Hi, everyone

I hope you are doing well.

We are at the end of 2025, and it is time, once again, to reflect on the previous year. This is going to be a first post out of a series of three. The first two will be dedicated to my favorite images of the year. In the third “definitely not a blog” I will focus on the different exhibits, awards and other things that happened in 2025.

I’ve had a good amount of images that made it to the shortlist of “my favorites”. As a result, I decided to break them down into two posts, to keep it a bit more manageable. If you would like to see all the images, and some additional behind the scenes footage, check out the video below.

From the Blizzards in the Julian Alps to Sunsets in Rovinj

My photography year started strong in January, when I went for about two weeks to Slovenia and Croatia. To my eternal shame, I am still working on editing many of the images from the trip, but there are still many that made it onto my “favorites” list for this year.

I first saw a glimpse of Slovenia and Croatia in a travel guide in the early 2000s, and wanted to go ever since. Although it took some time, as some some of you probably know, I finally made it to Slovenia a couple of years ago (in Fall of 2023), and had a blast. I decided to go back this winter for a different feel. I again joined Luka Esenko on this journey.

As we were driving to the Jamnik church, we passed through what I can only describe as an enchanted forest, shrouded in mist. All the trees in the forest were covered in hoarfrost and glowing softly in the diffused light.

We did make it to the observation point near the Jamnik church (the church of St. Primos) on that day, and returned on another day as well. On that particular day, roiling mist filled the valleys, and I captured the image below, that had the time to be featured in several exhibits this year already.

Although the snow in the lower areas was a bit thin, we did get a good amount as we went up into the Julian Alps, and even got into a snow blizzard on the Vršič pass. The blizzard conditions were amazing for some very minimalistic images.

Traveling through the Julian Alps, I had a lot of opportunities to use my telephoto lens to capture some amazing mountain details.

The blizzard conditions also gave me the opportunity to capture some dramatic shots as the sun was trying to break through the clouds on some occasions.

On one of the days, as we came down from the Vršič pass, we had some amazing sunset conditions at Mount Škrlatica. The image from that sunset quickly became one of my absolute favorite images from the trip. And believe me, it is a stiff competition as I had some absolute stunners.

And, of course, how can one go to the Julian Alps in Slovenia and skip Lake Bled. On our 2023 trip, we visited Lake bled, but the conditions were not amazing. I only have a few shots that I am happy with from that trip. On the other hand, this time we enjoyed an amazing morning with the mist covering the lake and the Pilgrimage Church of the Assumption of Mary on the island in the middle of the lake. The misty conditions created an enchanted, and a slightly spooky, atmosphere, which made for some dramatic images.

As the sunrise arrived and the mist largely lifted, we didn’t get much in terms of light, but we did get a visit from a pair of swans. Luka dubbed the visitors “reflection killers” as they left ripples in their wake, but I managed to capture an image straight out of the Beauty and the Beast story tales.

After we finished our workshop in Slovenia, I headed to the Istria Peninsula in Croatia on my own. I ended up calling the area “Croatian Toscana” for the many similarities in its architecture and landscape to its Italian counterpart.

During these three days I stayed in Rovinj. Winter is really an off-season in the area. I can’t say I had it all to myself, but it was pretty close, as there were very few tourists there, and I enjoyed an amazing hotel with a stunning view of the Rovinj port from my window for a price I would have normally paid for a two-star hotel somewhere outside the city.

I really only scratched the surface of the area on this trip, but I still got away with a few images that made it onto my favorites list.

The sunset on my first day in Rovinj was spectacular.

I also spent some time wandering the narrow streets of the old city, with its colorful buildings full of character.

During the three days, I also got out to explore the Istrian Peninsula outside of Rovinj. I spent one of the evenings in Savudrija, photographing its lighthouse and the fishing docks in the area. A combination of the swirling waves, the stormy clouds, and hints of sunset light made for very compelling dramatic images.

As you can see, I have created many compelling images in January alone. In the next post I will share some of my favorites created closer to home, as well as images from my trip to the Lake District in UK to punctuate the amazing year in photography I had.

I hope you enjoyed these images.

Have a great rest of you weekend, and a great week. Happy holiday season to you and your families.

Dimitry

My Favorite Images of 2025: Part 1. From Blizzards to Sunsets

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