We’re getting ready to close another year, and personally it couldn’t have ended sooner. It has been a year of more downs than ups for me, so I’m looking forward to have a new start. I have to admit, 2018 seems to be the year ideal to start something: New Year starts on a Monday. It’s going to be the 1st day of the week, the month and the year. Can’t get a cleaner slate than this!
Since it hasn’t been the best year, traveling for me has been on a real down low. Finally got the chance to “escape” at the end of the year. That’s why more than half of the Best Nine 2017 are pictures actually taken in 2016.
2017 small wins
Being more of “glass half full” kind of person, I want to focus on the few small wins that I got this year. It might mean nothing to some people, but to me they brought a lot more satisfaction than I can put to words. And I’m sure you know what I’m talking about. We all have some small wins that nobody gets, that make us feel all giddy inside.
I managed to [annoyingly] slow grow my Intagram to over 1.5k followers, I got my first small win from a Tourism Board and learned a lot more about photography and social media. Compared to 2016 I reached about 5 times more people with more or less the same amount of inconsistent posting and some of my photos got some real nice feed back from actual photographers.
So I would like to thank all my friends and followers for their likes, their comments and their shares. I will keep pushing and hope that the best nine of 2018 will be much more spectacular and I’ll have a lot more to show for. But until then, here are the best nine of 2017 a bit more detailed.
Best Nine of 2017
1. Temple of Debod, Madrid
This is by far one of my favorite pictures of all time. The way the water reflects the temple at sunset is absolutely stunning. For more Madrid, check out this post.
2. Vacaresti Delta, Bucharest
This is actually a picture I took in 2017. It was on a photo tour organized by Canon in Bucharest. One initiative I was thrilled they finally took. The plan is to try and participate to more tours like this one in 2018. Check out the post about Vacaresti Delta for more photos of that tour.
3. Aerial view from Malta
This was an unique experience. It was the first time I flew in a small 4 person airplane. My heart jumped at every “bump”, but the view… oh so spectacular!
4. Orange bike in the Old City center Bucharest
Experience Bucharest was the largest project to promote Bucharest in 2017. First edition had so much success that they organized a second one in the fall. The impact it had in social media was amazing, and it actually go me interested in the city I live in. So I got my camera and started shooting around town. I rediscovered a different Bucharest, that I am thrilled to show to whom ever wants to come for a visit. Check out more about the project here.
5. Night sky over Bucegi mountains
I might not have the best equipment to shot a sky full of stars, but I have a feeling I haven’t reach it’s full potential yet. So I’ll keep practicing with every chance I get.
6. Sunset over Verona
I absolutely LOVED Verona, and you can read more about it clicking here. I kept playing with different camera settings and testing different shutter speeds. The result was this silky water look and an amazing sunset.
7. Feeding the pigeons in front of the Romanian Athenaeum
It’s amazing what you can capture if you just take a stroll through the city.
8. Washing the bike in Lago di Garda
Italy is simply beautiful and I can’t really decide what part I love more, but the Northern lakes are for sure spectacular.
9. Curtea de Arges Monastery
Sometimes discovering your own country can be as exciting as taking a plane to a faraway land. Romania is a beautiful country, and for 2018 I really want to discover more of it.
Would love to hear some feed back from you in the comments section. I hope to have a much more photogenic 2018, as for you, I hope your 2018 will rock and all your wishes will come true!
Romania and Malta are moving up on my radar… and I once did a summer season working near Lake Garda so I’m really keen to return there one day. Lovely photos and re-cap of your year!
Thank you so much! I need to get around and finish like a ton of posts – Lake Garda being one of them.
What a diverse and amazing 2017 you’ve had! Wish you the best for 2018! 🙂
I hope I will be amazing also, with more travels!
I visited Verona in 2017 and immediately fell in love with the city! Malta is on my list for this year and I can’t wait to visit. Congrats on growing your Instagram, definitely an achievement in itself!
Thank you so much. It’s hard work, but it does have its rewards!
Such amazing photos! You got to visit so many places last year, so lucky! My favorite picture would have to be number 9, because I’m just in loveeeee with Italy. <3
Thank you so much! Actually most of the photos are from 2016. I didn’t get to travel so much last year. Plan to remedy that this year though 🙂 9 is actually from Romania, so I’m guessing 8? 🙂
Beautiful photographs – very inspiring! Love the dreamy, washy water in the sunset photo of Verona.
Thank you so much! It’s one of my favorites too 😀 I have a hard time settling on just one favorite :))
What an amazing year of Travel! These are all places I haven’t explored before, but places I’ve been hearing loads about recently! Maybe it’s time for some new trips!
I also need to make more time for travel… and for writing. I have many more stories in draft 🙂
You seem to have had a great 2017! You have been to two of the places I am planning to go to this year (Bucharest and Verona) So I will definitely be coming back here to check out your post. In the places you have mentioned, which one was your ultimate favorite?
Actually these were trips from 2016. For 2017 I had to put most of it on hold. None the less great experiences. Favorite.. I think Verona takes the win, but only by a slight margin.. Madrid is up there also!
Your pictures are spectacular… I have started following you on instagram too. Love these picks… I hope I could improve as much as you did.
Thank you so much! All I can say is just go out and take pictures. That’s what I did. Followed a few basic tutorials and just took shots with different camera settings. Like in everything else, practice is the key!
Glad you were able to find some little moment of happiness, even while potentially going through some things. 2017 was a bit slow on travel for me as well, but I’m ready to get back on the wagon.
Wonderful photos, btw. I still have to work on the perfect settings to be able to capture stars. But the black and white one outside of the Curtea de Arges Monastery is probably my favorite!
Thank you so much! For the stars, unfortunately it’s also about the camera. I’m not quite happy yet with what I manage to shoot. But it’s progress none the less. The B&W one got so many nice reviews! Thank you again.
Awesome! I enjoy the reflection period between Christmas and New Years. Even though 2017 didn’t feel like a super great year, I had a lot to be grateful for!
We always should be grateful for what we have and achieved. There are a lot o people less fortunate. So this year I would like to appreciate more what I’ll accomplish, even if they are small wins.
Amazing photographs. Love to visit some of these places 🙂
My favorites are Bucharest and Malta.
Bucharest has been getting a lot of positive feedback in the past year. Even I started to appreciate it more. You just have to let yourself discover the places you are used to with new eyes. It’s surprising what you can actually discover.