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Best Pro Photos of 2017
Feature Image by: Peter Sharp
Year in, year out, professional photographers work tirelessly to bring their creative and communicative visions to life. Building upon the legacy of those who came before them, they shape, and reshape, their craft.
However, it's not just personal growth and creative expression they strive for. These professionals are on a mission to make all of us feel something.
We hope this selection of images from 2017 will make you feel something too.
'Jamaica' by Chris Searl
In Jamaica this year I noticed these incredible handmade street carts. So, I took a day out to document a whole series of different street vendors, and their hand built carts. I love this one of the old vs the new style, separated perfectly by an overhanging tree. I'd love to get back there next year and finish off the series.
EOS 5D Mark IV | EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM
'Swimmers' by Craig Golding
The following image is from an ongoing documentation over a number of years of daily life in Cronulla, a coastal suburb in the southern region of Sydney Australia, where I live.
The images are basically daily observations of the people who live at — and frequent — Cronulla, their interaction with and affinity for the ocean, and beach life. The picture shows swimmers at North Cronulla beach.
1/1000" | f7.1 | ISO 320
'Roman' by Michele Aboud
The idea was very clearly felt the minute I came across the sculpture. Roman is a friend's son studying in New York, I was living there at the time.
He was the perfect subject to help bring this innate marble mass to life.
It has been created with a decisive nod to surrealism, although it has not referenced any particular piece of work or artist.
'Haiku Hands' by Cybele Malinowski
Shot for LNWY magazine, this concept is me getting back to my roots. I started out shooting musicians, and although I now work primarily on larger scale music shoots, fashion and advertising jobs, it was so refreshing to do a lo-fi editorial shoot. I rocked up to the band's house in Marrickville on one of those winter afternoons that remind you that summer will return soon. We just played around, following the sun as it traced across the suburban sky. This is one of my favourite shoots, because it's one based on trust and joy. Darren from LNWY gave me free reign, Suzy from the record label was on set, but we've been working together for a decade, so she just let me do my thing, and the band members are all artistic, creative, intelligent women, so we just bounced ideas off each other, and just went for it. An afternoon of shooting hoops, scaling fences and wrapping band members in reams of cloth was made even sweeter by the fact that my new born baby was waiting for me at home when we were done. Although I've been shooting for 12 years now, the essence of why I got into photography in the first place is still there: the camera gives me — and my subjects — creative license to find that joy and curiosity of what's in front of us — joy that so many people think they lose as they enter adult life. It's there, sometimes you just have to forget about everything you've learnt and tap into your subliminal.
1-D X Mark II | EF 24-70mm f2.8
1/1000 sec | f4.5
'The Chapel Attendant, Mount Lycabettus' by Daniel Linnet
Some of the best shots present themselves when least expected.
Sitting high above Athens, Mount Lycabettus offers some of the best views of the city attracting the tourist hordes as well as some of the locals. While all were marvelling at the sunset over the city I snuck into the tiny chapel to be greeted by the most beautiful warm light, and a chapel attendant with the most piercing gaze. It only took a nod of permission and a single frame to get this shot. Although I took other shots around the chapel in the 20 minutes of great light, I keep coming back to this simple striking portrait captured in that first and most perfect moment.
EOS M5 | EF-M 22mm f2 STM
ISO 800 | f2 | 1/60sec"
'The Chaos of the Heat Run' by Darren Jew
I've witnessed some truly amazing things in the years I've been visiting Tonga, but the 2-day mating chase of 21 and 22 September 2017 filled my head and my camera with so many images I'm finding it hard to concentrate on anything else. I keep scrolling through my pictures, reliving each minute spent 8m down, watching the first whales appear out of the blue, then as they stream by close enough to touch, their bodies cracking as they tail-slap a rival, bubbles exploding from their blow holes, their sounds bellowing through the sea and through me.
Take me back there — there is no other place I want to be.
EOS 5D Mark IV | EF 8-15mm f4L USM
1/320" | f8 | ISO 800
'Rise Festival' by Elise Hassey
Despite the Las Vegas strip shooting days before, the Rise Festival at Moapa River Reservation saw thousands gather to honour the victims and families by sending lanterns with messages of hope, love and unity into the Mojave Desert sky.
EOS 5D Mark IV | EF 24-70mm f2.8 II
ISO 6400 | f4.0 | 1/100"
'Icebergs' by Eugene Tan
Shot from a helicopter, this is an image of Icebergs pool – featuring my Italian image, peppermint fresh, printed huge-format on a Canon printer and laid at the base for about 5 hours. The idea behind it – was to bring a little bit of the Amalfi to what is the closest thing to the Amlfi coast here in Bondi, where Aquabumps started.
