It’s that time.
End of another year time…
A time to look back, reflect, and then look forward.
I’ve totted up 41 photography excursion specifically for sunrise or sunset, of which 24 were sunrise shoots and 17 were sunset shoots.
For this blog, I’ll try and pick one highlight and one lowlight for each month, and show images which may not have been shared / seen.
Best 9
To start with, let’s look at my Best 9 as judged by those followers on Instagram.
Of little surprise was to see images from Iceland, Peak District, Norfolk and Suffolk.
January 2025
Sunrise shoots at Thurne, Wrabness in Essex, and Cart Gap were followed by six days on an Iceland Photography workshop with Justin Minns.
Highlight – Iceland
I’ve written blogs for the Iceland trip so no need to repost my best set here.
To witness and photograph the Northern Lights was an amazing experience.
Iceland has to be the highlight as I’d never been and to have six days dedicated to photography was amazing.
The image below demonstrates how there’s an amazing view pretty much everywhere you visit – this particular scene having been captured on a road stop.
It was great that Kathryn could join me after the workshop and we had a really good time and felt we had maxed our three days as tourists.
Lowlight – Wrabness
Our club trip to Essex saw a small group of us visit Wrabness for sunrise but the weather was dreary with a very plain dull sky and the location really challenging.
I named the trip “Drabness in Wrabness”.
Having said that, it was an experience and if you don’t try these places, you’ll never know…!
February 2025
February was a quiet month with little photography, although the start was Kathryn and I on our whistle stop tour of Iceland which I’ve included in January highlights.
Highlight – Snowdrops
The only other excursion of note was a local visit to a snowdrop wood.
During a wander round the woods, I was trying to grab some different images with wider apertures.
Lowlight – Illness
I had some time off work with the lurgy as the inevitable annual cold got me, and I’ve little doubt the tiredness from the epic Iceland tour probably played a part.
March 2025
Highlight – Sunrise at Caister
A sunrise trip to Caister was a good trip and very enjoyable.
There would be only one more sunrise trip in March which also was my lowlight, and without question the lowlight of 2025.
Lowlight – car crash
On leaving Happisburgh, another driver pulled out of a junction right in front of me, and we had a full on “smash”.
After the impact, my car kept moving which was a terrifying experience because, thanks to a shattered front screen, airbags going off, and a crumpled bonnet, I could not see anything. I really had that moment where I thought I was gone! It’s not an experience I would like ever again.
As it happened, I had mounted a kerb, smashed through a fence and eventually came to a stop in a garden.
With smoke visible from my seat (I didn’t realise at the time that it was smoke from the airbags), I felt I had to crawl quickly out of the car’s passenger door and away from the car.
I lay in the garden and realised I could not lay on my right hand side.
I’m grateful to the couple who stopped and the lady kept me talking while her husband did the same for the other driver.
I’m also very grateful to my photography friend Ian who had stopped after recognising my car and helped me in many ways, including finding my phone so I could call Kathryn.
I consider myself very lucky to have survived this incident because I managed to avoid a signpost and a very large tree after impact.
Myself and the other driver had an ambulance taxi to hospital. Fortunately for me, I was discharged, whilst the other driver had to stay there with serious injuries. I hope they have recovered.
Other than the very occasional flashback of the incident, I have no known lasting effects.
Bonus extra highlight – birthday day out Hunstanton
Kathryn and I had a lovely day out in Hunstanton where we could chat and reflect on my lucky escape and be grateful for all we have.
I enjoyed capturing the scene below which I’ve edited with a high-key effect.
I also grabbed some shots of wooden railings on the front of beach huts which had cast nice shadows. These images would at a later date make a triptych for the club’s panel competition.
April 2025
In the latter part of April, we went on holiday to Cornwall with a few days first in Plymouth.
Highlight – Cornwall
We enjoyed a holiday with a few days in Plymouth then moving to Cornwall, first staying in Port Isaac then onto St Ives.
We paid a late in the day visit to Porto Nanven which has dinosaur egg stones on the shingled beach and I enjoyed capturing some shots at this location.
Lowlight – cycle accident in Plymouth
While we were in Plymouth, we hopped on some Beryl bikes to cycle back to our apartment and Kathryn had a nasty accident hitting a kerb and going over the handlebars.
It was not pretty as her face hit the pavement but very fortunately she was OK. With thanks to a passer-by, we ended up in the minor injuries unit where Kathryn got checked over.
She had black eyes for most of the holiday thereafter but we were lucky all round.
One new year resolution is for neither of us to have any further road or other accidents!
May 2025
May saw lots of trips including the last few days of our Cornwall trip.
Visits to two local places for images of bluebells, a very enjoyable evening at Thurne Mill where I got a really nice ICM shot of the mill, and a sunset shoot at Iken in Suffolk proved very fruitful.
