I’m late again unveiling my favorites from last year. Life circumstances forced my annual photographic review to be tabled to finish pressing freelance projects, but it’s here now! It was a year full of contrasting experiences and emotions. Some of the highs were the incredible trips, including my first time traveling internationally with Kim and the girls. The flip side of that was the low learning of my layoff from the job I held for 14 years, and the job hunt that followed. As of this writing, I do have contract work, but I continue to search for a more permanent role.
Without further ado, here are my 10 favorite images I photographed and processed in 2024. Like usual, this list is in no particular order. If you prefer to skip the stories and see the gallery, click here.
Shifting
In October, I was so grateful to be invited to join a trip exploring Utah’s Canyonlands region. To our great fortune, five days prior to our trip a brief rainstorm passed through the region. I was in heaven exploring the mudflow textures in all the washes we encountered.
Of all the mudflow images I captured on that trip, this one stuck the most, seeing the change in state at hand. Maybe because it resonated with how I currently feel personally in this current season of many transitions. There have been a lot of changes to life in a short amount of time. Two years ago, I shifted from being a widowed single parent to now happily re-married, and now this past year’s ebb of professional uncertainty. It has been quite the emotional rollercoaster. That said, I am learning to be grateful for present moments like these that create opportunities for me to reflect on life. And remember that this, too shall pass.
Red Rock at Blue Hour
Anyone who bought my calendar for 2025 will recognize this image. Taken about a year ago, I knew once I saw this formation I wanted to linger here and watch how the sunset and blue hour light would illuminate this scene. I was so grateful that my patience paid off with this composition. I wrote more about this piece last year in this post.
Springtime, Vasquez Rocks
Last spring I revisited a family favorite. Our wet winter made this iconic desert location the lushest I have ever seen it. In recent years, my visits have been sporadic at best, usually just seeing it from the freeway on our way to the High Desert. And knowing how recognizable the location is, I haven’t been eager to explore it photographically. However, in recent years, I have been getting an urge to revisit the area with a camera and see if I could find something interesting on the park’s fringes. Bringing my camera along this spring on our family trip seemed like a good way to scratch that itch, and I was happy I did! You can see more about this post and Vasquez Rocks here.
Adorned #3
Last winter I was invited on a trip to the desert where we had a serendipitous moment. The sandstone in the area was adorned with a whitish-blue coating—like someone had brushed on blue sidewalk chalk throughout the region. The striking, at times subtle, contrasts of the blues paired with the red rock were incredible to behold in person and a pure joy to explore visually with my camera. You can see the whole series of photos from that trip here.
Winskill Stones at Sunset
Twenty-one years ago I ventured out internationally for the first time exploring the United Kingdom and loved every minute of it. As my photographic skills refined, I longed for another opportunity to visit and explore the English landscape with my camera. Well, this past summer, that opportunity came. Kim and I were able to take the kids traveling with her dad, who doubled as our local expert. We loved every moment of our wanderings.
One of our highlights was watching the summer solstice sunset pictured above in the Yorkshire Dales. We even got to interact with the locals! You can read more about our adventures in England in this post.
Misty Morning Meal, Nairobi National Park
As of this posting, I haven’t shared this image on social media, but I have shared this piece on my blog about our family trip to Kenya last summer. While I don’t claim to be a wildlife photographer or even aspire to be one, it is a blast to do occasionally. And this particular moment was one of the highlights. Our trip to Kenya was brief and we were there to serve, but the weekend we got to have the safari experience was once in a lifetime.
Morning in Canyonlands
On my fall trip to Utah, I was eager to be amongst the many layers of the Canyonlands region for sunrise and sunset to watch the changing light illuminate the landscape. On our second morning, we quickly lost the dramatic light as the clouds soon obscured the rising sun. That said, I was quite taken by this scene in the flat, even morning light, and it is one of my favorites from this year.
Jackals on the Trail
This is another photo from our family trip to Kenya. We saw an incredible number of wildlife on our day in Nairobi National Park, and this frozen moment with the jackals on the game trail was easily one of my favorite images from that day. The detail of their wet fur from the rain adds even more texture to the composition.
Cottonwood Decay
On the last night of our Utah trip, we camped next to a fallen cottonwood tree. In the waning light of blue hour, I quickly set up my tripod and camera to get some detailed photos. The varying textures and grains made it a treasure trove subject. This particular composition was a focus stack of nine shots.
The Slumbering Dragon Awakes
Last but definitely not least, this shot is from a trip to some of our local mountains at the end of the year. These exposed sycamore roots and the rock wedged between them made me think of a dragon sleeping in his horde of fallen leaves. Maybe my girls’ fascination with dragons is rubbing off on me.
Conclusion
I hope you have enjoyed this recap of my best photos of 2024. Thank you so much for investing the time to explore my recap. I am curious to hear which were your favorites! Here are my past recaps: 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015
Looking ahead to 2025, I currently don’t have any trip plans set, but as always, I’ll be looking for photographic opportunities as they arise.