So, it is that time of the year when I look back at the archive and choose my best photos of the year. 2011 was a great year for photography, as I finally went to the Alps to get my project running. I also managed to get some good shots across Europe and in New York. So, here are the top 5 photos.
My best photos of 2011: #5
I will start from bottom to top. In #5, something I got in my photo walk on the High Line in New York using only the 35mm lens. It was during a sunny summer day and the flowers in the new section of the High Line were beautiful and asking for photos. I set up the camera using the widest possible aperture (f/1.8) and since the sun was too bright, I had to use a very fast shutter speed (1/4000) at ISO 200. The result is a great bokeh and absolute sharp focus on the subject. It was an easy shot, but I like the composition, the colors and the exposure.
Flowers at High Line Park
Nikon D90, Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 35mm f/1.8G DX lens
High Line Park — New York, NY – USA
My best photos of 2011: #4
Number 4 is a very unusual shot. I was visiting an exhibit about particle physics at CERN’s Globe of Science and Innovation in Geneva, Switzerland. During one of the videos projected at the exhibit, I thought the lights were very cool for a photo, and I took several shots (you can see all of them here). The one I liked the most was the following, probably because of the very bright blue lights. It was very dark, so I had to use a wide aperture (f/2.8), slow speed (1/8) and high ISO (1600).
CERN
Nikon D90, Tokina AT-X Pro 11-16mm f/2.8 DX lens
CERN Globe of Science and Innovation — Geneva, Switzerland
My best photos of 2011: #3
In third place, the mighty Mont Blanc, the tallest peak in the Alps (15782 ft), located at the France-Italy border. It is one of the HDR (sort of) works I did at the top of the Aiguille-du-Midi peak, at 12605 ft high. I took 3 shots (actually 5, but discarded 2) at a very tiny aperture (f/22) and merged them later to create a HDR frame. The tone-mapped image was used as a base to create this image, which is composed of selectively masked parts of the HDR frame and the 3 original shots.
Mont Blanc
Nikon D90, Tokina AT-X Pro 11-16mm f/2.8 DX lens
Mont Blanc — Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, France
My best photos of 2011: #2
Second place is a panorama of of the Jungfraufirn glacier, taken at Jungfraujoch, Switzerland. Located between the Jungfrau and Mönch mountains in the Bernese Alps, Jungfraujoch is a saddle where the highest railway station in Europe is located at 11332 ft. The photo shows part of the station and the Jungfraufirn glacier in the foreground, and the Konkordiaplatz in the far background, where the Jungrfaufirn, Großer Aletschfirn and Ewigschneenfeld glaciers converge to for the Aletsch glacier. I used 14 vertical shots to create this, taken at a very closed aperture (f/22) to get the most detail as possible.
Jungfraujoch
Nikon D90, Tokina AT-X Pro 11-16mm f/2.8 DX lens
Jungfraujoch, Switzerland
My best photos of 2011: #1
And the great winner is…
Jungfrau Massif
Nikon D90, Tokina AT-X Pro 11-16mm f/2.8 DX lens
First — Grindelwald, Switzerland
This was a constructed shot from the beginning. I was once told that the coolest thing to do in the Alps is to take a shot from above the clouds. So when I went to Grindelwald, I kept looking at the cameras in the cable car station to see when the clouds were right below the mountain level. When that happened, I got the cable car up to the top of the First skiing station. I walked quickly to near the top of the mountain and was able to get some shots. To create this frame, I used 9 exposures, carefully merged (using layer masks) in Photoshop, in some sort of “manual HDR”. Right after that, as I was walking down the mountain, the clouds started to cover the mountain again, as seen here.
And these are my top 5 shots. If you want to see more, please visit my galleries on Flickr and 500px.
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