'Gotham' by Fran Miller
Surfer Roisin Carolan stares into the face of an approaching storm, during a late afternoon surf session on the Gold Coast of Australia.
EOS 1-D X Mark II | EF 24-70mm f2.8L II
f4.5 | 1/250" | ISO 100
'The Second Best Bridge of Sydney' by Graham Monro
This is from a series of structural studies that I am working on.
Double Exposure at 1/250" | f5.6 | ISO 400
'James at the Door' by Jackie Ranken
As a photographer, my eyes are trained to 'see' images and/or the potential for an image. I am tuned in no matter where I am, and it doesn't need to be an exotic place. I made this image while visiting my mother and son in my hometown, Goulburn NSW.
I try and never let a chance go by to make portraits of my family. My son, James and I were walking out the front door of my mother's house. A door that I have walked through thousands of times. On this day, the angle of light through the half-opened door was somehow exceptional. I had my 5D Mark IV over my shoulder at the time and the spontaneous response to make a portrait was instantly satisfied. If I hadn't had my camera with me perhaps the moment or the light would have been missed.
The lens I had on my camera happened to be a 24mm Tilt Shift lens, which are usually used for architectural work, but can also be used for portraiture.
EOS 5D Mark IV | TS-E 24.0mm f3.5 L II
f3.5 | 1/30" | ISO 250
'Hobbiton, Under the Stars' by Jarrad Seng
I felt giddy like a child, as I wandered around the Hobbiton set at midnight, with only my lantern — and the blanket of stars above — to guide me. I grew up with Lord of the Rings, so working together with Tourism New Zealand on International Hobbit Day was a dream come true. There's something magic about that place, and this is a memory I'll cherish forever.
13" | f3.5 | ISO 3200
'A Step Ahead' by Joshua Holko
A large male polar bear climbs a snow bank in search of a nearby female in -30º Celsius in Winter on the East Coast of Svalbard.
EOS 1-D X Mark II | EF 600mm f4L IS II
'Frozen Music' by Juliet Taylor
The image was part of a series merging woman and architecture with reference to street kids living in the Bronx in the 1950's.
EOS 1-D X Mark II | EF 16-35mm f2.8L
1/200" | f16 | ISO 200
'Day Of The Dead' by Krystle Wright
Working with Stephen Dupont late last year to create a short film 'A Restless Peace', was a new challenge for me in learning to direct. I want to pay homage to the artists such as Stephen who balance passion and obsession in the pursuit of being a great storyteller. That is one of the biggest differences in photographers these days — particularly with popularity of social media. There are those who take pretty pictures and those who strive to be an artist and tell a story. This was a spontaneous moment where Stephen took a moment to pause and this was one of two frames before the moment passed as Stephen continued on through the Day Of The Dead festivities.
EOS 5DS R | EF 24mm f1.4L II USM
1/5" | f5 | ISO 200
'Setting Fast' by Mark Horsburgh
Scott McLaughlin races the setting sun and takes victory in Race 1.
'Early Morning Vegetable Market' by Mike Langford
On assignment in Kashmir recently, I was invited to witness the early morning floating vegetable market on lake Dal in Srinagar. This market happens all year around at 7.00am – even in the darkness of winter when the temperatures plummet to below freezing. I chose to use the daylight white balance setting in my camera to show the blue cold light of the early morning. To me the scene felt ancient and timeless.
EOS 5D Mark IV | EF 24-105mm f4L IS USM
f14 | 1/80" | ISO 800
'Jameh Mosque, Yazd, Iran' by Peter Eastway
In these days of post-production and image enhancement, it was wonderful to visit a place that was already beyond your expectations and imagination. Iran in 2017 was one of the friendliest countries I have visited — and incredibly photogenic.
EOS 5DS R | EF 11-24mm f4L USM
f4 | 1/30" | ISO 3200
'A bird is safe in its nest — but that is not what its wings are made for' by Peter Sharp
This image was captured as part of a personal project entitled 'All Creatures Great & Small'. The goal of this project is to design a unique and creative set of images that encourage the viewer to see the extraordinary beauty of animals from a new perspective.
1/200" | f7.1 | ISO 200
'Cloud Tree' by Petrina Tinslay
While in Kyoto in late Winter, I ventured to a hilltop shrine at sunset thinking I'd missed the 'magic hour' to take some sunset images but managed to capture the sunset's afterglow instead as the clouds blew across the magnificent — but still bare — plum trees. They almost appeared to look as if they were the tree's own foliage with their otherworldly pink and blue tones.
