A Look Back at 2024 and a Look Ahead to 2025
A look back at 2024
We’re already a few days into the new year—time to reflect on the past year and look ahead to the year ahead, because when it comes to photography, I have quite a few exciting things to look forward to.
But first: what did I do in the field of photography in 2024? I certainly didn’t sit still. I went on three wonderful trips that had already been planned in 2023: to the Lofoten Islands, to Tenerife, and to the highlands of Iceland—and those were (for now) the last group photography trips I had planned. I photographed the magnificent Northern Lights twice right here in the Netherlands, and the photo I took in May was even featured on the NOS 8 o’clock news.
For me, this is my favorite photo of 2024—and it was taken just a quarter of an hour from home. So you definitely don't always have to travel far to get the perfect shot!
I also took some portrait photography workshops to explore a genre completely different from landscape photography (see here for the result), and I finally wanted to learn how to use a flash properly, so I took a full-day course in Zeist. I also participated in two so-called “styled shoots,” which was a whole new world to me—one I didn’t even know existed—and I learned that it’s not for me.
For my small photography business, I successfully completed my first assignment, and I felt honored to be asked to photograph a funeral. I was honored because I was entrusted with something so intimate and personal. There, too, I delivered beautiful images, because that’s always my top priority. I also photographed my first wedding, but unfortunately (even though the photos are so beautiful), I can’t show any of them, because everyone makes their own choice when it comes to sharing photos online. Oh well, that’s just the way it is.
Plans for 2025
And now here we are, once again at the start of a new year.
When it comes to photo locations and subjects, I always have an endless bucket list. It’s always hard to make a choice, but right now a lot of it depends on when I can get away, because during certain months I’d really rather be at home with my family. Early in 2024, I started planning for 2025 (which is sometimes really necessary—otherwise, there won’t be any openings left), and I jumped right into a photo location that had caught my eye a long time ago. And that was…
Hungary
I’m referring in particular to Bence Máté’s photo hides. Unique wildlife photos (birds, but also roe deer and, if you’re lucky, otters) taken with an ingenious lighting system that ensures you can take photos in all conditions, even at dusk and at night. These photo hides are among the crème de la crème of all hides worldwide. I got in touch with Jody Zweserijn, whose blogs about these photo hides I had read on her website (highly recommended!) a few years ago (you can see some of her stunning photos in the compilation below). I’m incredibly grateful for all the information and help she’s given me, and after a long wait, I’ll finally be heading to Hungary in the winter of 2025. I’m overjoyed that I’ll be going with a good photography friend, and of course, we’re both really looking forward to it.
And then: Romania
While doing some online research to prepare for our family vacation to Romania in 2024, I came across the intriguing work of Romanian photographer Vlad Dumitrescu. He has a gift for creating images whose use of light reminds me of the old Dutch masters, as you can see from his photos below. As far as I’m concerned, his work is of an unprecedented caliber. His love for the Romanian countryside and its people—whom he captures with immense respect and passion before they, too, fall prey to modernization and this way of life, for better or worse, disappears—is immediately evident in his work. We already met Vlad last summer in his hometown of Brasov, and during the week of Orthodox Easter—which is an important religious occasion in Romania—I’ll be traveling with him through the Brasov and Maramures regions. It’s undoubtedly a trip that will make a deep impression on me, even beyond the photography. Plus, it’s a completely different photographic genre.
Last but not least: sailing through Scoresby Sound in Greenland
I was so blown away by my trip to Illulisat in West Greenland. Sailing through Disko Bay among the enormous icebergs from the Jacobshavn Glacier, the sound of the humpback whales that I’ll never forget, the feeling of having reached the edge of the world… an adventure I would love to experience again without a moment’s hesitation. Now, Greenland has another stunning area on its east coast: the vast fjord system of Scoresby Sound. The Icelandic shipping company North Sailing offers expeditions there on wooden schooners (long-sailed vessels) during the two navigable summer months. I started inquiring with them almost immediately after returning from Greenland in 2022. I also explored other options for making this trip. However, when I received a message from North Sailing last November stating that a spot had opened up on the wooden schooner Hildur in 2025—during a week that was very convenient for me—I couldn’t contain my excitement. The result is that 2026 is going to be a quiet year as far as photography trips are concerned ;)
All in all, I feel privileged and am looking forward to a year full of incredibly diverse photo opportunities!