Tuesday, January 17, 2012

The Best of 2011

Throughout the year I take a lot of pictures... as we all do.  Some good, some not so good.  Many of them are for assignments for school related series or assignments.  So below, I am sharing some of my favorites from last year. (Apologies if the spacing or centering is off - I find the preview is showing different things than what I have selected or what I see!)

This is the Armani Hotel in Dubai.  It is right next to the Burj Khalifa.  I have never been inside, but it has a unique shape from the outside.  Almost boat-like.


Below are some lovely bird's nest baklava.  This is with my portrait lens.  While I am sure it's typical preferred use is for people, I like what it does for food.




The below coffee shot was for an assignment in my photography concept class.  I really enjoyed working with coffee because there are a lot of fun concepts with a lot of potential.  I was under a time crunch and needed to develop something with some available items at home, so here it is.


The below is one of my dearest friends and one of her daughters.  I shot it during a visit in her home one weekend.  In addition to the subject matter, the lighting in this image makes it for me.  She gets so much natural light in her apartment it is difficult to take a bad picture there.


Below is the "Fashion Court" in the Dubai Mall.  This is where all the high end stores are located in the mega mall of Dubai.  It is also where a lot of locals hang out.  I love walking around here on a weekend night.  Enter through the valet side for a car show like you have never seen.  While national dress is typically very similar for all locals, they all have that sense that they are wearing their best for a night out on the town.


This next picture I took while visiting a kind of touristy area in an older part of town.  I really enjoy shooting the old architecture of Dubai.  I presented this for a class assignment last year.  The instructor who is quite a successful photographer was always quite critical of our work.  We are better photographers for it, but there were no "virtual hugs" as he put it.  He was also always pushing to find the deeper meaning.  I love when he inquired about this picture and asked what the purpose of the woman was.  It was fairly early in the semester, so I could not write about her functional purpose.  I timed it so she was just in the right place to cover the big ugly red cone that was standing at the end of the ally!


I call this River of Leaves.  It was taken in Central Park in mid-November during a brief visit.  I felt I had not experienced the colors of autumn for so long.



I was in love with the lighting and where the sun was hitting this vase.  Plus the shadows from the flower and other plants nearby, but I was most drawn to it because of the natural light.  




This is the lobby of the Su Hotel in Antalya, Turkey.  They hosted several runners last spring for a charity run.  It was a nice relaxed time and quite a shift from their typical clientele.  Not that it is not nice on a regular day, but having been awarded in the past for their design it attracts a beautiful population.



This was quite a find.  I love street photography.  Is saw this while sitting on the metro in Hong Kong after a great day at Disneyland there.  Makes me smile.


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