Ah men, what a year it has being. This year has had everything. Pain, joy, major wins, MAJOR 'Ls'. Everything. This year has had me questioning my ability as a photographer. This year had that session where I had to refund the client because she thought the images were not good enough, which was kinda her fault but that's a conversation for another day. Well not another day, I had the conversation already, haha. This year has had the moment when a client, not even a client, just a friend I help take pictures of her and her family telling me that the images were not good enough. WTF, you didn't f**king pay me shit. This was all Pro-bono. Eventually, I went on Facebook and I saw the same picture there on her profile. I didn't even put my watermark, sigh. Apart from the heartaches, this year has had good sessions where I was paid a decent sum and I worked happily with the client to get the desired result. Ah, a lot of stories I tell you, hence, this was a perfect contest for me. These images are not my favorite images of the year 2021 per se, they are just the one that were significant, ones that really meant a lot to me. I will take them from the beginning of the year to the latest. Oh sssshush, stevenson, enough talk.
I took this picture in the month of February. It was a precarious month for me. For my mental health. I had just resigned from my toxic job the previous year and I was waiting for a call-up to serve my country by March. Alas, It was pushed further to May. It was mentally draining. Staying home, being useless and my folks driving me nuts. Boyyyyy. I found solace in this child. If you follow my works you'd know his name. Alfred. We call him Alfredo. Every evening I'd take a book and my camera out the front yard and sit, hoping the day would get better. More often than not it did get better. I will read and enjoy, or I will shoot the sunset, or an Heron or this energetic lad. He was a bundle of joy. I played with him most times. This shot is a perfect reflection of his character. I can never forget this one.
Ha, a bundle of joy this child. I took this one in April. If you don't know her, you don't know Stevenson. She is my niece, Heavenly. Oh men the memories are rushing down now as I write this haha. She literally helped me learn and improve my craft greatly. She was always there to be a subject. Meeeeen, I have so much photos of her. Whenever I wanted to try out some new idea I found online, she was my go to. All I needed were candies and I was good. I am smiling as I write this paragraph. I love her so much.
I took this one in May. She was a classmate of mine during my university days. She's amazing. Business oriented, smart, innovative, industrious and super productive. Oh and beautiful too, hehe. She was probably the one client that worked with me to get the result she wanted, and she was super patient. I personally love getting feedbacks on my work as it helps me improve, but unlike many she was ready to give them until we both got the best result. Alas, the photos turned out majestic. The experience with her taught me a lot.
I took this one in July. This shot meant to much because I was literally challenged to show what I can do. Well, maybe not challenged but my ability was called to question. I was at the library with my colleague when we saw this beautiful creature. I was with my camera then, so my pal/boss told me to take photos of it; You know, show what I can do. When I showed him the result, he was impressed, I was, too, haha. This one just reminds me that I'm not a bad photographer. That I could get better if I wanted to.
Shot this in August. There's not much story to this one. I shot it while the boys were away from school. I just really, really like this one. If I am making any compilation of best photos of my career, I'm totally picking this.
This was shot in the month of September. This boy lives around the village in the Seminary community. Anytime I see them (his sister and him) they yell and call me saying hello. We quickly become friends. I promised them sweets and I delivered, haha. On this day he was playing and his smile was beautiful.
This is a memorable shot for a number of reasons. Mainly because I never knew her, but we worked together and achieved one of my best works. The boys were still away during the month of September, there was a spiritual retreat of a particular youth group in church. They came and stayed with us for a few days. One of the days, they were in the tennis court. I saw her with a guitar and walked up to her to ask if I could take pictures of her. Oddly, I wasn't nervous. She was more than happy to grant my request. I felt good.
Shot this one in the month of November. The best sunset Photography I've taken so far. Love it.
This picture makes me feel so good anytime I look at it. It had being over a year since I last saw this fellas, so we decided to meet up at my convocation ceremony. They were just stepping in and I saw them. I was over joyed. I got a couple of clicks and I made a post of the photos. If you check my post in retrospect you'd see them.