500px Year in Review: 2019

Well, 2019 is almost behind us, and we want to end the year by celebrating you, our creative community. It’s safe to say you were hard at work this year, uploading and sharing over 12.4 million photos, submitting 650 thousand images to Quests, and commenting on your fellow photographer’s photos over 15 million times.

We also saw a lot of change in 2019, but some things, like our most popular categories (landscape, nature, and travel) and our most used tags (nature, sky, and travel), ultimately remain the same. Oh, and we turned 10 this year! And you helped us celebrate by sharing your best work along with happy birthday wishes from all around the world.

This year we were also excited to find unique ways to showcase your work, whether it be via a gallery show, on a billboard, or even a beer can.

And now, to wrap up the year (and this blog post), our team of Editors wanted to share some standout photos that were uploaded this year. Take a look!

People

Photo by: Filippo Dicomani

The way skin is portrayed in photography has become an art form in itself. It is not always easy to capture the natural textures found in skin; however, Filippo has done a marvelous job at it. Diffusing light over the models face has highlighted the skin texture, creases, and curves of the face, adding dimension and depth to the image as it pulls you in. – 500px Editor

Photo by: Aditya Ganpule

Lighting often plays a critical role in photography and can ultimately dictate the intended narrative of the photo. Aditya has utilized limited light in a dark space, adding drama and intrigue by positioning the model under one of the only available light sources. The space is illuminated just enough to add context, but remains mysterious, allowing us to imagine our own storyline. – 500px Editor

Photo by: Brianna R

A new wave of women supporting women is on the rise, and this vision of female empowerment is the embodiment of this important message. Brianna eloquently incorporates red as a subtle nod toward womanhood. Her central model poses stoically, with her chin held high, creating feelings of confidence and liberation. The composition also carries a spiritual feeling and significance with the gold crown haloed around the model’s head, adding to the layered meanings within the photograph. – 500px Editor

Landscape

Photo by: Daniel Kordan

This classic take on a Canadian landscape incorporates a warped effect, guiding your eye toward the mountains along the horizon of the image. The gradient from light to dark helps your eye navigate around the image, and understand the different elements within the landscape. – 500px Editor

Photo by: Sean Bagshaw

The trees artfully frame this dramatic sunset, taken just after the clearing of a storm. The long exposure allows for the soft motion blur of the water, adding movement within the photo. – 500px Editor

Photo by: Marc Adamus

Photographing the natural wonders of the world can contribute to the awe of a surrounding landscape. Marc caught the Aurora Borealis flashing through the night sky, adding an unusual and ethereal quality to his photograph as it casts a green glow over the surrounding area. – 500px Editor

Travel

Photo by: JASONHAN

This photo is a great example of playing with perspective. Isolating the three travelers on this dramatic and minimal background not only creates a sense of scale within the landscape as they embark on their journey, but also conveys a sense of awe as you consider just how vast and unpredictable this type of landscape is. – 500px Editor

Photo by: Daniel Kordan

The soft pastel tones and still water in this seascape create a calming effect as you float around the image with the fisherman. These traps are used to capture seaweed, crabs, and oysters, but create a watercolor-type quality within the composition. – 500px Editor

Photo by: Trevor Cole

This documentary-style capture illustrates the relationship between the Mundari tribe in South Sudan and their cattle. The muted tones help to drive attention to the model as he gently touches the cow, depicting respect for their relationship. – 500px Editor

Underwater

Photo by: Michal Zahornacky

This portrait incorporates water, creating an unexpected and abstract element to the composition. It plays on traditional concepts of beauty, emphasizing different areas of the face and creating a dialogue around warped beauty and beauty standards. – 500px Editor

Photo by: Chris Melcher

This classic underwater snap of a photographer capturing some approaching humpback whales is quite dramatic when you consider the massive scale at which this is caught. The broken light rays piercing the water highlight the other whales distantly in the background, capturing a moment not commonly seen. – 500px Editor

Aerial

Photo by: James Phillips

The various shades of blue create a sense of chaos as the surfer navigates the crashing waves. The view from above enhances the movement within the water and entices you to follow the surfer through the frame. – 500px Editor

Photo by: Ueli Frischknecht

This unusual perspective enhances the umbrella shape of the trees, creating an almost abstract quality to the photo. The green canopy creates a lush setting and helps the aqua blue of the lake to really pop, creating a dynamic composition. – 500px Editor

Photo by: Jelle Canipel

Shooting contrasting patterns within a landscape is a great way to add intrigue to your photograph. Here we see a variety of lines and patterns that lead your eye throughout the photo. The road dividing the linear from the curved lines creates an intersection that can be used to convey a number of different concepts. – 500px Editor

Animals

Photo by: Monika Malek

Cats are particularly nimble and pride themselves on perfection. This spontaneous photo of a cat playing shows that sometimes it’s okay to let loose and have a bit of fun. – 500px Editor

