Best Photos of 2025

When I look back through hundreds of photos from last year, what stays with me isn’t the effort it took to make them.

What I remember is the brief moment where I saw each scene in my camera and felt my breath catch.  

Not because something dramatic was happening, but because the photograph was suddenly obvious. These images still involved choices - shutter speed, perspective, experience, patience. But the heart of the photograph arrived fully intact and made sense. My job was simply not to get in the way and not overwork the moment.

Of course, not every photograph needs to make you gasp. But for me, now, if I don’t feel that moment of recognition somewhere, the image probably isn’t a defining one for me. That feels like a good enough editing criterion. So these 10 images are the ones that passed that test.

Check out my Youtube Channel for the full behind the scenes on how each of these photos were taken - plus a few images that didn't make the cut.

Dalmatian Pelican at sunrise - Lake Kerkini, Greece

Common Kingfisher diving - Hampshire, UK

Egyptian Vulture - Lleida, Spain

Banded Demoiselle wing detail - Hampshire, UK

Keel-Billed Toucan in rainstorm - Panama

Great White Egret hunting in a wetland - Thessaloniki, Greece

Great White Pelican head crest - Lake Kerkini, Greece

Grey Seal in sand drift - Norfolk, UK

Egyptian Vulture using stone as a tool - Lleida, Spain

Kingfisher fishing - Hampshire, UK