Best Photography 2024 so far (part 1)

In this blog I’ll be reviewing some of the best photos I’ve taken during the first 6 months of the year. This collection of photographs follows absolutely no particular order nor any specific perspective other than me liking them or a given image having a special meaning to me. That being said, I’ll add that this is not a review from a heavily technical point of view, since I am not a camera settings freak at all. For me, the camera (and its settings) is just a tool to get my job done. I know what I want the camera to do, what my ideal photo needs in order to be exposed the way I want and so I set the camera accordingly to get it, nothing more.

This first photo was taken in Bydgoszcz, Poland. I took a train there and spend a weekend taking photographs and this one was actually one of the very first I took. I remember we were having a coffee and getting ready for the day and as we were seating very close to the window I noticed that the passers-by and the plant inside the café were looking really good one in front of the other, so I took a couple of photographs. This one stood out because the woman was exactly in the area I wanted her with the leaf partially covering her head, which I love.

Here I was looking for the best way to compose a photograph of the Opera Nova in Bydgoszcz. I knew I didn’t want the typical photo that everyone can take but the space didn’t really offer that much room to be creative. Besides, I packed only a prime lens for the whole weekend as I wanted to be focused in composing, not in changing between lenses all day long so I had to move quite a bit to find the composition I wanted.
So, there was a bridge over the river Brda in front of the Opera Nova and I thought of adding some negative space to create this focus on the building’s architecture.

One of the few examples of colour photography you are gonna find in my portfolio. This photo simply doesn’t work in Black and White. So, in these rare occasions I make exceptions to my monochromatic rule.
Here I like that the boats are red, which is a primary colour and a very vibrant one. I like the repetition of pattern that the pile of boats offer to the viewer. And I like that all the boats (the 3 ones that are piled up and the one that floats alone share the same exact colours: Red, White and Black.

The quick visit to Bydgoszcz rendered yet another great photography to the collection of this year’s best.
Here I was lucky. I was just adjusting my camera to Shutter Priority as we were close to an underpass and I knew I wanted to capture people in motion in the stairs. So, I was just making some trial and error shots to see what shutter speed was better for what I wanted and this photo was one of those first attempts. I just captured the essence of what I had in mind: People in a hurry, kind of blending together but with a minimalistic composition to highlight the underlying solitude of our way of living.

This photo I took at home. I used my girlfriend as a model as I wanted very specific gestures and feelings. The “session” was a total failure as I was unable to guide her through my mental process and what I needed… But this photo is proof that you have to try everything before discarding any idea. I wanted hand gestures that implied feelings and I hit the right button with this one. The pattern of the dress, the hands in that exact position… It is a very powerful image for me.

Here I wanted a dreamy photograph, a surreal photograph. This was taken in Gdańsk in the Shipyard area. I noticed the visual play the bycicle and the plants offered. This was an easy one to take but the result is surreal, exactly what I was looking for. I got many people asking why and how that bycicle is up there.

Continuing with flora, I love this photo of the haunting tree. I wouldn’t say abstract because it’s clearly the branches of a tree, but very artistic. I have days when this photo can exactly translate how I feel inside. So dark and gloomy. Not the photo anyone would expect from a trip, but I took this one in Gdynia in the north of Poland at the Baltic sea.

Next photo is from Gdańsk. We were waiting for the train and the sun was hitting nicely so I wanted to take a few shots on the platform but the place was deserted. Then a man appeared and he was kind of busy looking something on the phone. I framed him using a strange metal structure with many windows they had on the platform to take shelter when it rains. And the result is excellent for a Black and White photography, with many highlights and shadows and the man in the center of the photo kind of at the end of a maze. I think it is an impactful image.

We are getting close to the end of this first part of best photos and for this next one I remember that I waited and waited for someone to fill the frame.
This one was also in Gdynia, in the Port. Apart from yachts, sailboats, ferries and more boats in every shape and form, there are some very interesting maritime buildings surrounding the area. This building in particular is kind of elevated, it has massive concrete legs and one can go across beneath it.
So it was winter, not many people visiting the Baltic Sea and I was waiting for someone to come into my frame and add the human element for scale.
After a couple minutes, this man came and I had my photo. A gloomy, overcast, contrasty photograph that exudes human solitude.

Closing today’s post, I’ve chosen quite a simple photograph. It has many meanings, depending on who is the viewer and its mental state in a given moment, so I am not going to write mine to not influence any opinion.
I took this in a forest in the region of Lower Silesia in Poland. I saw this little stream and I saw potential in the foamy waters. The result was a classic photo, a minimalistic one, but very contrasty, very elegant with no distractions. Just water flowing by.
This comes to show that any subject, any scene, any moment can be turned into a photograph worth taking. In the end it only depends on you and your vision.