My 10 Favourite Shots of 2025
We are at the end of another year, a time when I look back and reflect on all that happened and was accomplished.
These are my ten favourite photographs of the year and a bit of story behind them:
We are at the end of another year, a time when I look back and reflect on all that happened and was accomplished.
Photography wise, it was a busy year for me. I finished shooting my latest photo project which I plan to finalise in the coming weeks, ready to display on my website and elsewhere in the new year. I also dedicated most of my summer to shooting a project based around my local community which I will hopefully be able to show off very soon. I was also lucky enough to have two of my photos displayed in two street photography exhibitions in East London. I accomplished my goal of receiving my first LFI Master Shot honour, as well as getting a few featured photos on the freshly launched Irys app and even had one of my pictures shared by the official Leica Instagram account. I took a couple of photography trips to Germany, one to Berlin at the beginning of the year and a couple of months later I was lucky enough to visit Leica HQ in Wetzlar.
These are my ten favourite photographs of the year and a bit of story behind them.
In no particular order:
1 - Teddy
The majority of my year was spent shooting for my “Timeless” project. At the beginning of the year, I made a list of all these type of events that I could find throughout the year, to give me the best chance of creating some work I am proud of. This image was taken in November at the Chap Magazine’s Grand Flaneur Winter Walk. I was very tired that day from a late one the night before, but I managed to get some photographs I quite liked, such as this gentleman on Jermyn Street.
2 - This is the Way
A rare artistic street shot from me this year, I noticed how the morning light created these strong arrow shapes on the ground, when combined by the reflection of the office window. The floating bus in the background was an unexpected bonus when I took the shot.
The strong light here quickly faded after five minutes so this was definitely a case of being in the right place at the right time.
3 - Swinging 60’s
Goodwood Revival again proved to be the most fun weekend of the year. Despite the grim weather at times, the event provided more photo opportunities than any other. This picture was taken “Over the road” in their fairground area where the timing of this boy’s carefree expression provided me a wonderful image and won me an LFI Mastershot award.
4 - Autumn is Served
I didn’t get much time for traditional street photography this year, but I did spend a couple of days exploring the city and stumbled onto this scene of a guy testing out his tennis swing in the middle of the Barbican centre. This image, along with 32 others was up on display as part of the “Still in Autumn” street photography exhibition, organised by Mark Luke Grant.
5 - Pleasure to meet you
My camera bag this year almost exclusively carried my Leica M10, a 50mm and 28mm lens and my Yashica Mat TLR film camera. I am still getting to grips with the latter system, working out which situations it works best and when is not worth wasting a frame. Every so often though it gives me magic like this and I remember why I have been carrying the extra kilogram of weight around with me.
6 - Shellshocked
I attended a few wartime re-enactment events this year. The volunteers who attend in appropriate dress are very passionate and knowledgeable about their history. I was having a good conversation with this gentleman when the truck he was sitting in started pulling away and he got worried for my safety. The frame I fired off at this moment accurately captured the drama that I was looking for.
7 - Lady in Red
One of my favourite candid shots that I shot this year, I spotted this scene taking place in front of me and managed to capture the moment when the girl on the left’s hat perfectly hid her eyes, drawing more attention to the lips and creating an extra sense of mystery as to her identity.
8 - Zelley’s
When I was capturing vintage scenes from the 1950’s, I was attending every summer event in the local area trying to put together a collection that represents the town and community. I decided to make portraits of the long-standing market traders and small business owners, including this one of jeweller owner Martin Zelley and his calm-natured dog.
I found the whole project a real exercise in getting out of my comfort zone to network and create a quick rapport with people before asking for their portrait.
9 - Rod the Mod
My first trip to the Brighton Mod Weekender provided a great day out in the sunshine. I got chatting to a few interesting people and got some nice street portraits including this handsome gentleman who was minding his own business, relaxing on his Vespa bike.
10 - Dirty Deal
This final photo was taken at a military airshow in the spring. The first day out shooting with my new Summilux lens, I spotted these two gentlemen walking past and knew I had to convince them to pose for me in front of this German plane. After sacrificing my unfinished choc ice and with a bit of sweet talk, I captured this shot which fits exactly into my goal of creating modern takes on eras long gone by.
Thank you for viewing my favourite photos from this year and reading what I have to say about them. Please do drop any comments or questions you have in the box below.
