Best of 2022

We asked to some of our Ambassadors from all over the world to tell us about their favourite photography moments of the year. Here's what they shared with us! Enjoy their amazing experiences.

Adrien Sutter, France

Lost in the middle of the Austrian Alps beside a lake, the day is drawing to a close. There's not a cloud in the sky and I am a long way away from any sources of light pollution. Perfect conditions to wait for nightfall, and gaze at the starry sky and photograph it. The camera is in position, the composition is set and the first stars appear. I know that I still have to wait for the Milky Way to rise up in the centre of the image. For one night, I am alone, cut off from time, surrounded by mountain peaks and, at last, I trigger the photo, my eyes fixed on the immensity of the infinite universe above me.

Jari Peltomäki, North

I was photographing an eagle owl family from Finnature forest feeder hide. In the morning light, this hobby suddenly appeared from nowhere and started to mob the young eagle owl. This only happened twice and happened so fast that I missed the first time! I quickly selected ProCapture SH2 shooting mode from one of the memory places and half pressed the shutter. When I saw hobby mobbing again, I pressed the shutter release all the way down and I was sure I got the image!

Lukasz Bozycki, Poland

The barn owl is famous for flying in a completely silent manner. Thanks to its special dampers, tiny serrations and a fringe on its feathers, the air flows around the wing without turbulence, therefore no sound is produced. Nocturnal rodents have no chance of hearing it, which is why this beautiful owl is such an efficient predator. The photo was taken in complete darkness after a week of sleepless nights, numerous attempts and failures.

Marisa Martinez, Spain

This year I was lucky enough to observe and photograph for the first time the jaguar, a feline that loves water, a medium that fascinates me, because water is life, because underwater I discovered my true passion for photography and for the dynamism it brings to my images. I discovered that this beautiful animal can swim long distances... A water enthusiast like me!

Matt Horspool, Australia

During a recent photography campaign for Hawaii Tourism Oceania, we were fortunate to embark on a night dive with manta rays. The experience was made even more special by our method of transportation out to the dive site; a traditional outrigger canoe operated by Anelakai Adventures and propelled only by oars. The high-powered lights underneath the canoes attract phytoplankton which in turn attract the rays. On this particular encounter, we were lucky to swim with up to seven at a time, which was truly magical.This is one of my favourite shots from the night when two rays began an underwater ballet with each other, twirling effortlessly and silently between light and shadow.

Patrick Sholz, Germany

One of the best pictures I captured this year was taken in Cadiz, Spain.I’d been watching flamingos wading through salt flats and swarming through the skies for a number of days.One evening, we were promised a beautiful sunset, so I set off with my bicycle to find a suitable spot for a photo. Many inhaled and swallowed mosquitoes – which buzzed around the lagoons in incredible numbers – later, I found the perfect spot. I attached the 300mm lens to the camera, and kept moving around to try and keep the flamingos perfectly framed in the sun’s reflected light, something made particularly challenging by the fact they were constantly wading through the water.Eventually, all my hard work paid off when a flamingo flew through the frame at the perfect moment!

Peter Baumgarten, Canada

‘Frozen Wave’My favourite photo of the year was captured back in February when I was testing out the new OM-1. I awoke early in the hope of photographing a brilliant sunrise. My goal was to shoot this lighthouse but was disappointed to see clear skies. In order to add some interest to the sky, I opted to frame it with a frozen ‘wave of ice’ that had formed along the shore. In order to maximise my depth of field, I enabled the focus stacking feature in the OM-1. I love the rich colours and how the ice plays with the early morning light.

Petr Bambousek, Czech Republic

Hummingbirds need nectar to live, so it's only natural that they actively protect their energy source. The moment another individual appeared in the booted racket-tail's territory, the male immediately took off to chase it away. At that moment, he spread his decorative tail feathers in warning, which optically increased the dimensions of this rather small species. Everything happened in a fraction of a second, and the new focusing system on the OM-1 with bird detection really helped me to capture the moment. It worked exactly the way I wished and it’s one of the pictures from the series that shows the hummingbird in all its glory.

Rebecca Nason, UK

In June, Lerwick Harbour is alive with returning seabirds, and common terns – of which there are far fewer – arrive back before the majority of Arctic terns. The harbour front is the best place to view them as they rest up after their mammoth migration and feed on the plentiful small shoals of fish in the harbour shallows. Keen to obtain more urban-style ship backdrops to my images, I headed out to try and find some suitable subject matter amongst the bow to stern congregation of pelagic vessels in one busy pier. There were a few single terns, using ships ropes to fish from, and one was at the stern of a massive Pelagic Lerwick-based vessel with huge blue writing along the back. Many times the tern retuned to the ropes, but at far-from-ideal angles or height. Eventually it landed at the juxtaposition of two ropes, and started calling loudly. Suddenly another tern came in like lightning from the side with a small fish, raised its wings up and tilted its head in display mode after the gift pass-over. The OM-1 is so lightweight, and the bird recognition and auto-focus so reliable and fast, that taking this kind of spontaneous action shot becomes effortless and incredibly enjoyable.

Tom Reuvers, The Netherlands

"You don't see a fox in a resting position very often. I was happy to get this opportunity during a long walk.With my 300mm PRO lens and 1.4 teleconverter  I was able to keep some distance so I wouldn't disturb this fantastic animal.And then that light. It fell into place perfectly.” Tom Reuvers

What was your favourite photo of 2022? Share your story on our social networks!