Looking back over my photography of 2004 I have picked out my top ten favourites. I have not picked these pictures based on artistic merit, or technical perfection, or viewer response. I have picked the ten pictures that I enjoy looking at most. It was difficult to narrow it down to ten. If I sat down to do this again tomorrow I would likely come up with ten different pictures, but for today here is the best of CoffeeWaffle photos from the year just past, along with my reasons for picking each shot.
No. 10
I like this shot for its intense colours and ambiguity. It is my neighbours Son, Rawiri standing behind my largest kite (8.5m c-quad) to demonstrate its size. First published back in May.
No. 9
This would have to be the closest encounter I have had with any wildlife all year. This little lady and two other fur seal cubs were the most obliging models I've worked with in a long time. I met them on Wharariki Beach back in September.
No. 8
A rare portrait. I don't often point my camera in the direction of other humans, but when I do I like my portraits to be completely candid, like this one. This is Sam and his boy having a blast on Neale Park at our October Kite Club Day.
No. 7
I like this shot for the emotional state of mind it evokes in me. It calms me. Taken while sitting on top of a sand dune, absorbing the sunset at Muriwai Beach, in October and featured as Wallpaper Wednesday in September.
No. 6
This shot just says 'fun' to me. Its not often I get enough kite buggy pilots together in one place and time to take a photo like this. I remember after taking it, running to put my camera back in the car, then running back to my buggy to give chase. Shot at Rabbit Island Beach in October.
No. 5
Just one shot from a particularly memorable sunset in December. Someone else actually put their finger on what I like about this shot... "I love the way the stilts look like the same bird, just in various poses, it almost looks like a time-lapse series of photos with the bird at the bottom left being the starting point & the other 2 just showing different stages of movement."
No. 4
This shot reminds me of Wharariki Beach, which is a place that affects me greatly. Standing there on top of Cape Farewell looking North along the majestic coastline makes me feel very small, but somehow not insignificant. This was taken on my first visit to Wharariki in July.
No. 3
Birds are spectacular creatures that I don't think I will ever tire of photographing. My visit to the Gannet colony at Muriwai Beach in October gave me some of the best opportunities to photograph them of the year. What I like about this shot in particular, is that it shows what masterful aeronauts these birds are. This gannet makes landing on a tiny rock outcrop in blustery, unpredictable winds, look absolutely effortless.
No. 2
Since purchasing my camper-van this year one of my favourite things to do in it is to park at the Spooners Range Lookout overnight and photograph the sunrise over Nelson. This shot was during one of the best displays from there. Even my dog Kaycee braved the August cold for a look out the van window. Its a wonderful feeling to be up there on the ridge drinking it all in, while Nelson sleeps below. This shot reminds me of that feeling.
No. 1
Its hard to put my finger on just why this is my favourite shot of the year, but it must have something to do with the way I took it back in September. I didn't go out looking for a bee to photograph, or even insects in general. It was a spur-of-the-moment subject that produced surprising results. This is, in essence, what I enjoy most about photography. The surprises. The unplanned successes. The reminders that there are thousands, maybe even millions of photographs out there just waiting to be caught in pixels, in even the most pedestrian daily situations. I've just got to keep clicking that shutter button and they will reveal themselves.
3:21:37 PM 
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