Top Ten (favourite) Photos of 2025

As the page turns on each year, I look back at my year in photos, and make a list of my favourite ten from all the year’s adventures. It helps me to see what progress I am making and if there are areas that I want to work on more, amongst other things. One trend I noticed this year was that I had only about 40% as many photos as last year. Much of that can be chalked up to some pain issues, which have been addressed and are under much better control now, as well as other projects which took some of my time away from spending it with my camera. Then there was procrastination and a conflicted feeling of wanting to get out but just not feeling it when it came time to get up early and hit the trail.

I think I am past most of those issues now, as I have got my new Shutter Trails podcast starting up, I am feeling much better physically as well as being mentally prepared to get out there and explore! In fact, I started January with a New Year’s Day on the trail, letting my camera take me on an adventure and exploring a place I’d been to before, but from a different angle, literally. As I reviewed my photos to tick my favourite ten, I got the feeling of really wanting to get out and shoot more often to capture more interesting photos and spend quality time in the great outdoors. So without further adieu, here are my top ten favourite photos from my 2025 photography adventures, in no particular order (note that the cover photo is a top ten runner up bonus photo):

The not so secret hidden waterfall at Sombrio beach

I love heading back to this hidden waterfall time and again. The beautiful, narrow canyon carved out is fairly short, but quite dramatic. Sadly, not everyone respects nature, and the walls are filled with crudely carved in inscriptions, most of which I have tried to minimize as I feel they take away from the beauty of this canyon and waterfall. While this is normally a small stream, heavy rains can temporarily change it into a much more aggressive flow of water, which makes it easier to understand how weathering and water flow has carved out this amazing space over time.

The intricate structures caused by time, weather and water provide for amazing photo opportunities

The tafoni sculpting in the sandstone cliffs along with the natural orange and green colours of this scene really caught my eye. While much of this area is explorable on foot, there are large, beautiful sections that are inaccessible to photographers, unless you are on or over the water. This is where a drone comes in handy. While the height above the water was not much higher than what a tripod at sea level would have been able to capture, it wan’t possible to walk out and plunk down my tripod, and I didn’t have a boat, which would have presented it’s own problems. A drone was the perfect solution. It allowed me to find the optimal location and provided a very stable platform to capture this image.

Ropes in use at a marina

Sometimes the simple things seem to jump out at me. The pattern of these criss-crossing ropes, which were dripping water into the calm ocean waters below, along with the wood grain of the railing they were secured to and the grid-like pattern of the dock, drew my attention and I knew they would look best in black and white, to eliminate all the distractions that colour can introduce.

Beautiful fall colour with the mountain peaking out of the clouds in the background

This is one of several photos that made my list from my trip to the Canadian Rockies and surrounding areas. The Rockies are a destination for photographers and tourists from all over the world, and it’s for good reason. This scene drew my attention as it is a small little lake, off the main tourist path, and is surrounded by bold colours. The snow capped mountains that serve as a backdrop, with a little low, broken clouds that are drifting in front of them are the crowning achievement of nature.

A high key black and white image really simplifies things

Sometimes a man made structure, isolated by time & conditions can make for an interesting, fine art style, image. On this day, I isolated the subject so that there were no other distractions, intentionally overexposed the scene, so that it would be easy to have the background and foreground blend together, added a little contrast to the structure, so that it wouldn’t disappear into the background, and converted it to black & white, to give a simple, clean look.

Lunch time with an Ocean View

I really enjoy watching wildlife of all kinds, but have rarely captured any photos of them that I really loved. This one of a great blue heron is an exception to that. It was standing still on the rocks, watching below for its next meal, occasionally moving to a different spot in its quest for lunch. This photo shows the heron as it grabs a quick bite, with a string of fluid flicking out of its beak. The dark, shiny surfaces of the rocks and water contrast nicely with the textured feathers and brightly coloured beak.

The Guardian of the Cave, standing tall on a rock in the stream

This photo had to make my top ten list for a couple reasons. First and foremost is because I loved it and the experience of getting to the location of the caves and exploring an entirely new environment, to me. The water has carved its way through these rocks and if you look closely you can see an opening just behind the tree, with daylight peaking in. Vancouver Island has i high concentration of caves, but most are not easily accessible. This location is certainly remote, but it is well known and if you’re willing to go through a little effort and back road travel, it’s not the hardest place to explore. The other reason I love this image is that it was one of two of my images selected to be in the Sooke Fine Arts Show, the premier juried art show on Vancouver Island. I printed it quite large and had it matted, with a large black frame around it and sold two copies at the show! Any time more than one of the same print sells at the show, the artist generally has to ship or deliver the second print and this was the second time I was able to personally deliver a print from the SFAS. It is always great to meet the person who loved my art enough to purchase a copy and hang it in their home!

Reflections of the Rockies

This is another scene featuring the Rockies. When I go on a photo trip, I plan many of the locations that I will be going to, including the time of day to be there for what I feel will make for the best photo. I also like to build in some time just to do some general exploring, with no set destination or time constraints. This was one of the latter times. I headed out from where I was staying, with no specific destination in mind. I found some really interesting scenes from various vantage points, but this one stood out for me due to the calm water, which allowed for crisp reflections, and the clouds scattered in the sky, adding interest to the scene. The sun was starting to go down, and the sky was mostly clear, so there were some harsh shadows, giving a distinct feel to the photo.

Sunwapta Falls is stunning in any weather

Another well photographed gem of the Canadian Rockies is Sunwapta Falls. It is a classic location that huge crowds are drawn to and a busy stop for tour busses, even in late September, when I was there. Still, I went earliy enough, I was able to get this shot before the crowds arrived. The cloudy, brooding skies that partially hide the distant mountain, add to the feel of the scene and help set the mood.

Morning Sunrise, with seasonal flooding at Abraham Lake

I know I said this list was in no particular order, and that is true, with the exception of this final image. It is the clear number one for me. I’ve been wanting to photograph these trees in the water in Abraham Lake for years, since I first saw them in one of Adam Gibbs’ videos. This was actually the deciding factor on making this trip to the Rockies and in particular the specific time of year for it. When I got there, the conditions weren’t ideal for the type of photos I’d seen online many time since first seeing Adam’s video. I was determined to make some photos that I’d be happy with despite less than ideal conditions of the trees, water and weather, and camped there overnight. The next morning, I got up before sunrise and set up my camera by this tree, just a few metres away from where I had slept. The photos that I had seen and loved generally all had yellow leaves still clinging to the branches of the trees. This tree had scant few left, but the stark bareness contrasted nicely with the background, and as the sun slowly rose, the sky lit up like it was on fire! I made sure not to overexpose the photo, so that I kept the deep, rich colours, and have come away with something I never expected, but I am still beaming about!

I hope you enjoyed my favourite photos. I’ve included one as the cover image that I really enjoy, from a couple days before the end of 2025. Every year, for the holidays, the BC Legislature decorates and adds coloured lights to its usual display of white outline lights that are on the building. It makes for a wonderful, colourful image and the detail and shows off the details and workmanship in this building which was completed at the end of 1897, and officially opened in January, 1898.

Please take minute to let me know what you thought of my photos and this post and I’d love to hear which your favourite one is, including why. Have a great 2026!