It’s time to display the photos I took in 2025, of which I am the proudest. These photos were taken around home, and far away. We took two big trips in 2025, to Arizona and to the Carolinas, and both trips were great for photography, as we visited places where we had not been before.

First, what I think were my very best photos, maybe the best ones I have ever taken, from not too far away from my house, in Everett, Washington. Conditions were perfect, the night in November when we went out for dinner to a restaurant near the Everett Marina. It was 38 degrees out, and there was not even a hint of a breath of wind blowing, under a cloudless sky. Do you know how rare those conditions are in the Pacific Northwest? VERY rare! The water was flat, yielding beautiful reflections of the boats, and the stars were visible.

Note the lack of even a ripple in the water, and you can see the house lit up at the far end. You can even spot the Big Dipper in the sky!

I could not have asked for better conditions for photography. And I took these photos with my iPhone 15 Pro, hand-held with my elbows resting on a concrete wall at the perfect height.

Next, from our trip to Arizona in February. We visited a state park near where were staying in the town of Prescott. The area is called Granite Dells.

I was taken with the scrub oak trees framing the rocks. Even in the bone-dry high desert, there is still green to be seen.

I remember taking this one and noticing the tree at the top of this mound of rocks.

On our trip to the Carolinas in October, I think my best shots weren’t even of the Carolinas, but from above on our flight there!

This shot of Mount Rainier, and the Cascade foothills captures Eastern Washington very well.

2025 was a very good year here, for the fall colors. I think my best shots were from a little “overflow pond” a couple of miles from home. It’s pretty mundane for most of the year, but this time a big rainstorm filled up the pond, just when the trees were at their most colorful. My biggest problem was finding a place to park my car so I could take my photos!

This one shows just how high the water got, and a pair of ducks taking advantage of the temporary lake to get in a swim.

This one really shows the vivid colors of the trees surrounding the pond.

I also got some great photos of Silver Lake, in various conditions and seasons. It’s always a very good, approachable subject, and I stop there often.

This March picture of the sky, reflected in the lake, is very calming. It does make it difficult to focus your eyes, to figure out what the picture even is!

This one from November shows the beautiful fall colors.

Last Fall Colors one, from my own back yard. This Japanese Maple tree had turned its bright red, just before the leaves start to fall off. I kept careful track this year of the transitions from green, to maroon, to bright red for all my three backyard trees.

As far as the back yard goes, I had a major capture this year, of a bird we had never seen before! I felt ecstatic when I looked out the back slider door, and saw this gorgeous Pileated Woodpecker. They are rare around here, and I was extremely fortunate that my phone was close at hand!

This year, we went to Snoqualmie Falls many times, and I was able to capture it at its lowest and at its highest (due to two Atmospheric Rivers that caught us). Here are the best of both conditions.

At its highest, in December after big rainstorms.

At about its lowest, in September.

I would like to thank all my viewers and followers for keeping my blog lively. I hope you all have a great New Year, and stick around for more in 2026.