There are some wonderful photographs and photographers on this list. Enjoy!

Best Photos of 2009

1. Best Photos of 2009 – Jim M. Goldstein | JMG-Galleries
2. Best of 2009 Photo Set – Heikki Salmi
3. Top 10 2009 – Chris Moore | Exploring Light Photography
4. Best of 2009 – Wat Chedi Luang | FocusPocus
5. Best of 2009 – Dave Wilson | News and Views
6. Five For Friday – Favorites of 2009 - Craig Ferguson Images | Cultural Photography
7. Best Photos of 2009 – David Cleland | Flixelpix
8. Best Photos 2009 – Chuq Von Rospach | chuqui 3.0
9. 2009 Favorites – G Dan Mitchell | G Dan Mitchell Photography
10. Best of 2009 – Roberta Murray | Uncommon Depth
11. My Year in Pictures – Jon McCormack Photography
12. Top 10 Photos of 2009 – Steven Bourelle | SierraVisions
13. 2009: Year in Review – Stephen Zacharias
14. 2009 – A Photographic Year in Review – David Taylor | Sixtyone North
15. Best Photos of 2009 – Tony Rath Photography
16. Top 10 of 2009 – Steve Cole Photography Blog
17. my top ten shots of 2009 – Tom Varden
18. Best of 2009 – Mario Batalla
19. My Top 10 Photos from 2009 – Justin Korn [dot] com
20. Best of 2009 – Inge Fernau | Magical Glow Photography
21. My Favorite Photos From 2009 – Brian Auer | Epic Edits
22. Best Photos From 2009 – Janis Janums Photography
23. Best of 2009 – Tim Parkin | Still Developing
24. 2009 Retrospective – Jan Klier | AllKlier Photography
25. Best of 2009 – Jenni Brehm | Changing Perspectives
26. 2009 in Pictures – Hitesh Sawlani | A Visual Treat
27. Year 2009 in pictures – Minna Kinnunen | The Quiet Picture
28. 2009 in front of my Lens – Marcin Retecki Photography
29. Best of 2009 – Peter Carr | Vanilla Days
30. Best of 2009 – Dave Reichert
31. My top favourites from 2009 – Ricky Law
32. Best of 2009 – Joshua Beckman |PhotoVandal
33. 2009 Top Ten – Jessica Sweeney | Quotidian Photography
34. My favourite shots in 2009 – Catalin Marin | Momentary Awe
35. Best Photos of 2009 – Suzy Walker | Reef Beasties
36. My Best of 2009! – Michelle Johnson | My Two Seasons
37. The Best of 2009 – Photographic Phantasy: Photography by Samantha Genier
38. Best of Photos Part I-IV - Chuck Goolsbee
39. Statue of Liberty 2009 – Scott Dunn
40. My Favorite Photos of 2009 – Ed Rosack | Central Florida Photo Ops
41. Best Photos from 2009 – Jim Wheeler
42. Year in Review 2009 – Laurie Ballesteros | Photine
43. Favorites of the Year – Ken Trout | Lunch is Optional
44. Year 2009 in Korwel photography – Iza Korwel | Korwel Photography
45. Best of 2009 – Uschi Gerschner Photography
46. Top Five Images from 2009 and Keeping It New – Mike Cavaroc
47. Wrapping up 2009 – Ivan Makarov Photography
48. Favourite Nine from 2009 – Todd Metcalfe | Daily Grind Photography
49. Favorite Images of 2009! – Allison Pluda | Seneca Creek Photography
50. Best photos of 2009: Non Portrait Pictures – Julie Provost | Julie Loves Photography
51. 2009 in 12 beelden – Jeroen Mentens | FaunaFlora.org
52. Reflections on images of 2009 – Mark Graf | Graf Nature & Wildlife Photography
53. An End of Year Retrospective for 2009 – Derrald Farnsworth-Livingston | Journey of Light Photography
54. Top Ten Photos Of 2009 – Jed Link | Mr. & Mrs. Link
55. YEAR IN REVIEW – TOP 5′S OF 2009 – Matt Graham
56. Ten Best for 2009 – Dan Baumbach
57. Top 10 Photographs For 2009 - Seung Kye Lee – fine art landscape photography
58. My 10 Favorite photos of 2009 – Alex Budak | Unpopped Collar
59. Best Photos of 2009 – Dave Hammaker Photography
60. My Best Photos of 2009 – D. Travis North | Shutter Photo
61. Favourite Pictures of 2009 – Janne Moren | Janne in Osaka
62. My Best Photos of 2009 – Michael Spivak | Developing The Fixer
63. 2009 Favourite – Marc Hodges | sevennine
64. NZ Opera: Macbeth behind the scenes – Alexia Sinclair
65. The Best of ‘09 – Porter Watkins
66. Respect - Paul (Slimeface) Tarin
67. Best Images for 2009 – Giovanni Russello | GRGalleries
68. Happy 2010 / Best of 2009 – William Neill Photography
69. Top 10 Photos of 2009 – Digital Kloc Photography
70. Best Photos of 2009 – Dave Schumaker
71. Best of 2009 – G. Kaltenbrun | gZphotoGraphs
72. Favourite landscape photographs from 2009 – Jonathan Martin-DeMoor | Silvicola borealis Images
73. Top 5 of 2009 - Jim Maher | Jim Maher Photoworks
74. Favourites 2009 – Chris Gin
75. Best Photographs of 2009: Globetrotting – Justin Shifrin | J. Stuart Studios
76. Best 10 of 2009 – Duffy Knox | The View Through My Glass
77. Best of 2009 – Rian Castillo | Digitized Chaos
78. Best of 2009 – Rick Goldwasser
79. Best of 2009 – Jeremy Brooks
80. My best from 2009 – Massimo Belloni
81. Favorites of 2009 – Pat Ulrich Photography
82. Best Photos of 2009 – Nick Fuller | JadeGreenImage
83. Best of 2009 – Stig Nygaard | Rockland
84. My Fave 5 from 2009 – Greg Russell Russell
85. Best Images of 2009 – Peter Cox Photography
86. My Favourite Photos of 2009 – Daniel Loshak
87. Favorite photo – Lacey Smith | Lace’s Photography
88. 2009 Year in Pictures - Lane Hartwell | The Post and Review
89. Ten More from 2009 - Ann Torrence
90. Best of 2009 – Ken Snyder
91. Best of 2009 – Simon Ponder | Simon Says
92. TOP Photos of 2009 - Gary Crabbe | Enlightened Images
93. 2009 Top 10 – Steven Scherbinski | Randomness
94. Looking back, looking forward - Kevin Ebi | Living Wilderness Nature Photography
95. Best of 2009 – Todd Heckert | Great Lakes Exposure
96. MY BEST PHOTOS of 2009 – Sean Willis Photography
97. Best Photos of 2009 – Andre Maltais | Maltphoto
98. Top 9 of 2009! – Jenna Stirling
99. 2009 in review, the photo version – Sam Bloomberg-Rissman Photography
100. Favorite Photos from 2009 – Ron Niebrugge | Niebrugge Images
101. Niner for Zero Niner before Zero Niner of Zero Ten - Jay Goodrich Photography
102. Best of 2009 – Prajit Ravindran
103. Photos of 2009 + Flickr Set- Carl Donohue | Skolai Images
104. Top 12, 2009 – John Fujimagari
105. Top 10 Photos of 2009 – Mike Criss
106. 2009 IN REVIEW – Kriz Cpec | kRiZ cPEc Photo Blog
107. My Favorite Photos of 2009 – Greg Lato | latoga photography
108. Best of 2009 – Andree Oulmann | On Linden Way
109. 10 Favorite Pictures of 2009 – Chris Williams | Hidden Light Photography
110. Your Best Photos From 2009 – Gurbir Singh Brar | Fotovala
111. Landscape Photography My Best of 2009 – Steve Sieren
112. Best of 2009 – Torsten Curdt
113. Best of 2009 – Stefan Neuweger | addicted2pixels
114. Image Picks from 2009 – Neil Corman Photography
115. Jahresrückblick (fotografisch) – Steffen Goethling | Lens-Flare.de
116. Best Photos of 2009 – Mike Reys |pl?dys
117. My Best Photos from 2009 – Terri Jacobson | Greyhound Gardens
118. My best photos of 2009 – Bryan Villarin | All Narfed Up
119. Best of 2009 – Heidi Donat
120. Best of 2009 – Pedja Pavlicic
121. Best of 2009 – Matthew Sallee | IAmMatt
122. Best of 2009 – Go2Grl
123. 10 Top Photos of 2009 – Gavriel Jecan Photography
124. My Top 10 Photos for 2009 – Neil Creek Photography

