As I did at this time last year I've posted a collection of my favourite images from 2010 to close out the year, one from each month. If I'd picked my top 12 from the year as a whole I suspect that there would be some changes, and I also suspect that some of you would probably make different choices, but when I went through each month these are the ones that I enjoyed producing the most.

If you want to comment on any of the individual images just click the title above each one, or the image itself, and this will take you to the relevant entry on the blog. If you'd like to see the rest of the images I posted in a particular month, just click the month listed above each image.

As always, let me know what you think.

In other news ...

Today's the last day to get 25% off our Photoshop tutorials. Further info here:

http://www.chromasia.com/tutorials/online/

And finally, best wishes for 2011. Let's hope it's a great year :)

Here's a companion shot to my last entry. I'm not sure which of the two I like best, but did think this one was sufficiently different to post too.

On another matter: I'm currently trying to pick my best/favourite shots from 2010 – one from each month – so I can post a 'best of 2010' entry on the 31st, much as I did last year. I have some ideas about which shots I definitely want to include, but if there were any that I posted during the last twelve months that you think should definitely make the cut, please let me know. If you want to browse through my entries by month, the easiest way is to go to the main archives page, linked below, then select a specific month using the 'monthly archives' dropdown menu towards the top-right of the page.

http://www.chromasia.com/iblog/archive.php

In the meanwhile though, do let me know which of the two shopping trolley shots you prefer :)

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9.38am on 9/10/10 Canon 5D Mark II EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM 24mm f/2.8 1/500 aperture priority +2/3 evaluative 100 no RAW Camera Raw Photoshop CS5 none 1x1

Here's another shot that I took during one of my recent trips back to the UK: an abandoned shopping trolley, part-buried on the beach just north of Blackpool's North Pier. I also have another shot of the same trolley that I'll post either tomorrow or the day after.

In related news, as the processing for this shot was reasonably complex I thought it would make a good addition to our library of Mini-PSDs (PSD files that subscribers to our Photoshop tutorials can download each week). Oh, and if you're interested in subscribing, we're currently offering a 25% discount until the end of the year. Further details here:

http://www.chromasia.com/tutorials/online/

As always, let me know what you think, and if you don't get the opportunity to drop by again in the next few days, have a great 2011 :)

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9.53am on 9/10/10 Canon 5D Mark II EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM 24mm f/8.0 1/50 aperture priority +1/3 evaluative 100 no RAW Camera Raw Photoshop CS5 Topaz Detail minor transformation

Dear Santa,

This year I would like a Range Rover, for driving around the wintery Bulgarian landscape, a 1Ds Mark IV, just as soon as Canon get around to releasing it, and a 85mm f/1.2L. Oh and maybe the new 70-200 f/2.8L IS, the new Apple Cinema Display and an iPad.

Thanks, Dave

PS - if that's too much to ask I'll settle for a pair of socks, a day that the kids enjoy, good company and good food, and a glass or two of decent wine.

And I wish the same to all of you too: I hope you have a great time :-)

This is the third and final shot of Blackpool's North Pier that I'll be posting: taken from the south side of the pier. I'm not sure which is my favourite of the three that I've posted, but I do like how this one turned out.

In related news ...

I've added the first image from this short series as our latest Mini-PSD.

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9.33am on 14/10/10 Canon 5D Mark II EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM 24mm f/8.0 1/250 aperture priority +2/3 evaluative 100 no RAW Camera Raw Photoshop CS5 none minor transformation

Here's another shot of Blackpool's North Pier, taken a few minutes before my last entry, and in some ways I think I prefer this one. As always though, let me know what you think.

In other news ...

My latest Critique Slot Screencast is now live. These are a part of our online tutorials and are based on an image submitted by one of our members. The basic idea of each screencast is to work through the original image (critiquing the various changes that were made) and then reprocess the image from the original RAW file.

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9.04am on 14/10/10 Canon 5D Mark II EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM 70mm f/8.0 1/80 aperture priority +2/3 evaluative 100 no RAW Camera Raw Photoshop CS5 none 16x9

Blackpool's North Pier is probably one of my favourite man-made structures, but since moving to Bulgaria I haven't had quite as many opportunities to photograph it. When I was last back in the UK though (in October) I did get three or four shots that I like, of which this is the first that I'll post. If you're interested, the rest of my shots of the North Pier are here:

.../galleries/north_pier.php

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9.11am on 14/10/10 Canon 5D Mark II EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM 27mm f/8.0 1/80 aperture priority +2/3 evaluative 100 no RAW Camera Raw Photoshop CS5 none 2x1

I was going to post another portrait from Oman today but thought I'd continue with the beachcombing/beach theme for another day, and while this isn't as striking as the last shot I posted, in many ways I prefer it. I think that the thing I like most is about this sort of image is that the objects I find on the beach are often perfectly sculpted (for want of a better word) into their environment. In this case for example the cup is slightly buried, in a way that would be hopelessly difficult to replicate if I'd tried to stage the shot. It's not a major thing, but is one of the things that attracts me to this type of shot.

