Hi, everyone

I hope you are doing well. This is the second post in a three post series looking back at 2025. In the previous post I told the stories behind my favorite images from the trip to Slovenia and Croatia in January. In today’s post I will look at the remainder of the year. The reason for such lopsidedness is the fact that I am really behind on editing, and just haven’t had the chance to finish many of the shots I took in the second half of the year.

If you would prefer to watch a video summarizing my favorite images instead of reading these posts, click on this link.

With this out of the way, let’s go…

Back in New England

After returning from my European journey, I settled back to spend some time at home. As spring came, I ventured to the Berkshires for one of my favorite pastimes, photographing some waterfalls.

I decided to venture out to a couple waterfalls I’ve never been to. North Adams area in the Berkshires has multiple waterfalls in the vicinity, and I decided to visit one of them. Spring is an excellent time to photograph falls, as there is a strong water flow, and the greenery comes to life after the New England winter.

There is something magical about being alone in the forest in the morning near rushing water. Did I mention that it was one of my favorite pastimes yet?

The second waterfall I went to is located near Northampton. Over the last few years I tried finding it on several occasions, but Google kept leading me astray, and I didn’t really have the time to look around properly. Finally, this year, I did my homework, and knew where to go. Even then, finding the correct turn from the main road into the forest on a pretty sketchy road, was a bit of a challenge. However, I was rewarded with a beautiful waterfall with several levels, and a beautiful stream that I could use as a leading line.

I am working on a video from the trip, and, hopefully, will post it to my YouTube channel at the beginning of 2026. I will also write a more detailed post about it.

Sharpening My Flower Photography Skills

Spring also offers an excellent opportunity of photographing some flowers. Although my main photography focus is landscapes, I do love me some flower photography. This was the second year we went to the Arnold Arboretum in Boston.

I am also working on another video and post about improving your flower photography. Hopefully, it will also come out in the early 2026. So, stay tuned for that.

As I never posted some of these images, and in fact, didn’t even get to editing them until later this year, I am going to cheat and include a couple images from 2024 in this selection.

On the occasion of that visit, we got hit by a drizzle. However, if you can overcome the discomfort of walking and shooting in the rain, these conditions can be among the best for flower photography. The clouds create an even light, and the wet conditions bring out the colors as well as offer beautiful pearl-like water droplets to decorate the flora.

Practicing My Wave Photography in Rhode Island

In late Spring we went for a family trip in Rhode Island. This was not a photography dedicated trip, but I still managed to capture some images I really like. I’ve always struggled with wave photography, where the wave is the main subject, and am actively working on improving that area of my craft. So here are a few wave images that made it onto my Favorites list for 2025.

Three Amazing Days in the Lake District

In October I went to UK for work. I spent a few days in the Cotswolds, but the conditions were somewhat dreary, and I didn’t really have too much free time. I did capture a few images that have potential, but they are still waiting to be edited.

After I was done with work, I took a few days off and headed to the Lake District for three days of photography. Although I visited the Lake District very briefly more than twenty years ago, I was not a serious photographer at the time and did not take advantage of the opportunity to capture and good images of this amazing area.

This year’s trip was a completely different story. I joined a local photographer Martin Lawrence, who was very kind to show me around the area, which allowed me to take full advantage of the three days I spent there. We started the first morning with a visit to Blea Tarn and it just kept getting even better from that point on.

Although we had to improvise a few times based on conditions, the weather generally favored us, and we were able to visit multiple locations on each of the days I was there. With plenty of cloud cover, and fairly soft light, I was able to shoot throughout the day, and came away with many many amazing shots that are still waiting on my hard drive to be edited. The images I am sharing in this post are just the tip of the iceberg. I hope to put together a video and a post about the trip in the next few months.

On the second day of the trip we encountered some interesting conditions. The weather forecast predicted clear skies most of the day. We were hoping for some morning mist as it was fairly cold in the morning after a clear night with almost no wind. We drove to the Castlerigg Stone Circle before sunrise, and were met by a thick fog covering the area. Unfortunately, the fog did not lift as the morning progressed, and we weren’t able to see the surrounding mountains. Similar conditions persisted in most of the Lake District for the entire day, and we had to improvise, going to locations where we could take advantage of the foggy conditions for our benefit.

Close to the end of the day we went to Rydal Water to photograph the famous boathouse and the lone tree. And although I have some good images from both, the conditions on the opposite side of the lake gave me the opportunity to capture my favorite image of 2025 (below). This just proves the adage that you always need to look behind you as well as in front of you :-)

I hope you enjoyed this retrospect of my favorite images of 2025. Next week I will post a summary of other things that happened during this year, and believe me, there were plenty.

Thank you for your interest and support.

Have a great holiday season!

Dimitry

My Favorite Images of 2025: Part 2. Chasing Waterfalls and Getting Lost in the Fog

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