Summing Up

I'm not a big fan of all the end of the year nostalgia, but while browsing through 2009's archives I decided to try and pick my ten favorite shots that I took this year. Here are my picks, feel free to disagree:



Yes that's me. Completely lucked out with the self-timer there and I don't think I would have made anything different had I been behind the camera to press the shutter. Made plenty more images on that day, none came close. Don't know what I did to deserve that much blind luck, probably don't…



My friend Daxi under the bridge… Had a fantastic day with perfect crisp weather and Nikon's TTL system working perfectly. Who says on-camera flash has to look crappy? Shot a sequence, flash misfired on nearly every shot but this one… lucky once again.



One of the many portrait shots I did of Toni Lamprecht. Toni's face is a photog's dream and off-camera flash exposure worked out quite well in the dark forest.



Hurry up! That's all I thought, kneeling in the snow, seeing the sun drop behind the ridge and my pal still waiting at the top for I-don't-know-what. Last (skiing) shot of the day, two minutes later the sun was gone.



Again one of Toni's hardest. Shot some 100 images before I finally figured out how to get a decent balanced exposure in that truly awful light. Saved by Toni's massive shoulders and that beautiful mono looming above him…



Daxi, again under the bridge. One of my first tries with off-camera flash and my new 50mm prime lens…



One of the images that I managed to get published in 2009. Off-camera flash and loads of luck, holding the camera above my head and hoping for the best.



Once again a mixture of adequate off-camera flash exposure and luck. There are climbers that always seem to carry great expressions and others that come across a tad mentally challenged. That's the reason why I usually find myself behind the camera and why Duy is a fantastic subject…



I'm always happy if an image is a little different than others that are taken in the same situation. If it's me who takes that image I'm all the more happy… I loved the shadows the cordon throws in the background and the little yellow leaf was a nice -albeit unplanned- touch. Seems no one really cares about that image but me, but that's ok… I wouldn't be much of an artist if other people understood my work while I'm still alive. (kidding, of course)



Munich's Eisbach is a perfect spot, not only for surfers. Every sunny day, the spot is crowded with people carrying cameras, from the little point&shoot of the tourist to the D3x & 70-200mm 2.8 of the amateur photog with nothing to do. Seriously, this place is fantastic for trying out ideas, getting practice at shooting fast subjects and all that without facing any real pressure other than trying to catch "the perfect shot".
My take on this surf spot in the centre of Munich is a little different than the other images I've seen. For me, all those guys really dream of surfing in California and Hawaii, so I tried to make these images look a little more like a dream place and not like a little river in a crowded city.

These are my picks, I'd love to hear your thoughts! Anyway, I wish you all the best in 2010, hope to see you again here at my blog. Right now I've got my head full of ideas and plans for the next year, hope I'll be able to actually implement some of them.
Thank you all for your support, I appreciate it!

All the best,
Bruno