Shutter therapy opportunities were somewhat limited during 2025. My camera sat on the shelf for months while I was preoccupied with our big move (see previous blog posts Goodbye Lake Oconee Georgia! and Hello Sunrise Trail Nova Scotia!). The exception was a much-needed, three-month breather between August and October while we searched for a new home. It was the perfect time to get reacquainted with the rugged, ocean-centric beauty of Nova Scotia. Predictably, most of my favorite photos were taken during that period.
Please read on for the 2025 roundup where I share my top 25 photos from the year. I should point out this is merely my personal opinion ― no ranking criteria or social media metrics are involved. I simply sort through the thousands of photos I’ve taken and select those that I believe to be most noteworthy. Regular readers may recognize some of the photos since about half of them were already shared on the blog this year.
I’ll kick off with a handful of captures taken early in the year in Georgia. This striking image, taken at SCAD FASH (Museum of Fashion + Film at the Atlanta campus of the Savannah College of Art and Design), highlights dramatic details from the Sandy Powell’s Dressing the Part: Costume Design for Film exhibit. See Atlanta City Break for more photos from that visit.
The next photo was taken in mid-March at Gibbs Gardens in Ball Ground, Georgia. These spectacular gardens feature “20 million+ daffodil flowers, 100+ varieties covering 50+ acres of hillsides and valley”. See Jim Gibbs Dreams Big.
A trio of photos taken to showcase my art-making projects also made the cut. This deluxe floral cone is made from felted wool and embellished with embroidery and ribbon. Check out The Scoop on Deluxe Floral Cones for instructions.
Shown below is my attempt to create some land art which is site-specific artwork made with natural materials. See Making Art with Nature in Nature for examples of land art made by well-known, talented land artists.
Shown below is Snappy Sparks, the one-of-a-kind cloth art doll I made after attending Charlie Patricolo’s Cloth Art Dolls workshop. The process is outlined in my blog post Meet Snappy Sparks.
All the other photos in this roundup were taken during that three-month breather I mentioned at the top of the post. In fact, the next six captures were taken during our brief, but impactful, stay on Nova Scotia’s South Shore. This visit also led to several blog posts such as Art of This Place, Blue Space: Happy Place and Catch My Drift. Let’s just say this area earns its reputation for artistic and creative inspiration!
These stone stacks stand at attention in the heavy fog at Cherry Hill Beach.
This mirror-like rock pool was spotted along the Gaff Point Trail.
Weathered wooden houses, like this one in Broad Cove, hint at a bygone era.
Nearby a simple rowboat sits ready on the shore of Arties Pond.
The charming little fishing village of Blue Rocks is a photographer’s dream come true.
Speaking of photographer’s dreams, the Classic Ox Pull competition at the Halifax County Exhibition also provided a wealth of interesting visuals. See Strong as an Ox for the full story.
A short visit to Charlottetown provided me with the opportunity to visit a couple of the Island’s historic landmarks. This is the interior of the splendid St Dunstan’s Basilica in Charlottetown.
Historic Beaconsfield House, built in 1877, is a beautiful example of Victorian architecture brimming with period-appropriate furniture and household goods. This carefully-constructed scene turns the ordinary chore of ironing clothes into a dramatic, domestic vignette.
Along the same lines, vintage, hand-crafted quilts are thoughtfully displayed in the early settler’s homestead exhibit at the Fort Point Museum in LaHave, Nova Scotia.
Captures of animal and plant life always seem to make their way into my top photo roundups. This year’s offerings include a Lesser Yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes), a Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus) and some gorgeous seed plumes caught in the afternoon sun.
Several of my blog posts including In a View-Framing Frame of Mind, The Real Big Harbour and A Beacon Guiding Us Home were inspired by the time I spent in a high-rise condo overlooking the non-stop activity on Halifax Harbour. Here are some of my favorite photos from that location.
Shown below is Sail by Eduardo Tresoldi caught at just the right moment at sunrise. This amazing wire sculpture of a sailboat is located on the Halifax Waterfront.
Careful timing was equally important for this shot of the rising moon next to Halifax’s historic Town Clock.
This is the Robertson ship chandlery in the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic which I had the rare opportunity to visit during a Net Making Workshop at the Museum. See Cast a Wide Net for the story.
This brings me to photo number 25, the final shot, in the 2025 Top Photo roundup. This photo shows the driftwood sailboat I made to carry the special signal flag message “BACK HOME”. See Signal Flag Driftwood Sailboat for detailed instructions.
More Info
Previous blog posts mentioned in this blog post include:
. Goodbye Lake Oconee Georgia!
. Hello Sunrise Trail Nova Scotia!
. Atlanta City Break
. Jim Gibbs Dreams Big
. The Scoop on Deluxe Floral Cones
. Making Art with Nature in Nature
. Meet Snappy Sparks
. Art of This Place
. Blue Space: Happy Place
. Catch My Drift
. Strong as an Ox
. In a View-Framing Frame of Mind
. The Real Big Harbour
. A Beacon Guiding Us Home
. Cast a Wide Net
. Signal Flag Driftwood Sailboat.
Today’s Takeaways
1. Stopping to photograph a familiar place can help you see it with fresh eyes.
2. Consider adopting the habit of tagging favorites photos throughout the year.
3. Looking back through your photos at yearend is one way to relive the highlights of the year.
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