As I use the winter break to recharge my photographic brain and plan what I want out of next year, I look forward to many more adventures with my cameras next year and hopefully more shots that I am proud of.
Happy New Year and all the best for 2026.
Luke
My 10 Favourite Shots of 2024
As 2024 draws to a close, I have looked back on the trips I went on and the photographic opportunities the year provided.
These are my ten favourite photographs of the year and a bit of story behind them:
As 2024 draws to a close, I have looked back on the trips I went on and the photographic opportunities the year provided.
As milestones go, this year I shot my first engagement photographs, spent the summer shooting on film with my first medium format camera, was a guest on a street photography podcast, got featured on YouTube and Instagram a few times by my favourite street photography community “Framelines”, finally attended and loved the classic car festival “Goodwood Revival”, captured the northern lights and hit my goal of keeping this blog updated with bi-monthly posts (on average).
These are my ten favourite photographs of the year and a bit of story behind them.
In no particular order:
1 - Revival Swing Party
One of my highlights of the year was visiting Goodwood Revival. Being a big fan of classic cars and classic fashion, the whole day provided so much to see and many photo opportunities. This scene occurred at revival village during a DJ set of swing music. I was happy that I was able to capture the moment while maintaining a sharp and well composed frame.
2 - USEUM
After only being in Vienna for an hour, I noticed this nice patch of light against a fancy building. I nearly didn’t stop as we were rushing to the Leica store before closing. Took a couple of frames and moved on. Number 22 on the memory card and possibly my favourite of the whole trip. It rained torrentially for hours shortly after this.
The moral of the story - never walk away from the photo.
3 - Newmarket Chairs
I spent a couple of hours at Newmarket racecourse one afternoon in the summer. No races were on that day which meant I could peruse around the grounds and capture some still life shots. This was one I took of the afternoon light hitting the green chairs in the stands.
4 - Roy
My favourite purchase this year was a 1966 Yashica-Mat TLR that I picked up for very little money in an antique store. I was unsure whether everything would work properly so loaded some Kodak XP2 black and white film and took it down the river one weekend. While stopping for a chat with a local painter friend Roy, I took this quick portrait of him and it is still one of my favourite shots I have created with this wonderful camera. I later had this photo printed and framed and gifted it to Roy. He seemed to like it.
5 - Engagement
Two of my closest friends, Craig and Regan, got engaged last Christmas so I took them out for one afternoon in January for a laid back engagement shoot. It was a lot of fun, something I would like to do more of in the new year. I’m glad I could be part of their special moment and it feels great to see some of these photographs hanging up in their home.
6 - Maleficent
I took a trip into the city on Halloween night with hopes to capture the scenes of Londoners dressed up on October 31st. Though I was initially disappointed by the lack of celebration, I eventually found a group of people in costume in Trafalgar Square. This young lady caught my eye and graciously posed for a few street portraits lit only by the Trafalgar street lamps.
7 - Missing the Ferry
I have shot a few music gigs over the years but none with such dynamic lighting as this Luton’s Hat Factory. I was pleased to be able to capture these photos for Irish folk band Missing the Ferry. A great bunch of guys and even better musicians.
8 - Aurora borealis
I was lucky enough to see and capture the Northern Lights this year and only had to travel as far as the field behind my flat, to do it. I spent couple of hours out there with my girlfriend trying different angles and techniques while the colours changed. It was very cold and extremely dark but we came away with some great shots and memories that will last.
9 - UFO
We took a day trip to Bratislava during our Vienna trip in the spring. It was a lovely city to walk around for a few hours. Just before our return bus was due to arrive, I spotted this shot so crouched and waited for a while for the crowd to clear. I was lucky to capture this moment of a passer by pointing at the alien overlords about to exterminate us.
10 - Flaneur
I captured this last image at “Chap” magazine’s Grand Flaneur Walk in the spring. A wonderful event where people dress in their Sunday best and drink till they’re tired. It is probably my favourite photo of the year as I feel everything in the frame fits perfectly together.
Next year I would like to concentrate more on street portraits and how to take a good one, give mastering zone focusing for street another go, finally get a few of my projects printed off in a low-cost zine form and complete and publish one of the two current street photography projects I am currently working on.
Happy New Year and I hope 2025 is kind to you.
