It’s been a year, that’s for sure, and I think the set of my best travel photos of 2013 will definitely reflect that. 2013 really has been the wildest ride of my life and there is absolutely no doubt about it. This year alone I’ve been to 27 countries, most of them completely new to me. For me, 2013 was rung in at an outdoor bar in Burkina Faso. I had, of course, just started off on my epic scooter trip down the west side of Africa. And well the trip was arduous it also led to loads of really interesting pictures. The truth is however, that I really didn’t take as many photos on that trip as I should have. I was too camera shy.
Anyways, 2013 also took me home to visit my family, let me roadtrip around Alberta, Canada, had me rail around Europe, and led me to meet Tiffany. The year has ended with a couple weeks based here in Bali, Indonesia where I’ve been attempting to catch up on the things that this wild year has left be behind on.
The truth is, however, as I have been here seeing countless posts about the new year and Christmas, I have done almost nothing but reflect upon my travel photos from the year that has now almost past. I love how a travel photo can just whisk you back to not only the place you once were, but the emotion you were feeling that day. These are my best travel photos from 2013, or at least my favourite, like my images from 2012, I’ve done these all in chronological order so you can kind of follow along with the story of my year. It was difficult to narrow this list down so much. I think I could have easily posted a couple hundred images here. But I somehow managed to stop myself from doing so.
Which one is your favourite?
My first sunset of 2013 was a good one. This was taken in Deux Bales National Park in Burikina Faso
In the Capital of Burkina Faso, I ran into this type of view
This is a black and white Colobus Monkey in Boabeng-Fiema, Ghana
I saw this Preying mantis in Mole National Park, Ghana
When this group of boys saw me in the town of Akwidaa, Ghana they immediately went about putting on a show.
In the Volta Region of Ghana, Wli Falls is really impressive!
In the old capital of the Dahomey Empire in Benin.
This Drill Monkey is one of only 3,000 left on the planet. Such a shame for such a beautiful animal.
To get to Limbe, Cameroon I had to take a rough road. Luckily, this paved bridge gave a bit of a reprieve from the bumps.
The day after a massive crash with my scooter. I climbed Mount Cameroon. A peak of over 4,000m. This was my guide.
Following Cameroon I made the push through the hardest part of western Africa. This is the road to Lope National Park in Gabon.
This might not be a great photo, but sums up my mood so well. I was nervous about this road, and for good reason. That was easily the most physically demanding day I’ve ever had in travel.
I’m fairly sure there are no kids in the world that enjoy having their photo taken as much as Congolese children.
Was really nice having some people to travel with in the DRC for a couple days. Especially since I had malaria.
What a reward. After hard travel through western Africa, I had nearly a month to chill in Zambia and enjoy these amazing sights.
This young lion was playing in the grass near Livingstone, Zambia
Loved this shot of a village girl playing “What time is it Mr. Wolf” with some tourists.
In Bostwana, I got so close to this one-eyed lioness that I couldn’t even focus my lens eventually. Powerful feeling for sure.
I shot this image directly into some soft morning light. It couldn’t have come out any better.
I love this image for so many reasons. For one, you rarely see a perfectly clean elephant this colour. I also love it because I shot it on a wide angle lens which is really something rare.
There are few places with better skies than Namibia. I took full advantage of it with this shot.
I wanted to take a classic image of what is perhaps the most famous sand dune in the world in Sossusvlei, Namibia. I think I succeeded.
I think this is my favourite image of the year. It just tells such an interesting story.
I love cheetahs, and though this is a decent image, it could be terrible and it’d still make the list. See a wild cheetah was the #1 wildlife goal I had in Africa.
Making it to the coast of South Africa was a powerful experience. Finishing up my scooter journey was such an emotional thing. Somehow, this image conveys that emotion. Where every wave ends, a new one begins.
The view from the Cape Sun hotel in Cape Town, South Africa
I shot this image in Addo National Park, South Africa. Such a beautiful animal, the kudu.
After spending an entire day searching for Leopards, I found this one in a tree eating a springbox. I had this leopard all to myself for a little while before a mass of people turned up to the sighting as well.
I spotted this bee eater on a fence in Swaziland.
Everyone who has ever wanted to photograph the Manhattan Skyline has dreamed of getting a sky like this. I can’t believe how lucky I was on the one night I went shooting.
After waiting far too long, I finally got to meet my nephew and niece in Toronto, Canada
After a long time away from Alberta, Canada I headed home to some incredible views.
I used to come to this place in Banff, Canada weekly when I lived in the area. But this was the first time I had ever photographed it.
Moraine Lake in Banff National Park is easily one of my favourite places in the world.
Few places look more peaceful, yet powerful, as Lake Louise at dawn.
In Jasper National Park, this was an insanely long exposure I shot while laying down under the stars. I think the exposure was about an hour and a half.
Another one of those places I’ve passed by 100 times and never photographed until this shot. Loved how it came out.
Ok, this photo wasn’t taken in ‘Murica, but how does a bald eagle like this not scream that out?
Leaving North America again, I headed across the pond to Europe. This photo was taken i Lucerne, Switzerland
One of my favourite photos of 2013, this was taken in front of the Berlin Cathedral
This is one of the photos that’s grown on me from Prague. I almost deleted it in the initial edit, but as time goes on, I think it’s my favourite from Karlov Most Bridge.
Sometimes you have to do some climbing to get a shot. I got right up on the Chain Bridge in Budapest for this image.
I’m not sure if this is my favourite photo from Dubrovnik. However, I had a hard time choosing just 1 from the city and picked this one in the end.
This entrance to the Cathedral in Sarajevo happened by chance, and is one of the favourite photos of 2013.
I love this image from Istanbul. Actually, I loved all my images from the city. Such an awesome place to photograph.
Again, I had a hard time narrowing down images from Istanbul. But this image from Galata Bridge stuck out for some reason.
I think the thing that’s missing in these photos is people. I’m making it a goal in 2014 to take more pictures of the people. This is a woman spotted in Uluwatu, Indonesia
This is an image taken at Tanah Lot temple in Indonesia.