Happy New Year!

It's that time of year again when I sit and reflect on all the things that have happened throughout the past 12 months.

2021 was tough, having to again postpone workshops which should have taken place in 2020 and constantly being unsure of what the future holds. It was a year full of ups and downs, but being less able to travel meant that I spent more time exploring locations closer to home and investing time in my own self development.

I am very grateful that 2021 gave me the time to finish and launch my 2nd E-Book (Mastering Night Sky Photography) and that I was able to organize 12 different workshops locally.

With all it's challenges and uncertainty, 2021 has flown by, it’s hard to believe we are now just few hours away from 2022!

2022 is going to be a very exciting year for me as I have a 12-month sabbatical and will be using this time to (Hopefully) travel to new locations and organize more workshops and photo tours (Keep watching this space!). I also have quite a few personal projects which I will be focusing on throughout 2022.

I hope that 2022 is a better year for you, your loved ones and also our planet!

Without further ado, these are my top 12 images of 2021:

1. Moon rise in Comino - I love this unusual rock formation on the rugged coast of Comino. I shot this image after sunset during my Comino Camping workshop in November 2021.

2. Croda da Lago Sunrise (Dolomites) - The two hour hike which started at 03:30am was definetely worth it to capture this shot! I visited this place for the first time in August 2021, I will definetely be back!

3. Sass de Putia sunrise (Dolomites) - This was the first sunrise of my trip to the Dolomites in August, I love the moody atmosphere created by the low hanging clouds!

4. St Mary's Tower at Sunrise (Comino) - I shot this in January 2021 whilst scouting locations for the Comino camping workshop. The dramatic clouds from a nearby thunderstorm caught some amazing colours at sunrise!

5. Sunrise at St Peter's Pool - I shot this image on my Birthday in January 2021. I have visited this location more than 30 times, but I got super lucky with the conditions and a fiery sky!

6. Sunset at an Undisclosed Location (Dolomites) - Possibly the craziest location I have photographed in the Dolomites. It took days of research and hours of scouring google maps to try find this location, and when we visited it in August we got lucky with an awesome sky at sunset!

7. Sunrise at St Mary's tower in Comino - I captured this shot during my Comino Weekend workshop, the recent rain filled all the little rock pools and I was able to get a reflection of the tower by going super low!

8. The Milkyway over boulders at Il Qammieh (Malta) - I have walked past these boulders coountless times without ever realising they might actually make a great foreground for a Milkyway Image. I captured this image in July 2021.

9. The Milkyway over weathered cliffs near il Blata tal Melh (Malta) - Similar to the previous shot, I have walked by these cliffs 50 times and never took notice (When hiking in the dark, its easy to miss stuff!). When visiting during the day I realise this could really work as an image, and returned in May 2021 to capture it.

10. Ghajn Tuffieha tower during a stormy sunset - After an afternoon of storm chasing and getting very wet and cold, I just wanted to get home and get warm, but seeing a gap in the clouds on the horizon and knowing there was a chance of a great sunset, I persevered! Glad I did! Captured in April 2021.

11. Sunrise at Ghajn Barrani in Gozo - An awesome sunrise on the first day of one of my October 2021 Gozo Weekend Workshops. The swell and waves helped make this image more interesting and dynamic!

12. Sunset at Ghar Lapsi in Malta - This image was captured on the first day of my sabbatical in December 2021. Its an image I had wanted to capture for months and finally had the time to do so!