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.

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