My favorite photos of 2018

First of all, I want to wish happy holidays to everyone and many successes in 2019! Time has come to wrap up the year and reflect on what has been done. And also to make new plans.

This year has been the first where I seriously devoted time to learn photography. And I believe I made a huge progress, even breakout. As a lover of street photography, almost everything I photograph is candid and in documentary style. I try not to interfere with whatever is happening and just capture moments as they are, non-staged.

For someone who is mostly introverted, this was a big challenge to just go outside on a regular basis, approach people and make photographs of complete strangers. But I enjoyed stepping out of the comfort zone. It made me grow as a photographer and a person.

Hopefully this is just the beginning.

In 2019. I plan to concentrate on a few specific photo projects. I'm still defining them, but roughly - one of them will be Faces of Belgrade - street portraits or candid portraits of fellow Belgrade citizens. The second is Street photography through glass, or something in that regard. And the third one will be something related to my travels. If one of these works out, plan is to create a photobook and maybe something more at the end of the year.

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Okay, enough of chatting, here are the photos. These are not necessarily my best photos, but my favorite - those that make me smile for some reason. Photos are more or less in a chronological order. Hope you enjoy!

At the beginning of the year I spent a week in Budapest. It was an amazing experience that it made me visit it two more times later this year. This is shot of Buda Castle taken from Chain Bridge during this amazing sunset.

A long exposure shot of a Chain Bridge during blue hour. I went down these barely accessible stairs and got very close to the Danube river which made me get this nice composition with rocks on the right.

Another photo taken in Budapest few days after New Year. I just love the light in this one. Contrast of blue and orange works nice and the girl's expression is beautiful and bold.

Taken in Japanese garden on the Margaret Island in Budapest. Nice place in the middle of Danube to go for a walk and enjoy nature in the heart of the big city.

Lovers enjoying the sunset at Kalemegdan fortress. I was lucky to be there and capture the moment. The statue in the background and cityscape makes the moment monumental in a way.

It's nice that nowadays people's faces can be perfectly lit with only the light from their phones. This is shot at max ISO of 12800. Still looking pretty good.

I was going in the opposite direction from the man and his dogs and I remember thinking it's probably not worth taking a shot. I turned around and saw the light of the street lamp and illuminated snow and in the last moment, squat down and took the shot. Not particularly special but I like the colors, light and atmosphere in this one.

Eye contact can turn a decent photo into great one. It creates a bond between a subject and photographer. Not something I try to do often, but it's a fun way to spice things up by waiting those few extra seconds.

A little pug wandering the streets alone on a winter day, colorful umbrellas and the reflections on wet ground - what more to ask for. I just wish I didn't cut the top of the umbrellas, but oh well.

After a full day of skiing on the Kopaonik mountain, I took the tripod and went out to photograph snow covered forest and ski slopes. Can't wait to get back there soon. `

End of March at the Belgrade lake "Ada Ciganlija". I was walking through the flooded forest and saw this interesting composition with trees reflecting in the swamp. I tried to come as close as possible without falling in and raised the camera high above my head to get most out of the reflection. Highlights slightly overblown but it brings additional contrast to the scene.

An hour or two after the previous shot. I got to the nearby Ada bridge and set up a tripod to try few long exposure/car trail shots. After photographing the bridge in its entirety, I got to the middle of it and captured this interesting closeup. The moon was nicely positioned in the middle. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get rid of light source on the right.

After finishing my daily round of street photography I was waiting on a bus stop to go some place for lunch. Out of nowhere this girl appeared sprinting, trying to catch the bus. Luckily I had the camera in my hands and was ready to make the shot in a matter of seconds. Wait till she separates from the the crowd, get down lower, snap when she's mid air and one foot in front of the other.

On the 6th or so day of my first 15 rolls in 15 days challenge I got to the city realizing I forgot to charge batteries for the Fuji after previous day of shooting. Not wanting to forfeit the challenge, I decided to shoot entire episode with my phone (Galaxy Note 4). And it happened that some of my favorite photographs were made that day (only shows that you don't really need fancy equipment to try street photography).

I walked by the spot above many times and usually either windows are closed, there are no guests in the restaurant or there's something in front of it that ruins the composition. This time everything was perfect. Two windows look almost like paintings on the wall. There's a slight shake of the camera that makes the photo a bit blurry, but I think it doesn't detract much.