Photo by: Oleg Senkov

This punchy photograph is a fun contribution to the animal category. It incorporates a bright pop of color that instantly uplifts the mood of the image, while creating a heart shape out of the two flamingos. – 500px Editor

Photo by: Jowita Tank

The different shades of white create an abstract, monochrome composition that will cause you to look twice. Cats are known for knocking items off counters, which makes this vase placement seem somewhat precarious, creating stress in an otherwise calming atmosphere. – 500px Editor

City and Architecture

Photo by: Alexander Hadig

Alexander captures an uncomfortable shot, as the model hangs over the edge of this car garage. The crop of the image creates an interesting scenario where we cannot determine where the car garage starts or stops, creating an illusion of endless layers. – 500px Editor

Photo by: Antoine Martin

Antoine creates an immersive experience as we view this photo from a first-person perspective. He adds another layer of dimension by incorporating his mobile device into the composition, attracting your attention right to the center of the photograph and toward the bottom of the structure. – 500px Editor

Photo by: Anastasia Rotkovich

This minimalist rendition of city and architecture focuses on the angles and details of the space and how they work together in this context. The curves of the track contradict the sharp angles of the structure. – 500px Editor

Food

Photo by: Eleonora Martin

This composition focuses on how food (or lack thereof) can unite us around the table and create shared moments and memories. The animated expressions of the children and the messy, but cleared, plate create an authentic and relatable atmosphere. – 500px Editor

Photo by: Schmoo Theune

The earthy tones in this photo help enhance the raw vegetables in the composition. While the image focuses on a variety of onions, there is a lifestyle quality within it, creating a familiar element and adding context by incorporating a used water glass. This also creates a more authentic, snapshot aesthetic. – 500px Editor

Photo by: Renat Renee-Ell

This monochrome rendition of a North American favorite is an abstract and conceptual contribution to the food category. It encourages us to consider what ingredients are truly in our food and the potential implications that can have on our health. – 500px Editor

Still Life

Photo by: Andre Jabali

This still life plays with the idea of color. The rich golden brown hues from the Edison light bulb are similar to the golden honey color of cognac, something that is only obvious, however, when the bulb is paired with a cognac glass. – 500px Editor

Photo by: Tatjana Zlatkovic

The bright studio lighting within this photograph is what helps it to stand out, providing a somewhat surreal quality to the composition. Everything in this photo is styled in a way that will help the shadows and colors pop. – 500px Editor

Photo by: Laurens Kaldeway

This playful rendition of a ‘book nook’ takes the traditional notion of a small space where you read books and turns it into a literal experience. – 500px Editor

Urban

Photo by: Aslan Xiong

The vibrancy of this image catches your eye, with the model boldly popping in the center of the frame. The bright yellow creates a somewhat flat backdrop; however, the hand railing cuts perfectly through the photo, helping the viewer to recognize the depth within the image. – 500px Editor

Photo by: Irene Eberwein

This photo gives us a 1950s diner aesthetic, with cherry reds and checkerboard patterns. The clean backdrop allows for the decorative gas pump to really stand out, creating a nostalgic element within the composition. – 500px Editor

Photo by: Yeow Chin Liang

This snapshot, upon first glance, looks whimsical and fun; however, the children in this photograph also appear to be somewhat possessive of their playground. Ultimately, the photograph reminds us of what it’s like to be kids. – 500px Editor

Abstract

Photo by: Adrian Borda

This classic take on abstract photography incorporates a long exposure, creating movement within the photo. The warm and cool tones reflected in the water’s surface create a welcome contrast. – 500px Editor

Photo by: oprisco

This abstract composition incorporates some playful concepts. The tulips provide a sense of imagination that also give you a peek into the world portrayed in the novel the model is reading. – 500px Editor

Photo by: Filipp Rabachev

Glass is a great prop to use with abstract photography because of the many ways in which it can distort your subject. In this case, the glass contributes to the discussion around identity and how it can cage, refract, or obscure the thought process and self-understanding. – 500px Editor

Family

Photo by: Marina Bo

This image captures tenderness and chaos within a single frame. Elements of exhaustion and fatigue of a new baby are represented in this photograph; however, love, togetherness, and unity are also captured. – 500px Editor

Photo by: Adrian C. Murray

This photograph is more composed; however, we love the idea of kids hanging out with the family dog. The muted color palette and soft lighting in the photograph provides a calm and cozy atmosphere as these kids unwind and settle into a good story. – 500px Editor

Photo by: Maria Pavlova

This intimate snapshot between a grandchild and grandmother feels authentic. Maria has created an environment where the viewer is given the opportunity to peer into this everyday moment, creating a genuine and relatable connection to the pho – 500px Editor

We want to take a moment to thank you all for the outstanding work you’ve shared with us this year. We can’t wait to see what 2020 brings to the 500px Community.