My favourite photos from 2025

For the last couple of years I’ve put together a blog of my favourite photos of the year, partly as a way to chart my “growth” (or lack thereof) as a photographer but also to try and shamelessly drive engagement to my website through transparent click bait (you won’t believe what I captured in photo 5!)

I’ve found 2025 to be a slightly confusing year. On paper, it looks like a good one: a dedicated photography trip abroad (Madeira) and recognition in a major competition (NLPA Intimate Landscape category winner). In reality, it’s been a year of long spells of rain and wind that have repeatedly tested my enthusiasm for leaving the house, let alone using a camera.  Full time employment and family commitments remain, so as much as I would like to simply follow the forecasts to the best landscape locations, I’m reliant on what I can squeeze in before work or a Sunday morning in my immediate vicinity.

As a result, while I’ve managed to take a handful of images I’m genuinely pleased with, I’ve been just as aware of the photos I didn't get the chance to take. Bluebell season never quite aligned with decent conditions, and an unusually colourful autumn was largely devoid of the mist and fog I seem to rely on far more than I’d like to admit. While the ultimate sign of progress in my woodland photography would be making strong images without mist or fog, the uncomfortable truth is that I simply don’t enjoy the local woods without them—no matter how often I tell myself I should.

This lingering sense of meh is probably amplified by the fact that 2024 was an exceptionally good year for mist and fog. In fact, for last year’s list I even limited myself to one image per shoot (you can see that here), a level of restraint and quiet showboating that will sadly not be required this time around.

I normally include some statistics about how many photos I’ve taken and edited, and how much time that’s absorbed over the year, but let’s just agree it’s too many and too much and move on. I remain obsessively compulsive when it comes to taking and editing photographs, but I’ve become less inclined to trawl through Lightroom settings purely to pad out numbers for a blog post that relatively few people will read.

I’m still very much smitten by Dartmoor, although this year I’ve failed to visit a couple of my all-time favourite local spots for the first time I can remember. That’s partly down to the aforementioned lack of conditions, but I’ve also been feeling a little uninspired by my nearby woods of late. Perhaps 2026 will involve a bit more scouting and a few new woodland options?

On to my top 20… as always, my safe word is “favourite”, which doesn’t necessarily mean ‘most technically competent’.....

20 - Dorset Delivers - Autumn Scene, Compton Abbas

Look, I take landscape pictures too! Albeit with a heavy dollop of tree. I headed out in hope of a rainbow and came back with glorious light and a glowy hawthorn. Dorset delivered

19 - It's you 2025 - Top secret Bluebell Wood, Dorset

I only managed one foggy morning during bluebell season this year, so I played it safe and returned to the secret bluebell wood in Dorset where I’d had some success the year before. Nothing ground-breaking here, just a really enjoyable morning of photography and a scene I rather liked.

18 - Marmite - Compton Abbas, Dorset

After shooting the scene at number 20 on my list, I nipped into this nearby wood to check on the autumn colour. There was no mist and only harsh, contrasty light, so I was mildly surprised to come away with a photograph I liked, and even more surprised to like it enough to include it in my year-end review. A colleague at work, usually quite agreeable, has since confirmed they don’t like it, so we’re currently one for and one against.

17 - Line up - Dewerstone Wood, Dartmoor

Taken on a dark, windy and rainy morning on the slopes of Dewerstone. Conditions were far from ideal for capturing the scene exactly as I’d imagined, but I still love the colours and the composition, so it makes the list. With more favourable weather next year, this could well be 2026’s number one

16 - Guardian - Holloway Wood, Dorset

Finding time for summer photography is always difficult with my work schedule, but this morning I accidentally set my alarm a couple of hours early. It turned out to coincide with a rare misty morning. Sweet sixteen serendipity, or sheer stupidity, take your pick.

15 - Royal Oak, Fonthill Lake, Wiltshire

For a few years now, Fonthill Lake has been my dirty little secret, and this tree in particular has long been a favourite. In a prime spot for sunrise, and with its own misty micro-climate, Fonthill often delivers when all else fails. I’ve captured this scene in autumn, winter, and spring, and this year, I finally got my summer.

14 - Headlights - Holloway Wood, Dorset

The holy grail of woodland photography conditions: when light rays appear, I can’t help but run around like a madman trying to capture ‘all’ the shots. These were the most intense I’ve ever witnessed, making this one of my most memorable sessions of the year.

