GALLERY // ANAS ZAKARIA'S TOP SHOTS OF 2009 (PART ONE)

2009 finally came to an end. The end of a decade. And these are a few of my favourite photos from 2009.

Bad weather = great photography. Well, great for motorsport photography, maybe not so great for others I suppose. I'd have to say though, I hate shooting in the rain, but the opportunity to capture a memorable moment is simply irresistable. Although soaking wet after shooting this, the photo of the Keihin NSX venturing through the treacherous rain during the Saturday practice session is well worth it. SuperGT, Round 4 at the Sepang International Circuit... [read more]

Driver's briefing, Red White Sangari Invitational Kart Prix. The Sennas, Schumachers and Hamiltons of the future maybe?

Porsche vs Mosler. 6 hours into the race, dawn is beckoning. The 12 Hour Millennium Merdeka Endurance Race.

Alone in the dark. Asia Pacific Rally Championship Round 5.

Jorge Lorenzo going through the fast left hander, Turn 5 at the Sepang International Circuit. Official MotoGP Testing Session, February 2009.

Nicky Hayden riding his Ducati en route to 5th place. Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix.

This photo reminds me one of the reasons why I love taking photos of endurance racing. The magic hour. Sit back and enjoy!

Warp speed! The Lexus ENEOS SC430 at blazing speed in the rain. It's just one of those cool effects done with slow shutter panning.

The Repsol Honda's exhaust pipe. The curve, the heat stain, the contrast from light to dark. The devil is in the detail.

You're the man! Red White Sangari Invitational Kart Prix qualifying session.

Rally photography is something new to me. I'm lucky that finally i have the chance to do it last year. I went to Kota Tinggi, Johor, which is about 300 km from my place with my friend, Nazim. We arrived on Friday night and shot some photos of the early stages on Saturday morning. I had to send Nazim to the hospital that night because he was struck with dengue fever. Photography session cut short, missed the final stages, packed my bag and took a bus home on Sunday. Oh well, tough luck! A repeat is a must this year! Asia Pacific Rally Championship,  Round 5.

The Petronas Syntium BMW Z4 during the sunset. The shot was taken from a very remote location at the Sepang International Circuit. This location is not very popular with photographers. There's only me alone out there during this hour, the way I like it.

Another one during the sunset. The Ducati mechanic, fine tuning the bike to gain that extra tenths of a second. Despite the stress and workload, there's an aura of calmness portrayed in this photo.

The ARTA NSX heading to the pitlane, with the main grandstand of the Sepang International Circuit in the background.

Stay tuned for part two of my Top Shots of 2009!

Photo/Editorial: Anas Zakaria