My Top 10 Photos of 2017 - Number 4

As it gets closer to the business end of my 'Top 10' pics of this year, it's getting more difficult to choose my favourite! Entitled 'Nutcracker...sweet!', my pic of this furry-tailed creature is my number 4 choice. Grey squirrels are regarded as pests, because they can cause untold damage to young saplings and in people's gardens. This one had just raided our chicken-feed box! Nevertheless, they do tend to be rather photogenic, don't you think?

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Squirrels are notoriously hard to get close to, as they have excellent peripheral vision and are easily spooked. Just as well I had a Canon EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS lens to zoom in and get the shot. (Camera: Canon EOS Rebel T1i. Settings: f/6.3 1/500s ISO500)

My Top 10 Photos of 2017 - Number 5

Number 5 of my 'Top 10' favourite pics of 2017 is this image captured of fellow togs at one of Steven Hanna's photo workshops on the north coast near Portstewart. Entitled 'The evening rush', I think it encapsulates the adrenaline rush that landscape photographers get as the sun is setting and they want to get their shot before it's too late! (Camera: Fujifilm X-M1. Settings: f/22 1/5s ISO100)

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Steven is an excellent all-round photographer who specialises in wedding and landscape photography. During the year he runs a series of photo workshops that are definitely worth getting along to if you're serious in developing your skills behind the camera.

My Top 10 Photos of 2017 - Number 6

My 6th placed image of 2017 is this one entitled 'King of the camper', featuring our pet dog 'Peanut', who was pleased to have found a comfy spot in the back of our camper-van during a trip to the north coast. Animals and pets can make great subjects for photographing, but they don't always comply with instructions! On this occasion, though, 'Peanut' seemed only too happy to pose for a photo.

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This image was captured with the classically-styled Fujifilm X-T1, which is a mirrorless compact system camera. The lens was the XF 18-55mm f/2.8-4 R LM OIS model, and the camera settings were f/3.2 1/120s ISO400.

My Top 10 Photos of 2017 - Number 7

In 7th place in my 'Top 10' of 2017 is this image of the lake at Loughgall Country Park, which is the ideal place to go if you need a break and just want to chill out for a while. This moody shot was captured just after sunset, so I've entitled it 'Afterglow'. I love the fact that even as the darkness of evening descends, sunlight is still breaking through.

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The image was captured with a Canon EOS Rebel T1i and EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM lens, with settings of f/14 1/200s ISO400.

My Top 10 Photos of 2017 - Number 8

Number 8 in my 'Top 10' is 'The last leaf'. It was really quite amazing to see this lone leaf clinging on at the end of January, long after the autumn season had come and gone! Although I generally prefer to capture images of sweeping landscapes, sometimes it's the small things that get my attention. This was one of those occasions.

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The photo was taken using a Canon EOS Rebel T1i with an EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS lens. The camera settings were as follows: f/6.3 1/500s ISO500. Using the maximum focal length ensured the background was thrown well out of focus, making the leaf stand out nicely.

My Top 10 Photos of 2017 - Number 9

Next up in my 'Top 10' countdown is this image which I've entitled 'Every dog has his day'. It was captured on one of the few sunny days we had in July, as our dog 'Peanut' joined us for a trip out in our camper-van. I think you can tell that he's 'ready to roll'!

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Mirrorless compact system cameras have become all the rage over the past few years, and with good reason! This image was captured with a Fujifilm X-M1 camera, coupled with the XC 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 OIS lens. The camera settings were f/8 1/350s ISO400. 

My Top 10 Photos of 2017

Well, here we go... my 'Top 10' pics of 2017, kicking off with this one at number 10. I've entitled it 'Bad Moon Rising' (a nod to the 60's American rock band 'Creedance Clearwater Revival'). I captured this image from my back garden on a cold winter's evening, way back at the start of the year. It was one of my first attempts at photographing the moon in the night sky, which is more difficult than you might think! It was obviously shot through the branches of some trees, so I wasn't sure whether to focus on the branches or on the moon itself. This was the best of the bunch, where I focussed on the latter. For those interested, it was shot with my wife's Canon EOS Rebel T1i, coupled with an EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS lens. The camera settings were f/5.6 1/640s ISO1600. As I was shooting handheld at a focal length of 250mm, my priority was to have a fast shutter speed to minimize camera-shake. Of course there are much better 'moon shots' out there, but I was quite pleased with my first attempt at 'Astrophotography'. 😉

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If you're interested in exploring 'Astrophotography' (photography of the night sky), I recommend that you check out Alistair Hamill's excellent blog-article 'Not so dark after all'. Alistair is also available to do presentations to groups on various aspects of photography, including 'Astrophotography'.

As one year draws to a close and another one beckons, it's good to take time to reflect on the year that's just passed. Over the past 12 months I have travelled all around the province, and on my travels I've managed to capture thousands of images - too many to share! So as we come to the end of 2017, I thought I'd share my personal Top 10 photos of the past year for you to enjoy. So starting tomorrow, I will post my favourite pics from 2017 along with a comment. So watch this space and enjoy!