EOS 5DS R | EF 24-70mm f4L IS USM
ISO 800 | F8 | 1/320"
'Buddy 10' by Phil Hillyard
The Sydney Swans Lance Franklin celebrates after kicking ten goals in a match against Carlton at the SCG.
EOS 1-D X Mark II | EF 500mm 2.8
ISO 4000 | 1/1600" | f2.8
'King penguins in snowstorm' by Richard I'Anson
A group of King penguins huddle together as a snowstorm engulfs the beach at Gold Harbour, South Georgia.
After three hours on the beach my favourite image was the last frame taken. It had been snowing intermittently all morning but intensified just as the last zodiac was departing. I jumped on — reluctantly — and managed just one frame before we turned and sped back to the ship.
EOS 1-D X Mark II | EF 70-200mm f2.8L IS II
ISO 1000 | 1/800" | f8
'The Break' by Ryan Pierse
This image was shot from a helicopter high above Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia. I was up there to shoot aerial pictures of the crowds of people cooling down after a hot summers day, but as the swell was so big, I asked the pilot to hover over a few surfers trying to make their way back out through the break. A big set rolled in and I captured a surfer duck-diving through the crashing waves. The unusual angle and the size of the wave, which completely dwarfs the surfer, makes for a unique and powerful image.
EOS 1-D X Mark II | EF 100-400mm
'Beautiful Palau' by Sean Izzard
I was involved in a campaign to help save the natural beauty of the tiny Pacific nation of Palau from the increasing advent of tourism.
The government has changed the visa requirements to include a modification. Specifically, a pledge signed by visitors upon arrival designed to make themselves accountable for and aware of the damage they could cause to the environment, but much more than that, to the children — the very future of Palau.
1/2,000" | f/8
'Shark Beauty' by Sean Scott
After filming for a while I noticed that a bait ball had moved really close to the shore so I grabbed my DSLR and headed for a closer look. I watched a wave break and took a few test shots to get the perfect exposure as the light was changing. Then when the set waves came I was focused and waited for the wave to peak to show the fish and sharks perfectly.
ISO 500 | f/8.0 | 1/2000"
'The Number 4 Band' by Stephen Dupont
The Number 4 Band photo shoot in Thirroul Motel, 2017.
EOS 1D X Mark II | EF 35mm
1/80" | f2.8 | ISO 1600
'Peaking OUT' by Steve Baccon
This image was taken while on assignment for BILLABONG in the Maldives at a break in the atolls around Male. It was shot from the roof of the boat.
The water is that warm, 29 degrees. Not long after this shot was taken we were in the line-up shooting in the water.
EOS 5D Mark IV | EF 70 - 200mm f2.8
'Bendalong' by Toby Burrows
Nature did all of the work on this one. A beautiful mist rolled in at first light. I had my 300mm on a surf weekend and shot a lone surfer making the best of the choppy conditions. That longer lens compressed the scene and demonstrated the scale of the water against the figure.
ISO 200 | f11 | 800"
'Sauce Table' by Toby Dixon
This image resonates with me as it brings back vivid memories of attending country fairs as a kid. 'SauceTable' is one of the title images from the 'Hard Left' Series, shot out at the Parramatta Speedway over 2016 & 2017.
f2.8 | 1/100" | 1600 ISO
'Earthly Pallettes' by Tony Hewitt
I am continuously fascinated by the colours of the earth, as revealed in drying saltpans found throughout Australia.
An aerial perspective captured in the northwest of Western Australia provides a unique viewpoint and allows us to reflect on the collaboration between man's design and the ebb and flow inherent in nature.
EOS 5DS R | EF 85mm f/1.2L
'Nameless' by Vaughan Brookfield
This is a personal project highlighting the effects we are having on climate change. Check out the short film here.
1/3" | f2.8 | ISO 3200
Photograph by Yervant
An unusual situation for a wedding fashion shoot. This image is taken in Venice, Italy, during my recent photography workshop. Whilst walking through Venice's alleys during location shoot, I was stopped by an eccentric character who insisted I take the model to her shop for photography, it turned out to be an erotic shop: very colourful, exotic, packed with weird and outrageous props, fashion, art and so much more. I utilised a background that had absolutely beautiful window light coming through onto it, which mixed superbly with neon lights within the shop and gave me this interesting result.
EOS 5D Mark IV | EF 24-70mm f2.8L II USM
1/160" | f2.8 | ISO 1600
'Mother & Child' by Kelly Brown
I'm continually inspired by master painters so when given the opportunity to photograph this intimate moment between Mother and Child I drew from that inspiration to create a photograph that will become a family heirloom.
For more outstanding images like these follow @canonaustraliapro on Instagram.
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