Focrates

- 10 -

Plaza de España in the golden hour. If you ever happen to be in Seville a visit to the Plaza de España before sunset is a must. The late afternoon light creates wonderful colors and the half-moon shaped square offers endless possibilities for great compositions.

- 9 -

The ceiling of the Sagrada Familia. What makes this image interesting is that it takes the viewer a moment to wrap his mind around what he's looking at.

- 8 -

People always tell me this image looks like straight out of a tourism booklet for Scotland. I like it because of the stunning landscape, the wonderful morning light and the peaceful atmosphere.

- 7 -

Hallstatt after sunset. This one is almost unfair since it is so easy to take great images in Hallstatt. I really like the composition in this one though. Placing the crossover from the town to the reflection in the water about in the center of the frame creates a sense of harmony. The clock tower is placed exactly in the golden ratio and the hill to the right with its reflection create a balancing negative space.

- 6 -

I obviously neglected my wildlife photography a bit in 2015 with this gray squirrel being the only entry in the Top 10 list. I believe however, that I managed to capture the decisive moment.

- 5 -

The second entry of Hallstatt in this list. Hallstatt just has a few unique perks for photographers including the great landscape, the beautiful town, accessible photography spots with great views and perfect morning light.

- 4 -

This dramatic landscape shot was created in a two minute pause between two rainstorms, just as the sun emerged above the hills and disappeared under the clouds a few moments later. I'm proud of this image since I got what I wanted under extremely challenging conditions and very strict time constraints.

- 3 -

The Alhambra is just an extremely impressive piece of architecture situated beautifully with the impressive Sierra Nevada as a backdrop. Be there at the right time and you'll be rewarded with a great image!

- 2 -

This picture is one of my absolute favorites since the quite ordinary motive is transformed into an incredibly strong image through the very carefully chosen perspective and composition.

- 1 -

Probably not only my best photograph in 2015 but at all up to this point. In my second Scotland article I included a detailed description about the circumstances that led to this image. I'm so glad that I took the plunge and climbed on this hill without knowing what view would await me on top.

Best of 2015