13 - Irresistable - Fonthill Lake, Wiltshire

2025 kicked off in spectacular fashion with some truly amazing wintry conditions at the lake. I’d photographed this tree in similar conditions years ago, but frozen fingers and handheld chaos meant I’d always felt I could do better. Naturally, in my excitement, I managed to repeat every single mistake from before, firmly cementing my ‘growth’ as a photographer and proving that some lessons are apparently learned only very, very slowly.

12 - Moody Blues - Fanal Forest, Madeira

My first ever dedicated photography holiday really delivered, with two full days of fog at Fanal Forest. I’m booked to return in 2026, but with the new restrictions at this location, I’ll be lucky to capture anything like this again.

11 - Dance Dance, Dewerstone Woods, Dartmoor

Dewerstone remains my favourite place to shoot. Not only are there compositions galore, it seems to deliver the right conditions more often than not. Every year I promise myself I’ll explore somewhere new, yet every year, I find myself coming back.

10 - In or Out - Dartmoor National Park, Devon

Quite probably my last visit to this special woodland, it’s just not worth the grief. That said, there are few better places to be on a foggy morning.

9 - Perfect Path - Secret Bluebell Wood, Dorset

Not an image that immediately jumped out while reviewing my shots, but one that grew on me once it was printed. I do love bluebells, though this year was the first time I started feeling a bit ‘meh’ about photographing them. Conditions like these reminded me why I put so much effort into capturing them.

8 - Chasm - Dewerstone Woods, Dartmoor

Another shot from Dewerstone, and another scene I return to regularly. A rare 16:9 crop for me, I usually avoid it, as it makes me think a bit more about printing and framing

7 - Back up - Pico Do Arieiro, Madeira

Setting the alarm for a ridiculous o’clock to head to Pico Do Arieiro was a bit of a gamble, given our limited time in Madeira — so spotting the inversion we’d hoped for was an amazing feeling. Sadly, the tree we’d planned to shoot had fallen, so I had to think fast and find a new composition. Fortunately, these trees lined up perfectly, and Bob’s your uncle, lucky number seven on my list!

6 - The Gift - Fanal Forest, Madeira

I went to Fanal determined to not shoot the hero shots and come back with something different...a plan that went out of the window within 5 minutes of arriving at the car park! I love this shot regardless, even if it does look like it's been put through a Disney filter!

5 - Crisp - Fonthill Lake, Wiltshire

We don't get many hoar frosts in this part of the world, so when they do occur I find them all the more memorable. Even better is when there's some tasty light too.

4 - Lock and Key - Dewerstone Woods, Dartmoor

A forecast of all day fog brought me back to Dewerstone, but for the first time I can remember, I wasn't feeling it! Instead of photography I went on a big old explore - it was tough going and I nearly fell in several holes, but when I arrived to compositions like this, the camera soon came back out..

3 - Cracked it - Dewerstone Wood, Dartmoor

I booked an overnight stay at Dewerstone hoping for great conditions during peak autumn colour. Closer to the date, the forecast changed, so I went expecting nothing. On the morning, I arrived to clear skies everywhere except for this small section, where mist was rising from the river at the bottom of the valley. Ten minutes of frantic photography later, and I had two of my top three images of the year! I remained happy even when I'd realised I'd booked the wrong hotel, which added nearly an hour to my journey 'home' (in my defence it had the same name).

2 - Lumbago - Fanal Forest, Madeira

I’d longed to visit Fanal Forest for years, and this year finally gave me the chance. I arrived pre-sunrise in the dark, with no idea where to go, when fog suddenly rolled in and the light began to pop. I just ran until I found a tree that complemented the light and shot; one of the happiest moments I’ve had in photography. This photo now reminds me of that joy, rather than the memory of losing my passport on our final night.

1 - Jackpot - Dewerstone, Dartmoor

Some of the best light I’ve ever had in photography, the great leveller! No matter how disciplined I try to be, the urge to run around handheld and shoot everything kicks in every time, and I love it. The most fun you can have fully clothed (I’m not brave enough to try it any other way, so who knows!)

So there's my list - by the time you've finished reading this it might be 2027 it's that long!

As always I'd love to know your thoughts, even if it's to congratulate me on the size of my ego for dedicating so much time to such self aggrandising fluff....

Just to dig up the horse and give it one final lash, here are a couple of photos that didn't quite make the list that I wanted to highlight because I really enjoyed taking them...

I had no fog for several weeks so this shoot was memorable as it finally returned...

A terrible picture but a very happy shoot, on holiday, by the sea in the warm...

A composition we've all seen before, but no less enjoyable to shoot on maybe my last visit here..

The only local colour I managed to capture in the fog this year