My Top 5 Photos of 2022 and Year In Review
If I could sum up how 2022 treated me in one word, it would be ICONIC. There were so many milestones achieved this year, it’s hard to put everything in one blog post. Even though my year was amazing, there were a lot of significant events that happened this year in the world. We’re officially in our third year of the pandemic with covid cases still surging during this time. Almost all of the countries have re-opened to foreign travelers as things trend towards normalcy and restrictions are lifted. Wars and protests are still happening around the world and we lost a lot of public figures this year and the world population exceeded 8 billion.
So how did 2022 turn out for me? This year I only did 6 collab portrait shoots (down from 9 last year). For next year, I do want to get back into doing more collab portrait sessions, so if you’re a model and want to do any type of session (studio, nature, etc.) please let me know! Starting with some of the bad this year, at the beginning of 2021, my camera’s shutter stopped working. I started panicking since I had a lot of client shoots coming up. Luckily, this started sometime in January when I didn’t have that much client work. However, as the weeks went by, my client work started to pile up and I needed to rent a camera every weekend. In the end, I rented a camera for 7 weekends straight. It definitely hurt my wallet, but this is when I realized that it was time to upgrade to a new camera. Eventually, my DSLR went back to normal, and I was able to continue my gigs without having to rent a camera. I got covid in May. The one time I let my guard down and didn’t have my mask on for 70% of the day, I caught it. I’m not sure exactly when the transmission happened, but I believe it was over the weekend when I was shooting a wedding in San Diego. The first few days sucked, but luckily I only experienced mild symptoms and was negative one week later. My wedding photographer friend suddenly passed away in June. I’m thankful to God that brought us together. He found me through Instagram a year ago and we worked on a few weddings and events together. I will never forget the conversation that we had on the car ride back home of him telling us his story of how he transitioned from being a chauffeur to a full-time photographer and videographer. I was inspired by his story. I’ll also never forget his funeral and hearing from those close to him about how much of an impact he made in their lives. From teaching photography to students to giving his life to God at his local church. I wish we had spent more time with each other but I know that you’re smiling looking down from the heavens ready to capture that next moment with your camera.
Now some highlights of 2021! There were so many this year, I don’t know where to start. Going chronologically, I finally upgraded to a mirrorless camera after using my DSLR for 5 years. The Nikon Z7 II is an amazing camera and I’m happy to dive into the Z mount system. I also purchased my first native Z lens the 85mm f/1.8 S. This combo has seriously upped my photography game. Photos come out as sharp as ever and focuses really fast. I upgraded my laptop for the first time in 11 years to the ASUS Zenbook 14X OLED Space Edition. This has been a long time coming and I was waiting for the perfect moment to upgrade. When Intel came out with their 12th Gen Alder Lake, I knew I had to get a laptop equipped with the latest processor. My editing time has been cut tremendously because of how fast this laptop is when it comes to editing photos. Both the camera and laptop have been great business investments since they are essential to my photography career. I feel like I’m finally up to speed with all of the latest tech this year!
I had my first AirBnB collaboration this year with a group of friends at Motojave Joshua Tree.
This year I made the biggest and best purchase of my life! The 2022 Tesla Model 3 Long Range. When I saw the live stream announcement of this car back in 2016, I knew that this was going to be my next car. I patiently waited and saved up enough to finally buy this bad boy this year. After hours of working a 9 to 5 corporate job and sitting at my desk editing client photos into the late night, I finally had enough to afford a Tesla. It’s a joy to drive this car around whether it’s for my client shoots or just to go hang out with friends.
I helped my friend Josiah open his brand new office studio: Do Yu Cloud Studio. The studio is now part of my life as I go there at least once or twice a week. It’s a great place to co-work with other creatives and hang out. One of the things that I missed before the pandemic was having a constant community around me and I finally found that with the friends I made at the studio.
Content-wise, I wrote 23 blog posts this year which is less than last year because of the increase in client photo sessions this year. I also photographed the most grad portraits and weddings than any other year. This year I started my makeebs IG account which showcases tech and mechanical keyboards. I created 50 short-form video content this year. Check out my Instagram Reels for my photography content and my TikTok for tech and home content!
I finally revamped my website after 2 years of saying that I would. A vision that I had back in 2020 has come to life throughout this past year, and I’m so happy that I got to complete my website. I wanted a website that was more modern/minimal with a clean look while incorporating my favorite colors dark blue and grey. All of this would not be possible without the amazing team over at Squaremuse that made sure that my ideas became reality through every little detail on my new website. I also want to give a huge thanks to my good friend Junya for providing me with the copywriting of the quotes that you see on some of my images.
