Favorites of 2013

This year has been a great one, I traveled to three different countries, was senior photo editor at my school's newspaper and attended the Eddie Adams Workshop with some incredible people. Below are my favorite 20 shots from this year.

I added an extra photo because it is my favorite photo of an incredible man, friend, and mentor, John H. White, while he was speaking at the Eddie Adams Workshop. I was in his class in fall 2012 and as he would say, he helped spread my wings to start off 2013 in a great way.

John H. White on his final slide during a presentation at the Eddie Adams Workshop on October 10, 2013.

A general view looking north-northwest from The Shard, the tallest building in London. St. Paul's Cathedral is just above the center on June 20, 2013.

Gareth Doody of Reebok CrossFit Reading, grimaces while balancing himself as he does handstand pushups at the London Throwdown in London on January 27, 2013.

A woman wearing traditional costume takes a glance at spectators before the Chinese New Year parade starts in London on February 10, 2013.

Minnesota Golden Gophers defensive back Brock Vereen (21) breaks up a pass intended for Northwestern Wildcats wide receiver Rashad Lawrence (17) on October 19, 2013.

A long exposure photo taken in Washington, Ill. of the damage left behind by an EF4 tornado with winds of 190MPH on November 17, 2013.

Kids and their mother play in leaves as they make their way to a bus station on October 12, 2013.

Bayern Munich fans at Biershenke Pub in London, England celebrate as Phillip Lahm hoists up the UEFA Champions League trophy (on TV) after defeating Dortmund on May 25, 2013.

People look out the large windows near the top of The Shard, the tallest building in London on June 20, 2013.

A bird makes a water landing in Scotland on April 1, 2013.

A general view of the harbor town of Oban, Scotland on April 2, 2013.

Mark Wahlberg is seen filming for Transformers: Age of Extinction in Chicago, Ill. on Roosevelt Bridge on September 14, 2013.

Rescue crews help a participant from Spain in the unofficial Gloucestershire Cheese Rolling down Cooper's Hill after he twisted his ankle over 90 degrees while chasing a replica cheese on May 27, 2013 in Gloucestershire, England.

Freestyle Motorcross during a monster truck event on July 14, 2013..

Tough Mudder South London participants run through the Electroshock Therapy obstacle, which has dozens of wires that electrocute the participants as they run through, in Winchester, England on June 9, 2013.

Wembley stadium empties as people walk down Olympic Way on their way to the Wembley Park tube station after England's 2-1 win over Brazil in an international friendly in London on February 6, 2013.

Michigan State's RJ Williamson intercepts a pass intended for Northwestern's Dan Vitale during the Wildcat's last game of the season at Ryan Field in Evanston, Ill. on November 23, 2013.

Soldiers march in the funeral procession of former British Prime Minister Baroness Thatcher in London on April 17, 2013.

Former Northwestern University student Tommy Tombridge can't block a bicycle kick from another former Northwestern University student Matt Eliason during the Messi and Friends match at Soldier Field in Chicago, Ill. on July 7, 2013.

Brazillian dancers walk down Olympic Way on their way to Wembley Stadium before Brazil play England in an international friendly in London on February 6, 2013.

World-class Brazillian goalkeeper Julio Cesar fails to make a save during the Messi and Friends match at Solder Field in Chicago, Ill. on July 7, 2013.

Wembley

I would have posted this earlier except I have been a little addicted to watching the POYi judging, and boy has some of it has been depressing. I even have had this post up, pictures put in with captions, ready to type out how my day at Wembley went but I never did it. Right now the judges are having lunch so I will take advantage of it so here I go with my post. It's a bit lengthy but it was a really fun night. You can skip to the end for a one sentence summary if you would prefer.

Months before I left for London, I have been looking forward to this day. I knew Brazil will be playing England and I had to be near the match. I would have been extremely excited if I would have gotten credentialed for the game, it would have been the most exciting thing for me to shoot. But that day will have to wait.

I got to the Wembley Park tube station at about 5pm. I walked down Olympic Way towards the stadium, which was a very familiar sight after seeing so many photos from the Olympics. The crowd was pretty thin, as you can see in the first photo, and it was pretty difficult to find interesting personalities.

Once I got up to the stadium, everyone was crowding around a memorial statue of Robert Moore who is one of the best English footballers in history. The crowd started to pick up and made it very difficult to make a wide angle photo of the statue in front of the stadium. It was busy enough to prevent me from making the photo I wanted but not busy enough to turn it into another photo.

I heard some drums that were coming from the tube station so I headed back that way and got a good glimpse of how many people were coming in for the  match. The drums were from a group of Samba Dancers and they created a frenzy of photographers and fans coming up to take photos. There were a few video cameras that had LED lights and I tried to play around with them for some fun lighting. The one photo I included is when I attempted some slow shutter speeds as they passed me.

I went looking for a pub after the dancers got to the stadium and found one called First Class Sports Bar. They have all sorts of memorabilia of football history and lots of signed jerseys. The bar staff was extremely close to each other and their regulars, I might go back just for a story on them.

The highlight of the game was Joe Hart stopping Ronaldinho's penalty and follow up shot. I happened to be sitting right next to a Brazillian supporter and he was absolutely shocked. Later in the match when it was 2-1 and running to an end, the owner started having some fun with one of the regulars and pulled out a replica World Cup.

The evening ended with going to the bridge near the tube station to take photos of the crowd leaving, as recommended by someone at the pub. Luckily I met another student that goes to the London College of Communication and he let me use his tripod while I froze my fingers off to take some photos. I will be uploading a time lapse sometime this coming week of part of it. I just checked and 40 minutes will have elapsed during the time lapse, no wonder my hand was stuck thinking it was holding the camera.

I went to Wembley, found a statue, saw dancing women, Joe Hart saved England, silly bar owners, and lots of people left Wembley.

The sun sets 2 hours before England and Brazil play in an international friendly at Wembley Stadium in London on Wednesday 6 February 2013.

A statue of England's Robert Moore who is regarded as one of the greatest players of all time stands at Wembley Stadium in London on Wednesday 6 February 2013.

Spectators walk down Olympic Way to Wembley Stadium for the England vs Brazil international friendly in London on Wednesday 6 February 2013.

Brazilian Samba Dancers walk down Olympic Way on their way to Wembley Stadium before Brazil play England in an international friendly in London on Wednesday 6 February 2013.

A Brazillian supporter reacts after English goalkeeper Joe Hart stops Ronaldinho's penalty, at First Class Sports Bar in London on Wednesday 6 February 2013.

The owner of First Class Sports Bar holds up a replica World Cup trophy near the end of the match while at his bar near Wembley Stadium in London on Wednesday 6 February 2013.

Wembley stadium empties as people walk down Olympic Way on their way to the Wembley Park tube station after England's 2-1 win over Brazil in an international friendly in London on Wednesday 6 February 2013.