted to Flickr as my best of 2020. The full resolution images are published on Flickr. My photographs on this web site are protected by Creative Common licensing and cannot be used for commercial purposes without permission.
#1 Cityscape.
“Layers of sunset and light as the city moves on”. Hard to not include the CN tower in our local cityscape but this one shows the evolved TO skyline. Taken from Riverdale East it includes the traffic on Bayview Ave - surprisingly quite heavy in these pandemic times. Dusk creates the purple and orange hues which contrasts with the darker foreground. It’s almost like two worlds - the distant promise of a beautiful future and the dark messiness of today. Secondary category is sunset.
#2 Landscape
“Waimea Canyon State Park. So many tempting views along the long drive up and along the canyon rim. The parking lot had a little line up, but we got a spot and took in the stunning canyon views from the small lookout area. Along with deep valleys, strata of rock formations, streams and lush forest, there was a magical waterfall in the distance.”
Unspoiled, magical. You can’t imagine a place like this - with a friggin’ waterfall. This was our first to the Hawaiian Islands - we were so lucky to get this trip in before the pandemic truly hit North America. There is just so much variety in Hawaii and we loved exploring the islands and appreciating the natural unspoiled landscapes. Secondary category is place.
#3 iPhone
“Hockley Valley morning serenity”. This proves the best camera is the one that you have with you. Beautiful golf course and a magnificent morning with my son - just take a look around. Secondary categories are reflection, landscape, place and sunrise.
#4 Artistic
“Come this way Elora...”. This was on my detour home from dropping my daughter off in Waterloo and is an early shot with my new camera. This shot was with a super wide angle and I like the composition and the blend of natural and manufactured landscapes. I wouldn’t include this as a true landscape because of the unnatural stairs and railing features.
#5 Sunset / Sunrise
“Wailua sunrise. We were up early to catch the sunrise from the hotel beach. Although there was quite a lot of cloud cover, the sunrise was dramatic with the rocky and treed shore.” Always worth getting up in the dark to witness a sunrise, and if you’re in one of the most beautiful places in the world, there’s no excuse - and the two people framed by the tree I’m sure would agree. Secondary category is landscape.
#6 Event / Story
“Happiest of memories”. This is a special story about my wife’s solo trip to the 2010 Olympic Games and her return for the 10th anniversary - this time with me. Although our visit was planned for the exact anniversary date, we weren’t certain they’d relight the cauldron on that particular day. We struck gold and it was so special to see her pure joy reliving a very special place and time.
#7 Pandemic
“Dreams in pandemic times”. This shot taken early in April as the reality of the pandemic was sinking in and wearing a mask still seemed quite an extreme health measure. I had a few extra N95 masks in the basement from past handyman projects and ventured out into the new world. The original published description is “Waking up from dreams where I was chatting with old friends and ultimate players - unsettling to think my dreams are more normal than my waking hours #pandemic #lockdown #art #history”. And the hat! I can’t remember why I thought the Banksy flower thrower hat was appropriate at the time (6 weeks before the mass protests from George Floyd’s death) - in retrospect, it was perhaps foreshadowing of the stressful year and my chill. Secondary categories are story, humour and selfie.
#8 Family
We had quite a few social distancing visits with my sister-in-law and family this pandemic year. This shot was also an early test with my new flash and I’m very pleased with the wide coverage and red eye reduction setting. Earlier in the day while walking my dog I spotted a B&W concert photo and immediately thought of my brother-in-law's appreciation of classic rock - when I got it home and flipped it over it was a numbered print from a Led Zeppelin concert in the early 70's. I knew he'd love it. Secondary categories are pandemic and story.
#9 Humour
“Cozy heated front porch”. These are two of my oldest friends from university years and they have always been fun to be around, very witty and punny. They jumped on the front porch heater thing and invited us for a socially distancing visit - they live just 3 blocks away. I can’t remember her punch line but the photo captures the joy of her delivery. Secondary categories are pandemic and friends.
#10 Friends
This was the only time I saw these two dear friends in 2020. We met up in Waterloo and took casual walk around their local park. I had some new camera gear with me and I snapped a few shots along the way. I’ve known them many years and there’s just a level of familiarity and comfort some of us are lucky to have around old friends. And I think you can see in their eyes the reciprocal feelings. Secondary categories are pandemic and portrait.
#11 Portrait
"My eldest". Seeing new things in my son’s mature eyes. I took this shot from my front porch as we were of course distancing for this and most of our visits this year. At first pass, the shot didn’t immediately stand out, but once I cropped in by about 200% and saw his eyes and the neutral and relaxed closed mouth (vs the typical big smile) I was transfixed. It’s one of those moments when you’ve known someone their whole life and then you see something new with so much complexity - beauty of the human expression. Although it wasn’t set up from a true portrait shot, I’ve chosen this as my best portrait photo within by best of 2020.