Highlight – Iken
I’ve picked Iken as the highlight because I had never been and got a couple of really good images.
Below is a colour version of a shot I posted online in mono.
Lowlight – Panel competition
I entered two panels but they flunked from the first round of shortlisting.
June 2025
Highlight – Manchester trip
We spent a few days in Manchester which included my sixth time of seeing Morrissey live in concert.
I had never been to Manchester so was excited to look around and do a bit of street photography.
My best shot though was walking along one of the canals.
A long weekend in Cambridge and a Blakeney to Cley walk were memorable.
Lowlight – Image of the Year competition
I never expect to win end of year club competitions such as image of the year as it receives a lot of entries and all of fellow members best work but I was pretty annoyed at the judge this time round.
What really jarred me was the judge referring to my beached whale shot as “not very interesting”. I thought that was downright rude and unnecessary and the guy is an arrogant cockwomble.
July 2025
July was an excellent month for capturing many top quality or different images.
An epic trip to Happisburgh sees me bag a couple of possible competition entries.
After a superb club night presentation on infrared photography, I also start dabbling in infrared as I acquire another camera and have it converted.
A subsequent visit to a sunflower field and fiddling around in editing gives me another potential competition image.
A sunset shoot at Snettisham and the benefits of wearing wellies means I can take up a position in the shallow water and shoot some different scenes bagging some good images.
I also capture a half-decent shot of a barn owl at RSPB Strumpshaw Fen while I am giving more attention to my 100-400mm lens, lending my 180-600mm to a friend.
Highlight – Sunflowers
Below is a “straight” shot from the visit to a sunflower field.
Lowlight – None.
Since I didn’t have a lowlight, below is another highlight with the barn owl shot.
August 2025
August was a month packed with photography activities including many enjoyable sunset outings.
I enjoyed a Cromer sunset shoot on a oddly wet and breezy evening.
A friend and I started a quest to shoot different images using props. He brought a deckchair to Southwold and we enjoyed an evening concentrating on compositions involving the deckchair.
The deckchair made another appearance at a sunrise shoot at Caister where I brought a small fold out chair and also a large bottle with a stopper (think Grolsch) I spotted in the supermarket.
I bagged two good images by really pushing myself to be imaginative. The chair provided a shot I entitled “Mastermind Coastal Edition”, and the bottle provided a shot I called unsurprisingly “Message in a Bottle”!
I visited Westleton Heath one evening with a friend and we had found it challenging to find much but I bagged a half-decent shot of a lone tree and got a sunstar as well.
I also managed to have my first attempt at an image using the Pep Ventosa technique following a presentation we had a club night.
I attended a Gill Moon Shoot, Process and Print creative macro workshop which took place at Upper Hollesley Common in Suffolk. A day off work and a super early get up were worth it as I enjoyed a lovely day out learning a lot more about shooting images with a macro lens.
I enjoyed an evening shoot at Happisburgh where conditions were quite dull but I bagged a decent wide shot including the lighthouse with its lamp shining bright.
A sunrise at Hopton saw me bag a couple of bangers.
A sunset shoot at Caister was pretty epic either way the most amazing pink sky – this was challenging as the sunset is opposite the rocks and turbines so I had to hunt for a half-decent composition.
Another sunset trip to Snettisham with a couple of friends and an award-winning minimalist photographer saw me bag another couple of bangers, really taking advantage of the cracked mud flats that can be enjoyed at low tide.
Highlight – trying different techniques
I’m going to have to break my “one image” rule for August highlights and pick three images.
Image 1 – Props – deckchair at Southwold
I had fun taking lots of images of this deckchair but failed to grab it with the Southwold Pier in the scene other than a phone shot. Kathryn asked me why I hadn’t shot that and I felt somewhat embarrassed.
I had been so busy and blinkered grabbing just the deckchair, I hadn’t thought more widely about composition. It was obsessively about the object/prop rather than the image using the prop. Doh!
Image 2 – Pep Ventosa – Westleton Heath
While on the challenging evening shoot at Westleton, while I was struggling to get much, I had suddenly thought why don’t I have a go at capturing a tree and the heather using this technique.
I walked round a tree shooting 7-8 images then stacked them in PhotoShop, and was quite chuffed with the output, for a first stab.
Image 3 – Creative Macro workshop with Gill Moon
I quite liked the shot below which is different as the harebell flower is small in frame and a pleasing image.
I had bought a kneeling pad as Gill had recommended and lay down on my cushion of a belly to get it.
Lowlight – Infrared shot that flunks
On a summer afternoon walk locally, I got a couple of decent infrared shots from a churchyard.
I also got a couple of howlers from the local park, although it’s likely the editing is at fault here rather than the wrong scene or image.