Anyway, let me know what you think – I'd be interested to hear your thoughts.

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10.04am on 14/10/10 Canon 5D Mark II EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM 55mm f/16.0 1/30 aperture priority +2/3 evaluative 100 no RAW Camera Raw Photoshop CS5 Topaz Detail no

As I mentioned yesterday, Libby has been back in the UK this week, while I've been at home in BG looking after the kids, and while I can't say it's been easy, or that I've enjoyed every minute, it has been rewarding. Anyway, in light of her imminent return, I looked through all the shots I have that are blogable, in search of something symbolically relevant to post. Unfortunately though I don't have any flower shots, or anything even vaguely romantic, so settled for this one: two tracks converging and running together. Not the most obvious of heartfelt messages, but the best I could do :)

In other news, my Creating Dramatic Images workshop that I'll be running in Austin (TX) early next year (Feb. 5th and 6th) is now full. There are a few spaces left on my one day HDR Crash Course though (Feb. 4th). So, if you're interested in learning more about HDR photography, and can get to Austin on February 4th, drop Dave Wilson a line (who will be organising both workshops):

dave AT davewilsonphotography DOT com

And if you want a bit more info about what we're going to be covering, take a look at this page:

http://davewilsonphotography.com/workshops/

And if you still have any questions, drop me a line:

djn1 AT chromasia DOT com

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10.26am on 14/10/10 Canon 5D Mark II EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM 24mm f/5.6 1/160 aperture priority +2/3 evaluative 100 no RAW Camera Raw Photoshop CS5 none minor transformation

As you'll know if you follow me on Facebook I've been home alone this week, looking after the kids, while Libby has been back in the UK. Normally when Libby travels she takes Tiggy (our one year old) with her, but this time she left her behind. We weren't entirely sure how it would go – this is the first time she's been away from Libby for more than a few hours – but we decided that a) Tiggy was old enough to stay, and b) Libby deserved a break, not least because she had loads of work to get through before heading home again this weekend.

Anyway, it's been fine, though tiring, and as Libby gets back on Saturday I'm sure we're going to survive. Today though has been hellish. Tiggy has been fine – she's pottered around, ate loads, and generally done her own thing. Fin (5) and Tabby (3) on the other hand have been terrible: they've cut each other's hair, broken things, fought like cats and dogs ... you get the idea.

Anyway, my reason for mentioning all that is because it influenced my choice of image today: something quiet, simple, non-contentious and calm – quite the opposite of my experiences today :)

And in case you're wondering, it's some netting, hanging from the underside of Blackpool's North Pier.

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9.48am on 14/10/10 Canon 5D Mark II EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM 70mm f/4.0 1/125 aperture priority +2/3 evaluative 100 no RAW Camera Raw Photoshop CS5 none 1x1

I came across some fantastically photogenic people in Oman: this guy was no exception.

On a technical note: this was an interesting shot to process because there were numerous ways to convert the image to black and white, all of which produced interesting results. In this instance I used two channel mixer layers, one to convert the bucket to black and white (biased towards the red channel to make the bucket darker) and the other to convert the guy and his blue uniform. This second layer was biased towards the blue channel, which a) really brought out the detail in his face and skin, and b) made his uniform very bright. Anyway, I'm waffling, but if you're interested in this technique take a look at either of my black and white tutorials (info about part one here, part two here).

And as always, let me know what you think.

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2.54pm on 12/11/10 Canon 5D Mark II EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM 70mm f/5.6 1/60 aperture priority +1 evaluative 100 no RAW Camera Raw Photoshop CS5 none minor

Although there's not much I can tell you about this shot – it's the headlight on a Toyota Land Cruiser, taken while out in the desert in Dubai – I would be interested to hear what you think.

On a different matter ...

As I've mentioned a couple of times, I'm running a couple of workshops in Austin (TX) in February: a one day HDR Crash Course on February 4th and a two day Creating Dramatic Images workshop on the 5th and 6th. There are still a few places left on the HDR workshop, but only one place for my Creating Dramatic Images workshop.