Another photo taken the same day as the above, again with my phone. Almost everything - from the subjects, to broken bench and tools of information, speaks about time and difference in generations.

This year I loved capturing moments when conditions and life hit hard and you are out there, trying to push through it. This gentleman was caught in a real rain/wind storm and was looking for the closest shelter. Much in this composition says how tough it was, broken umbrella on the top right, drops of rain beside it, man's face and pose... Shot wide open at f/2.

Taken few seconds before the one above (you can see the two ladies in the background). Craziest wind I've ever seen.

Zemunski kej is located by the right bank of Danube and is often visited by large groups of white swans. I got down to the river and squat low to accentuate their figures against the sky. I waited till they formed around the old boat in the background and snapped. Flat light made for nice, muted colors.

Kalemegdan fortress is a good place for occasional reflections on life or moments of peace. This girl was deep deep in her thoughts, sungazing. I made two quick snaps not to wake her from this beautiful moment and moved on.

Often when I visit same locations I try to walk around and explore different angles to photograph from. Here I found an interesting sub-framing for the tower using this still leafless bonsai, or whatever it's called, tree.

Silhouettes and faceless characters - something I haven't explored a lot in 2018 and plan to do much more of next year. Sunset at Kalemegdan, I stood back, camera almost on the ground and exposure compensation turned to minus couple of stops. A bicycle and few other good subjects passed by, but then this interesting family walked in and created the nicely aligned composition.

This scene reminds of Frodo and Lord of the Rings. :) I love capturing such moments, even in this harsh, daily light.

In May I went back to Budapest for a week, so the next 5 shots are made there. One of the things that most impresses me about this city are the bridges. There are many of them near the city center and each is beautiful in its own way. For this shot I found myself under Elizabeth bridge. The light was amazing, coming in a diagonal angle and splitting the scene. I made a couple of snapshots without any subject while the cars where waiting on the red light. To my luck, this motorcycle appeared first in full speed and I only got to make this one shot as it was exiting the shadows, as if it's escaping the darkness. I just wish I included more of it's silhouette on the road. But moments like this disappear quickly and you're left with what you've got.

Parliament building is a never ending source of inspiration and admiration. I've shot it from many differently angles and also taken many photographs of passers-by enjoying its beauty. In this shot everything worked well with the girl's dress matching the building in color and shape.

Music fountain at the beginning of Margaret island. It's a common gathering where people can sit on the park benches, enjoy beautiful classical music and watch the fountain dance in the rhythm of it.

A little down the road on the Margaret island, I found this little guy resting on the rocks after a swim in the lake. He was very relaxed and easygoing and agreed to pose for a few environmental portraits.

How many pink balloons do you see? :D

Little girl playing in the grass at the Kalemegdan park. Golden hour light made already nice colors even more contrasty and pleasing. Photographing children in the public is not the most comfortable thing, someone might misinterpret photographer's intentions - so I made only one shot of the scene and moved on.

Photographing couples in their moments of affection - another favorite of mine. Hand gesture brings an ordinary photo to a new level.

Here's a scene you won't see often - a dog wearing sunglasses, standing on a statue of lion and watching the sunset. Yes, the owner was around and probably has something to do with it. I'm satisfied anyway to stumble upon it and make couple of shots.

When it's pouring rain one of my usual spots to take a break are bus shelters. You can experiment with through glass raindrops shots or take candid portraits while you're warming up.This girl with a pink umbrella and flowers intrigued me a lot so I spent couple of minutes working out the best angle to photograph her from. Nice spark of colors in otherwise somber day.

Chefs having a spontaneous dance in front of the restaurant. Another happy accident to find myself at the right place in the right time. But that's to be expected if you wander the streets as much. :) I love the movement and expression on a woman's face.

Another example how eye contact can improve a photo. Raindrops on the window give it another layer and more mystery.

Another one with the raindrops but this time I'm the one behind glass. These kinds of shots are fun to play with and can work if there's a good contrast (light, color) to separate the subject. Here it turned out very well.

This day the light was just beautiful and it hit the crosswalk from a great angle splitting it in dark and lit areas. It didn't take more than 30 seconds for a great subject to appear. I'm not a patient photographer, I don't wait on spots for too long - something I'll try to change in 2019.

