After a few weeks of post-graduation travel, I'm back home in Turkey with plenty of time for self-reflection and digital housekeeping. Looking back on my photos from the 2015 racing season, three in particular stand out as my favorites.

Firstly, I can't get enough of this shot of lightweight women's head coach Paul Rassam with captains Becky Kreutter '15 and Julia Wendt '15. Our first varsity girls had just beaten Radcliffe in the regular season for the first time in a number of years, and the elation was palpable. The races finished around midday so the sun was high in the sky, casting harsh shadows on the whole scene. I admit to kicking myself during post-processing, because I'd managed to catch the perfect moment with horrible exposure. Thankfully, this was one of those times where converting into black & white had a magical effect. I still wish the sky wasn't so blown out, but mostly I'm happy that I was able to capture the essence of how excited we all felt.

This photo of openweight woman Brett Simpson '16 racing against Brown and Michigan is another of my favorites this year. Start line photos on Lake Carnegie have always been really difficult for me to get right: you're inevitably shooting directly into the sun, during the part of the race when the stroke rate is highest, which has always made it hard to get shots that are in focus and well composed. When you do get it right, however, the results are often stunningly backlit, and I love how the little halo effect accentuates Brett's game face.

It's so rare that you get good race pictures of coxswains- given the angle you're shooting from, you usually can't get their faces! That's why I particularly love this shot of Izzy O'Connell '18 coxing the lightweight men's 3V against Columbia and Delaware. Having the other two boats visible in the background and the water droplets flying everywhere added to the intensity of the moment.