And lastly, I made more money than any other year in my photography career so far. This is the first year that I realized that maybe I can do this photography thing full time! My goal is to keep up this momentum, improve my website traffic, and increase my revenue every year. Thank you to all my clients that chose me as their official photographer for their grad portraits, events, engagements, or weddings. Thank you for believing in me and trusting in my vision as I worked with you this year. 2022 has truly been the greatest year of my life.
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 Portraits In The Mojave Sand Dunes
One of the few collaboration portrait sessions that I did this year and one of the craziest things that happened before this shoot. On our way dunes, my friend’s car hit a huge pothole which caused the tire to be completely damaged. We were 10 minutes away from the dunes and we were shocked. We had to wait more than an hour for a tow truck to come and take us to the nearest tire shop which was 45 minutes away! It took less than an hour to get a new tire and we went back to the dunes just in time for sunset. This was definitely a memorable portrait session!
#4 Sunset Vibes In The Cloud Studio
This is one of the coolest shots that I had the pleasure of capturing this year. This photo was taken at Do Yu Cloud Studio during sunset but with a slight twist to it. There is one light stand to the left of Kendra and one spotlight on the right with a window shape filter attached to the light. The color of the spotlight is changed to Tungsten orange to mimic that sunset look. The end result is this photo. This photo is special because it’s one of the first portraits taken in the brand new studio!
#3 Point Dume Blue Hour
I always wanted to get a shot of someone holding a lantern on top of a cliff with the ocean in the background. I can proudly say that I finally got the shot that I was looking for. I loved everything about this day from meeting fellow photographers and catching up with old friends that I haven’t seen in years!
#2 Snowpiercer In Alabama Hills
Before I got my Tesla, I always wanted to do a car shoot at my favorite spot in California: Alabama Hills. I picked up my friend from LA and we did a one-day road trip to Alabama Hills. This photo holds a special place in my heart because it’s the culmination of all the years of hard work that were required to purchase Snowpiercer.
#1 To the Moon
This was one of the most unique shots that I’ve ever gotten which is why its number one on my list of top photos of 2022. I remember that the drive to this location was so spontaneous. I didn’t even know that there was going to be a SpaceX rocket launch until my photographer friend mentioned it a few hours before this shot was taken. I was completely in awe as we were in the perfect location to capture it going over the Downtown Los Angeles skyline.
Here are my Best Nine for 2022 according to Instagram statistics:
For those curious, here are my top 10 favorite songs of 2022 (ranked):
Bilmuri - HOGMAN’S DELIGHT (ft. Dayseeker)
Dayseeker - Without Me
The Midnight - Heart Worth Breaking
Bilmuri - ANABOLIC SPUDSMAN (THIQUE EDITION) [ft. Will Ramos & Spencer Stewart]
Bilmuri - SWAMP CREATURE, THE FIRE BREATHER (ft. Enrose)
Julia Wolf - R.I.P. to the Club
Ookay - Fall Apart
keshi - TOUCH
Sajan Nauriyal - believe
ERRA - Vanish Canvas (ft. Courtney LaPlante)
Honorable Mention: Sleep Token - The Love You Want (one of the most emotional songs that I’ve heard in my life. Not only just the vocals, but the instrumentals, guitar riffs, drums, etc. are all filled with emotion. I put this at #2 on my best songs of all time)
Here are some of my favorite restaurants and cafes that I tried for the first time this year:
Owl of Minerva
Benkei Hime
Tropical Breeze Caribbean Kitchen
Mix2 Grill & Hot Pot
Xinjiang BBQ
Yang’s Kitchen
Melrose Burgers
Coffee for Sasquatch
Tokyo Hamburg
All That BBQ
Nep Cafe
Honey Greens Juice Bar
Rakiraki Ramen & Tsukemen
Motto Tea Cafe
Modo Hawaii
Banh Cuon Luu Luyen
Agora Churrascaria
Lazy Dog Restaurant & Bar
Kyoto Gyukatsu
Galanga Thai Fusion
Dan Sung Sa
The Bay Cafe
Baccali
Marina Pasadena
Kin Izakaya
Here are my top 10 shows and anime I’ve watched in 2022 (ranked):
Attack on Titan S4 Part 2
Made In Abyss
Alice In Borderland Season 2
Primal
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean
All Of Us Are Dead
Erased
The Silent Sea
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners
Archive 81
I hope you enjoyed reading these annual year in reviews and my top 5 photos of this year! It’s always nice to pause and reflect back on all the struggles and joyous moments of the year. I was finally able to revamp my website which was one of the things I said that I was going to do in my last year in review. This year, I’m finally going to post about my desk setup you can be certain about that! See you guys in 2023! And as always, stay gold!
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