It's the end of another year and the end of the decade. It's crazy to think that at the beginning of this decade, I was graduating high school and entering college at the University of California, Riverside. It was during this time in college that I bought my first camera with my own money. It was also the time when Instagram made its debut and would change social media and my life forever. This is the decade where I found out that photography is my passion. I would go on to travel to so many countries and states that I thought I would never go to. Countless wild trips with some of the best friends that I made through Instagram. Who would have thought that towards the end of this decade, most of my friends would be in the creative arts field?

This year brought on so many new challenges for me, filled with ups and downs. I got into one of the worst creative slumps of my life when it came to photography and creating content. I also almost lost a friend that I became really close with, and I was placed in so many unexpected situations throughout the year. 2019 was the year where I saw so much drama go down between people that it was insane. I’d never seen this much drama even back in high school. But it wasn’t all bad and a lot of good came out of this year.

I got to photograph my very first wedding as a primary shooter as well as getting the opportunity to second shoot for my photographer friend. I got to meet so many creatives in my local area and out of state through the Asian Creative Network (ACN), and I also got to book one of my highest paid gigs through that Facebook group. I went on my first photography business trip overseas to the Faroe Islands, working with six companies in that country to create photo and video content for them. This was also the most profitable year in terms of revenue for my photography business than any previous year. Additionally, I finally launched my print shop.

Other highlights of the year included shooting my first red carpet premiere event, shooting my first behind the scenes for a music video and a short film, photographing my first KCON LA event as well as attending the concert, getting interviewed by VoyageLA and Fox Magazine, getting a job at an advertising agency, and working with Alabaster Company to have some of my photos in their books.

Mental health was a huge theme for me in 2019. Personally, I didn’t struggle with mental health this year, but I watched other people struggle with it a lot. This year really made me realize how bad mental health can affect a person’s well-being and how important it is to bring more awareness to this topic.

Anyways here are my top 5 favorite photos that I’ve taken this year.

Note: These photos are not based on Instagram statistics; instead these are ranked based on personal preference. Although I loved every photoshoot I did this year, these are the ones that I would like to highlight. It was very difficult for me to choose which five photos I would include in this post as there were so many good ones to choose from.

#5 Snowy Moments with Nugget at Big Bear Lake

This photo was taken almost exactly one year ago. We had all just joined the ACN Facebook group and this was our very first retreat. For most of us, this was our very first time meeting each other in person. Who would've thought that people would be free during that weekend on such short notice and was down to carpool with people that they have never met before in their life to a snowy cabin? It was quite an interesting experience for all of us.

One of the reasons why I loved this photo so much is because Nugget, our resident wiener dog, is in the photo! It’s rare that I photograph dogs so I was super stoked with how these photos came out. Coupled with how Nugget is looking straight into the camera, Michelle’s serious facial expression, moody lighting, and snow falling, all these reasons makes this one of my favorite photos that I took in 2019.

#4 Exploring Rooftops in the Big Apple

In February, my friends from ACN Los Angeles (LA) and I decided to take a trip to New York City (NYC) to support our ACN NY chapter’s talent showcase. It was an amazing experience getting to know other creatives from the East coast and supporting each other’s talents.

During our free days, we got in contact with Benjamin (@versace_itachi_) through ACN. He was kind enough to show us around a few rooftops that he knew in the area. To get to the rooftop that he had in mind, we had to go to the top floor restaurant and take the side door and climb a flight of stairs. However, once we got to the restaurant, we found out that the door was locked. Feeling disappointed, Benjamin took us to another rooftop that was more easily accessible. Once we arrived at the rooftop I was blown away by the view. We spent almost two hours there photographing and admiring the view. I've always wanted to take a photo like this where I was wearing my face mask, walking on the edge of a rooftop. This photo was inspired by the urban exploration/rooftopping scene on Instagram.

#3 Skating Under the Tunnel Log in Sequoia National Park

Have you ever had a moment where you’ve been wanting to photograph a specific shot at a location that you’ve been wanting to visit for the longest time? For me, this was one of those moments.

During the middle of this year, I had the opportunity to go to Sequoia National Park with Brian and Elizabeth, both of whom I met through ACN. The purpose of this trip was to photograph Loaded Longboards as they graciously gave us two longboards for us to keep.

If you’ve been around me, then you’ll know that I am very detailed when it comes to planning itineraries for my trips and this one was no exception. We arrived at the park very early in the morning, a little bit before sunrise. Our first stop was going to be a tunnel log. However, upon reaching the parking lot, we saw a sign that said the road to the tunnel log was closed to vehicles. Feeling disappointed, we went to our second location and followed the itinerary from there. Fast forward to late afternoon, we decided to park our car and hike to the tunnel log. About 15 minutes into our hike, fog started rolling in through the tall sequoia trees. I was so excited because there’s something about the fog that captivates me.

Once we arrived at the tunnel log, I shot a few frames with Brian riding the longboard. Although it was a little dangerous for Brian to ride the longboard after it had just rained, we managed to get some great shots. Out of all the photos that I took, the above photo was the best. After we got the photos that we needed, we decided to head back. During this time I was going through a lot of personal problems with some friends and there were days where I felt very sad. As I was walking back, all I kept thinking to myself was “I needed this”. The fresh air and the sound of the wind gently brushing against the trees made me feel so calm and peaceful. It was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. It's moments like these that I will remember fondly when looking back at this year.

#2 Snapping Polaroids

This was such a fun shoot to be a part of. I met Michele at a Subtle Asian Photo Meetup at the beginning of this year. Since then we’ve been following each other on Instagram. We haven’t really shot one-on-one with each other until recently when she messaged me if I wanted to shoot together. We picked The Platform in Culver City as our shoot location, and she brought a lot of festive outfits which was perfect for Christmas! Towards the middle of our shoot, she brought out her Polaroid camera and we decided to incorporate it in some of our shots.

For those of you who are wondering, no, we did not take these individual Polaroids and no, we did not throw them up in the air. The Polaroids you see in this photo were added in Photoshop. After spending a few hours creating this photo, I was really happy with how it turned out! Keep an eye out in the next few days for my final Instagram post of 2019. You will see that each individual Polaroid is very significant. Click here to see the Instagram post of Michele and the other shots that I took of her!

#1 Witnessing a Rare Cotton Candy Colored Sunset in the Faroe Islands

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Back in March of this year, I went on a business trip to the Faroe Islands with my friends Michael and Lauren. We worked with six companies there to create photo and video content for them. Prior to going on this trip, we mapped out a bunch of locations that we wanted to photograph. One of the locations was this winding road in Norðradalur on the island of Streymoy. Originally we were going to go to a waterfall for sunset, but due to time constraints, we decided to go on another day and to go to the winding road instead.

When we arrived, the sun was completely covered in clouds. Around 30 minutes into golden hour, there was still no sign of the sun. At this point, I felt like giving up and considering this sunset mission to be a bust. Then around the 40 minute mark, some of the clouds started to break away and the sky began to explode with orange and purple colors. I told Michael to look at the sky, and he responded back to me with an “oh sh**” because we couldn’t believe our eyes as we started firing off shots to capture this incredible scene. This was one of only three sunsets that we were able to capture during our nine days in the Faroe Islands.

2019 has been a rollercoaster of a year, but I’m really excited to what 2020 and the start of a new decade will bring. There are some uncertainties that I have in my life right now as I head into the new year but I’m stoked on where my journey will take me and how it will affect the rest of the year. I’m currently thinking about my travel plans for the year as well. I hope you liked this blog post, and if you want to check out my previous blog post about the best ideas for your “year in review” Instagram Story, then click here!