Luke
My summer on film with the Yashica-Mat TLR
Shortly after I published my blog post about choosing between a Rolleiflex, M3 or Summilux lens, I came across a lovely little Yashica Mat TLR in great condition, in a local antique shop. After annoying the shopkeeper by spending half an hour checking everything functioned properly, I purchased this beauty and decided this would be a good way to see if I liked the TLR experience before jumping in head first with a Rollei.
Shortly after I published my blog post about choosing between a Rolleiflex, M3 or Summilux lens, I came across a lovely little Yashica Mat TLR in great condition, in a local antique shop. After annoying the shopkeeper by spending half an hour checking everything functioned properly, I purchased this beauty for £110. A great deal considering it included the full case, strap and user manual, seemed to work perfectly and didn’t seem to have any lens fungus. A lot less than I would have spent on any Rolleiflex, I decided this would be a good way to see if I liked the TLR experience before jumping in headfirst with a Rollei.
The Yashica Mat was first introduced in 1957. I believe they continued producing them until the mid-seventies, with my serial number suggesting it was made in 1966. The Rolleiflex inspiration is clear - they operate in exactly the same way, from cocking the shutter with the winding crank to changing the aperture and shutter speed with the thumb wheels. I am very glad about this as I tried a Rolleicord and found it a lot more fiddly to operate. The Yashica Mat places everything in a sensible place and is a joy to use. Later models added a light meter and the popular 124G model comes in a blacked-out colour scheme. I prefer my version though, I really like the silver and black look and have heard these inbuilt meter’s are now inaccurate so I am happy using a handheld one. The earlier models are apparently built better too but the important thing is they all use the same lens - the brilliant Yashinon 80mm f3.5.
Before I talk about image quality, I want to mention my innitial thoughts about using the camera.
The reversed viewfinder takes a little getting used to. Actually, a lot of getting used to. I still find myself doing a lot of panning and swiveling when trying to get a composition just right - particularly when trying to get lines or horizons straight. I wanted a TLR partly for the different shooting experience and this viewfinder method certainly provides that. I find it is quite easy to see when something is in focus though I still use the magnifier almost every time to make sure and not waste a single shot.
Speaking of the film, I am finding myself enjoying the process of loading the 120 rolls, shooting without an LCD screen and eagerly anticipating the scans coming back. The tactile feel of the focusing dial, winding crank and the way the light catches the shiny surfaces and twin coated lenses all make me want to go out and take photographs, which is what a good camera should do. I shot a couple of rolls and sent off for developing and scanning, half expecting the results to come back out of focus, under exposed, not sharp or - worst of all - completely blank due to a fault with the camera. After a week or so’s wait though, I got my photographs and was not disappointed.
I hope you will agree, the results are astonishing for a 58-year-old cheap camera. I knew medium format film produces a much bigger negative than 35mm, but I was not prepared for the jump in quality since I last shot film with an Olympus OM10 SLR. To be honest, I was never really satisfied with the results from that camera compared to any digital photograph I have taken so I am very pleased with what I have managed to get out of this Yashica Mat.
To get results like this, I took every precaution to get the most out of every photo. All the shots above were taken on Ilford HP5+ or Kodak Portra 400 professional grade film, processed and scanned by the folks at filmprocessing.co.uk and edited from the TIFF files in Capture One. I shot overexposed a stop where I could as I’d read extensively that this is the best way to recover the most detail from these films. The Portra shots I found often had a green tint so I tried my best to remedy this while still keeping colours natural. After the first few rolls I also found that the lens tended to flare quite severely so first 3D printed a lens hood before upgrading to a Bay 1 Rolleiflex one. All these steps I think contributed to better results than the last time I shot on film many years ago. The extra 7 years of photography experience didn’t hurt either I suppose.
One thing I didn’t expect was how much attention this old camera would get from the public. When I first started shooting my Leica on the streets, I’d get the odd “nice camera” comment but that is nothing compared to the amount of people that have approached me to ask about the strange box with two lenses I have hung around my neck. I have found this interest and curiosity helps when asking a stranger for a street portrait as people love to see what their picture would look like from such an old and outdated camera.
All in all, I am very pleased with my purchase. I am very lucky to have found such a great example of a lovely camera and the unique experience of shooting it is only matched by the results it provides. The only downside is I am now thinking even more about upgrading to a luxurious Rolleiflex.