#12 Reflection
“The dangerous frozen fingers photo on the chairlift shot. Approx. -17c with windchill.” Extremely cold and rather risky but worth the shot in my mind. I like the symmetry of the trees lining the chair lift path up the hill. The reflective convex googles work well and hep capture enough width to include me, ours skis and the surroundings. My wife’s eye’s help bring a human element into focus. The glimpse of the snowflakes and frost on the balaclava complete the winter sports scene. I photograph a lot of reflections.
#13 Night
“Yes we're still enjoying the cabana - blankets for a beautiful peaceful night”. We got a lot of use from our back yard cabana for 3 seasons this year. In a year of limited travel it became our urban oasis. It was the scene of many celebrations, video creations and our place to enjoy the nature of the city, I even liked the Cabana prep morning routine. This was the only photo of in this collection where I used a tripod. The exposure is 20s and helped create the creamy sky.
#14 Animal
“Feathered friend company very early on a Sunday morning”. I enjoyed the peacefulness of early mornings on my front porch this summer. On this morning it was just me and this beautiful bird perched on the power line crossing the street - it was clearly looking for its breakfast. I managed to take a few other shots but missed him in flight - I’ve seen him or a few others like him in the neighbourhood this past year - quite the site seeing their wingspan as he flies down the centre of the street.
#15 Stranger
“I spotted a tent in the park and wondered who was camped out. I noticed Gordon relaxing in his chair with binoculars at his face. Gordon is homeless but not any trouble to the park staff so he's happy to enjoy his place in the city. He was keeping an eye on another homeless person who was a perhaps a little less resourceful than Gordon - a caring man but very independent and worldly. Then he told me about the UFO he'd spotted the night before and then the other UFO sightings he'd experienced, including his first sighting in the Himalayas. He was quite knowledgeable and can easily differentiate between potential space stations (from the previous night) to shape shifters. I shared my UFO story from a drunken post-pub night in the English countryside. Gordon will be moving to a shelter when the weather gets cold. Be safe mate." Although I completed my 100 Stranger project a long time ago and continue to enjoy the challenge and the photographic results.
#16 Photojournalism
“Mask off for a message.” Not the biggest news story of the year, but Shelters YES Criminals NO was local news worth photographing. I have to admit I did not interview this woman but I’m including it because I like how I’ve captured her raw emotion - right or wrong.
#17 Street
“Waikiki sunset and surfer pose”. Among the hundreds of tourists crowding Waikiki beach for the sunset there were a lot of surfers (I’m assuming many of which were locals) that were making sure they got every minute of their surf time and some began to come ashore as the sun set. It was hard to miss this young lady coming out of the waves with her massive white surf board. I’m actually borrowed her pose from her friend that was taking her photo at the same time - but to me it feels like a local enjoying her beautiful world. Clearly not on the street, but a candid snap worth sharing. Secondary category is sunset.
#18 Selfie
“A simple delivery puts in wide angle smile on my face. My K&F Nikon (lens) to Fuji X (body) adapter arrived this morning. Pleased with a quick test of my Bower 8mm fisheye with my XT-1 (all manual baby).” Along with the wonders of camera and lens technology that this photo focuses on, it also includes the sub-plot of 2020 clearly being the year of home delivery. Let’s hope we can once again enjoy some shopping in-person in 2021. Secondary categories and technology and photojournalism.
#19 Place
“Hanalei Bay pier, waterfalls, mountains, surf and surfer thoughts”. One of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen; those magical and can’t-quite-get-there distant waterfalls; and the people on the beach are just at ease in this paradise. Secondary category is landscape.
#20 Decisive Moment
“Lie back and enjoy a moment in the late afternoon”. This was taken with a new fast telephoto lens and helped me capture this moment from afar as the lady enjoys a cigarette and awaits the sunset. I feel this fits this classic category due to its dreamlike possibilities. The narrow f2.8 depth-of-field works wonders with foreground and background layers of grass and leaves the subject and her bike nice and sharp. Secondary category is street.
Looking at the collection now, there are many overlaps subject in style, categories and even places:
- 6 photos included friends and family
- 3 included me
- 5 included strangers and candids
- 4 were taken in the Hawaiian Islands (we were so lucky to take this magical trip just a few weeks before the pandemic lockdowns happened)
- 4 were taken from my front porch
- 8 were taken in the neighbourhood
- 5 included visual clues of the pandemic
- 9 could be considered landscapes
- 14 included people
