I usually look back on my best pictures of the year each December. It's dark and grey outside so it's nice to relive the bright moments of the year.
I take my pictures with an IPhone and edit with the inbuilt software. This is very convenient for sharing online but the resolution is also high enough that I can print in A4 on an inkjet. I print and frame the best pictures both for our own walls but also as presents for the family. These look great in a good quality frame with a passe-partout.
In this post I present the five best shots that made it to our walls this year.
2025 in Photography
2025 has been a good year for taking pictures. It started in scenic Trosa with sunshine and snow. I explored the pastel coloured houses in the fading daylight on both sides of the winding river. Then a visit to Malmö exploring Västra Hamnen and on a sunny morning capturing the landmark Turning Torso against a mackerel sky.
Driving down to Linköping for LinCon in May offered a detour into the archipelago. On the way back, the other worldly landscape of Trollegater.
Our family trip to the South Funen Archipelago in Denmark offered many good family moments but the mostly overcast sky didn't make for great pictures. But I got in a nice one of Oehlenschläger's Beech on Langeland.
While the summer weather didn't play along either on our visit to Gotland in August, my son and I had the most amazing trip to Kebnekaise in July. 24 hours of daylight and clouds forming and dancing across the the sky made for stunning landscapes to explore. The picture with my son looking at the distant mountains over the blue grey lake made the cut.
The city of Gdańsk in Poland was great to explore with the camera. Framing monuments and architecture to try capture the essence of a city with a long and complex history. The shot of the medieval harbour crane behind the mooring of the Soldek came out great.
We also had a nice stop in Lübeck on the way home from SPIEL. The sun came out to play for a while.
However, the final of the five best shots of the year is from Stockholm Old Town. I have walked the narrow streets of the historic city centre of Stockholm many times — they are usually crowded with tourists (for good reasons). As we made our way back from the Christmas Market to the train, I spotted the church tower behind the yellow facade. Everything nicely lit with artificial light as the daylight faded.
Tips for taking great pictures
So how do you take great pictures? It is always a mix of chance and skill. Some of these shots happened in the spur of the moment. But to be at the right place at the right time took a lot of preparation and intention.
If you want to have fun taking great pictures, these are my tips:
Seek out great opportunities, like plan to catch the morning light and to have the sun behind you. Then when you are out there: Pay attention to your surroundings. Keep scanning your environment.
When something sparks your interest: Move closer. Climb up. Kneel down.
Then when you have a composition: Wait for the right moment. Those people in the background? Wait for them to move out of the frame. Want a train on that bridge? Wait for the next train. Want a magic ray of sunlight to hit that mountain side? Wait for the sun to move a little higher in the sky or a cloud to pass.
When you got the shot, check it out while you have the chance to go back and fix that one thing.
But most importantly: Have fun and enjoy the process. If at first you don't succeed, learn from it and try again. These top shots of 2025 were five out of a thousand.