A King in Every Saddle

‘That man calls himself a Nihang (or Akali) whose body is unaffected by pain or comfort. He is a man of firm faith, sexual restraint, meditation, penance, charity and a complete warrior. In the presence of worldly authority, he remains full of pride. Where there is the place of battle, having no fear of death, he never steps back. Where the Khalsa Panth encounters its greatest danger, there he puts his body in the forefront. When there is the place of battle, taking hold of the battle standard, he steps forward. With the beating of the war drums, he ever advances, fighting in the vanguard.’

This time, Gurbir has devoted his skills to documenting the colours of his homeland Punjab and is soaking in all the love and attention that his work is getting him. “This was a project that was close to my heart, and I spent eight months with the various Nihang dals, travelling with them and being a part of their life. Initially, it was tough to get through to their leaders and gain their trust, for there were many issues that they did not want to speak about, but finally it all worked out well,’’ Brar has clicked as many as 8,000 pictures and agrees it’s been an enormous challenge, one that’s completely absorbed him. “And they are happy with the results, with their pictures put up at various places.’’ The young photographer did extensive research, reading up and consulting 40-50 books on Nihangs, both old and new and sourcing information to complement the pictures. “I feel photographs are a perfect way to document history, each picture speaks and youngsters can connect better to pictures and the past, than they can do with dull and heavy history lessons. The National Geographic model of telling a story with pictures, rather than text, really works well,’’ Brar says back in the US, photographers use a lot of artificial light and he too has used the technique to improvise. As Nihangs have a set schedule, with travel plans for a year planned in advance, Brar made arrangements to travel with them to various villages and captured their life, various moods, activities and expressions. “What touched me most about them was their hospitality and discipline. Their language is soft and sweet and I am now all set to work on a coffee table book and documentary on the subject,’’ Brar talks about the Sava Lakh Foundation which exhorts the younger generation to live up to the ideals of the Gurus. The effort includes a training programme in martial arts as well.

The pictures and creative briefs with each photograph, get the viewers close to these enigmatic people, be it shots of their unique traditional horsemanship, martial arts, work for the community, their life in the kitchen, their relationship with their horses, the dances, a glimpse of their personal life, camaraderie…it’s a riot of colours and emotions. What’s more, as part of the exhibition, there was breathtaking display of Shastar Vidya and horsemanship by various Nihang Dals.

India Express, September 18th 2009