If you think you might be interested in attending drop Dave Wilson a line who is coordinating both workshops:

dave AT davewilsonphotography DOT com

And if you haven't seen the details, take a look at the page linked below for info on content, pricing, and so on:

http://davewilsonphotography.com/workshops/

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5.32pm on 4/11/10 Canon 5D Mark II EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM 16mm f/5.6 1/30 aperture priority +1/3 evaluative 200 no RAW Camera Raw Photoshop CS5 Topaz Detail minor transformation

When I looked through my shots from the Jabel Shams canyon I was disappointed with a lot of them, mostly because they failed to portray the scale of the place. Take this shot for example – it's OK, but it's not easy to calculate the size of the various features. As such I've posted an additional shot here:

.../jabel_shams_canyon_3_scale_shot.php

It shows the furthest point we walked to: the site of an abandoned village. As a side note, we weren't in the least bit surprised it was abandoned as a) it was almost wholly inaccessible, and b) was perched above a several thousand foot drop. As you can see from the additional image, it looks like a section of the canyon wall was terraced, probably for growing crops. Jason and I jokingly decided that the reason it was abandoned is because the children were sent out to gather the harvest. After a generation or two, and the loss of most of their offspring to vegetable picking accidents, the locals moved out – to somewhere a bit closer to the ground :-)

Anyway, my main reason for including the extra shot is that it does give you seem idea regarding the scale of the canyon. When you compare the extra shot to the main one (the terracing is above the right-hand side of the large arch) you begin to get a much better sense of the immensity of the place.

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12.42pm on 15/11/10 Canon 5D Mark II EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM 35mm f/8.0 1/200 aperture priority -2/3 evaluative 100 no RAW Camera Raw Photoshop CS5 Topaz Detail no

First of all, thanks for all your comments, Facebook 'likes' and tweets regarding my previous shot of the Jabel Shams canyon - they were much appreciated - and if you're interested, Jason has just posted his version of the same view here:

http://www.escapism-online.com/blog-entry.php?pid=315

As for today's image: this is the one section of path on the Jabel Shams canyon walk that was fenced, and it extended for about 10 metres from end to end. Given the scale of the drops along the unfenced sections of the path I decided to avoid looking over the edge as we crossed this bit; a) because the drop was probably mind-bogglingly huge, and b) because a few strands of wire and some old twigs didn't seem like much of a defence against imminant death ;-)

On a different, but equally exciting topic ...

When I posted my previous entry I mentioned that I'd be running a couple of workshops in Austin (TX) in February: a one day HDR Crash Course on February 4th and a two day Creating Dramatic Images workshop on the 5th and 6th.

I heard from Dave Wilson (the coordinator of both workshops) earlier today who told me that there are now 15 signups for my Creating Dramatic Images workshop and nine for my HDR Crash Course. As both workshops are limited to 19 places they're likely to be full very soon, so if you think you might be interested in attending drop Dave a line:

dave AT davewilsonphotography DOT com

And if you haven't seen the details, take a look at the page linked below for info on the workshops content, pricing, and so on:

http://davewilsonphotography.com/workshops/

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9.36am on 15/11/10 Canon 5D Mark II EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM 24mm f/8.0 1/60 aperture priority +1/3 evaluative 100 no RAW Camera Raw Photoshop CS5 none minor

As I mentioned a few entries ago, Jason and I went to the Jabel Shams (or Jabal Shams or Jebel Shams) canyon in Oman, the second largest canyon in the world. I have quite a few shots that I'll be posting, but thought I'd start with this one, shot on the way back from the end of the canyon. For most of the walk the path was relatively safe – if you had slipped you would have probably ended up getting away with a few cuts and bruises – but there were a few sections where you'd almost certainly have plunged several thousand feet to the bottom. Fortunately, that didn't happen, but my nerves were a bit shredded by the end of the walk. Oh, and in case you're wondering, the path in this shot was one of the safe bits :)

In terms of the post-production: this is an HDR image, processed using Photomatix Pro, and the 'original' image is the metered exposure rather than the tone mapped shot.

In other news ...

Full details regarding both my Austin (TX) workshops are now online – my one day HDR Crash Course and my two day Creating Dramatic Images workshop:

http://davewilsonphotography.com/workshops/

I spoke to Dave Wilson earlier today – who will be coordinating both workshops – and he told me that there are already a number of bookings and a lot of interest, so book soon if you'd like to come along. Just drop Dave an email as follows:

dave AT davewilsonphotography DOT com

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12.36pm on 15/11/10 Canon 5D Mark II EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM 16mm f/8.0 1/60, 1/160 and 1/400 manual n/a evaluative 100 no RAW Photomatix Pro Photoshop CS5 Topaz InFocus minor