In August I went with friends to a Greek island Thassos on vacation. It was meant to be a time for relaxation and I wasn't planning to take a lot of photos. The island is absolutely stunning so I had to make an effort and capture some of its beauty. Here I climbed to the rocks outside the beach and watched the waves crushing into it and then spilling everywhere.

At the end of the old port in Limenas there's a cool cafe bar Karnagio. The view from the terrace is absolutely amazing. While we were enjoying our drinks, I made a few long exposure photos of the cost by placing the camera on top of the fence. When you don't bring tripod you have to seek other solutions. :) Exposure of couple of seconds to smooth out the waves a bit but not make it entirely flat.

Another shot of the same place taken from the hill above cafe. Handheld this time.

Portrait of my friend as she's exploring a local market in one of the Thassos villages. I shot this short trip with analogue camera, Canon AE-1 and Kodak Portra 400 film.

Lovely old couple showing their closeness and love as the rain is pouring hard. Shot through the bus shelter window as I was trying to dry myself and clean the camera. Reflection of the building is nice addition.

July and September were very rainy months. Here's another couple saying goodbyes at the bus stop. The entire scene from the moment they ran towards bus before it left the sight lasted no more than 6 seconds. It's very important to always have the camera prepared to photograph - set up and in hand. Taken with 1/60th shutter speed. Lovely moment with two hands on the window. Colors work nice as well.

October was a Budapest month again. I wasn't 100% healthy at the time and didn't make much photographs. These tourists are taking photos in front of St. Stephen's basilica, I saw an opportunity to make something fun with the big palm trees in the back. I quickly aligned myself and took the shot.

Tunnel in front of the Chain bridge.

Heron, turtle and a statue enjoying each other's company on the Margaret island's garden. I stood there for good 5 minutes taking photos from different angles. This one seemed to work the best with big reflections in the lake.

Newly married couple walking across the Chain bridge.

This shot is taken at Sava river promenade. I don't often see swans along this side of river, but here few of them appeared. It's a little tough to correctly expose when shooting towards the sun. By angling the camera slightly to the left there's a nice contrast of light across the image and on the swan itself.

When I'm outside doing street photography, I try not to take many photos of street performers, sellers and other cliche subjects. Here's an exception, a book seller taking a break to read the news while the rain is going strong and his books and recoreds are safely protected.

Taken from my balcony one night when the sunset was particularly beautiful, changing the colors from dark orange to this soft purple. Underexposed couple of stops to preserve colors in the sky, ground wasn't too interesting either way.

I was walking around the Kalemegdan fortress when this playful girl ran passed me towards the tower you see in the back. I had a split second to slightly lower down and try to capture her mid jump.

Blue umbrellas everywhere, yellow car headlights and a few red details making for a well balanced photo. Another one where I've put the camera in my bag and thought I was done for the day.

November sun hitting the main street from a very long angle and creating these long shadows. This one was particularly interesting how it grew and made for an interesting figure. Some of you said it reminds of Peter Pan. :) The shot is flipped vertically in post-processing as it's usually the best practice with such reflection photos.

This well dressed woman caught my attention while I was on a bus home. Light was great, nice contrast between yellow in the bus and outside blue. Her face additionally lit with the light coming from her phone. I sat opposite to her and took couple of shots before she left on her stop.

Here's another shot taken in public transport during snow. I was going to another location I like to shoot in and planned to try photographing through blurry windows and see if some interesting composition that includes car lights outside would appear. Then out of nowhere this girl started writing on the window - what could I do, I turned my attention towards them and made 3 shots.

I just love shooting in the snow. It brings new dimension to photographs, especially when showing how people cope with it. And the snow combined with strong wind can be really unpleasant. This woman had a tough time trying to protect herself from the blizzard. As you can see the snow is falling sideways so the umbrella is leaning that way and nicely splits the image.

And this is the final photo I selected. Taken at misty midnight in Usce park. Several layers of trees accentuated by the fog in the distance. Unfortunately I didn't have a tripod with me so I handheld it with 1/30 shutter speed and aperture wide open.

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I hope you enjoyed the photos and following along this year. Let me know which are your favorites. Looking forward to 2019!