September 2025
A busy month with lots of photography so going to have to pick more than one highlight again.
Highlight – more experimenting
Image 1 – Marmite shot at Gorleston
I like sea foam as demonstrated by the scene below but Kathryn is most adamant that it is ugly and it’s not for her.
Image 2 – Peak District Infrared
We enjoyed a week in the Peaks with my son Michael and one day out while exploring the Monsal Trail area, I took most of my shots that day exclusively infrared.
The shot below of a water wheel I enjoy a lot – there’s nothing epic about it, I just like it.
Image 3 – Monsal Weir Side On
I posted online a classic Monsal Weir shot which I was proud to capture handheld with a relatively slow shutter speed to capture motion in the water, but the image below was a different and pleasing angle.
This different angle had been forced upon me as a couple of “lads” were mucking about on top of the weir so I moved and changed angles to cut them out of the scene.
Although I was swearing under my breathe (how dare they be enjoying themselves in the public and free outdoor space while I’m trying to grab an epic shot?), they helped me get a different composition to the “done a million times” shot. Thanks lads, being dicks helped me as it happens!
Image 4 – Cromer Pier Drone Shot
I ticked off a bucket list item by a visit to Cromer for sunrise and grabbing a shot of the pier and town from out at sea.
I also grabbed one of my favourite ICM shots of the year, a zoom burst of the pier.
Lowlight – None.
October 2025
October saw shoots at Southwold, Sizewell, Thetford Forest, and a long weekend in Amsterdam.
Highlight 1 – Exhibition Recognition
I was lucky enough to be one of 59 entries to a competition with Norfolk Wildlife Trust (NWT) to be awarded a “highly commended” award and feature in NWT’s exhibition at Cley Marshes through October.
Needless to say I was really pleased for my image to make it to the shortlist from 1,100 entries.
Highlight 2 – something different
Amsterdam has to feature as a highlight right? We had an enjoyable few days in Amsterdam visiting the Anne Frank House, Van Gogh museum, Reijks museum and exploring the city.
I got a few pleasing images including a nice street scene, an image of a cyclist going over a bridge with a reflection in the canal, and a really good ICM shot of ceiling art and lights.
I also did a few multi-exposure shots and liked the one below of ceiling lights / lampshades from one of the museums.
Lowlight – images that didn’t quite make the grade
Image 1 – ICM bat crazy tree shot
The image below didn’t see the light of day (no pun) but I do sort of like it. Reminds me of the hairdo by those Irish wallies Jedward.
It was taken using a move up or down ICM technique as had been demonstrated one a club night / presentation.
Image 2 – Shrooms and harsh lighting
On a morning shoot in Thetford Forest, it was exciting finding some decent mushrooms to photograph but I found it a lot more challenging.
My main learning point was that a torch light can work, but you really want a diffused flashlight or subtle led light.
Image 3 – A Poor Mono
The shot below was taken with good intent (to show the drama of sea water splashing against the promenade wall in Southwold) but the edit was (and is) shocking.
I lazily used a Nik filter and did nothing much more and it’s a very “flat” image.
Image 4 – Something Missing
The following image is pretty decent but there’s something missing.
I was a little obsessed with the leading line attraction of the sand and shingle and the dome and structures are just too small to be impactful.
November 2025
We were still in Amsterdam during the first couple of days in November, but I squeezed in three more shoots on returning to the UK.
Highlight – Day Out at Trimley Marshes
In November, I attended a wildlife workshop with a photography friend at Trimley Marshes.
When we had finished, we photographed the dead trees there at sunset.
Cart Gap and Hopton also featured.
Lowlight – lacking inspiration (Cart Gap)
A club trip to Cart Gap saw me experience the photographers equivalent of writer’s block.
I came home to realise I had done nothing other than traditional seascape shots of groynes!
December 2025
December saw sunrise trips to Happisburgh where I grabbed something different, Caister with an amazing sky.
A family visit on Boxing Day to see the seals at Horsey was the penultimate photography session.
The calendar year ended with a club trip to Southwold, which is fast becoming our go to location for the final shoot of the year.
Highlight – the Seals
I enjoyed getting shots of the seals (with a long lens and from the designated viewing area of course), and was pleased to get something different.
Lowlight – an image from Happisburgh that didn’t meet what I had hoped for
I got a couple of pleasing images on a sunrise trip to Happisburgh but the shot below left me feeling it doesn’t quite work.
Final thoughts
2025 was epic in terms of how many shoots I did:
41 shoots of which 24 were sunrises and 17 were sunsets. Visits to Iceland, Plymouth, Cornwall, Manchester, Cambridge, Peak District, and Amsterdam with plenty of East Anglia locations meant a bumper year of photography.
And the exhibition feature was a bonus.
Onwards and upwards…