2025 in Photographs

Each January I put up a blog post containing a selection of my favourite images from the previous 12 months.

This year it felt more difficult to pick ones - not because I haven't taken any photos that I'm pleased with, but because many of them have been for private clients who don't want their images shared in public on the Internet.

There are always a percentage of my shoots that are like this, but somehow this year it feels like there's been a lot more. I have a few thoughts about why that might be, but it could also just be a random thing and next year I'll be spoilt for choice.

However, in between paid shoots, I have various "projects" - one of which is spending a day with artists and makers, photographing them in their environment and exploring their processes - from the actual hands-on making to the staring out of the window with a cup of coffee (which, as any artist will tell you, is an extraordinarily important part of the creative process).

Unfortunately because they are generally unpaid, and I have to prioritise putting food on the table and paying the rent, they are often the last to be edited. So there are a handful here where I have just processed a couple to give you a taste, and if I have a quiet winter, then it will give me an excuse to edit more.

Anyway, you'll find a varied selection of photos below, so hopefully there's something for everyone.

And if you're curious as to how my photography has progressed since I began back in 2009, then you can find earlier years' selections here: 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, Decade Review, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009

I'm always interested in feedback, so if you'd care to leave a comment about which one(s) are your favourite, or any personal observations, it would be warmly appreciated.

You can click on the images to see larger versions.

Christine Hester Smith

Christine has Barnbarroch Pottery [Link to Facebook Page] near Kippford. I was particularly lucky there was a beautiful light coming through the windows, which influenced my choices of framing, angles and composition.

This was one of those shoots where there is still a huge folder of images to go through, select and edit when I have the space to do so, but the images will appear on my blog, podcast, and/or social media when I do!

The Crannog, and Carlingwark Loch

The Crannog was the old activity centre on the side of Carlingwark Loch. It had fallen into disuse but is now being transformed after a Community Asset Transfer saw ownership move from the local council into the hands of the local community.

I was tasked to find ways to engage and encourage people to document the changes it will be going through, and ran several workshops on how to make the most of the cameras on mobile phones. But I also took many photos myself and through the project ended up creating a book called, "Crannog", which reflects a stillness I kept discovering, particularly through the winter months.

You can find a copy of the book at Blurb.co.uk here:

https://www.blurb.co.uk/b/12635656-crannog

Drag Queens of Dumfries

You can go many years without doing a photo shoot with drag queens, and then 3 come along together...

Strictly speaking, this first shoot with Madame Jo and Devine Tension, at the Dougie Arms in Dumfries, was at the end of 2024, but the photos didn't find their way into the public domain until into 2025.

One looks like a sitcom just waiting to happen! Come on Channel 4 - 2 Scottish drag queens running a pub - what's not to love?

The other just lends itself to cinema, and has Netflix backed Indy-Director written all over it!

Anyone got contacts in the world of TV & cinema?

For anyone interested, I talk about this shoot in Episode 238 of my Understanding Photography podcast - https://youtube.com/live/qHsVp697Pes

Ed Iglehart

American by birth, Ed settled in Scotland over 50 years ago. When I first met him he was a glassblower who enjoyed doing demonstrations. It always felt like there was a palpable sense of jeopardy at these events, as the audience would wonder if his beard was going to suddenly catch fire when the blowtorch he was handling would get perilously close...

The photo of him laughing is how most people would recognise him, but of all the photos I took that day, it was the more serious image that we both liked the best.

In the final image, we were in one of the outbuildings with his grandchildren, and from the angle I was standing, I loved the shapes and light in the reflection of the mirror

Hospital Geometry

It seems that these days I can't even visit someone in hospital without noticing lines and shapes and whipping out my phone camera.

Geometrical shapes in black and white - ideal for online photo competition sites!

STEAMIN’: The Main Event 3.0

Having started a photographic relationship with Devine Tension and Madame Jo, I was invited to the biggest drag event in Dumfries of the year, at Chancer's night club, and given an access-all-areas pass. This meant plenty of behind the scenes photos, and the stairwell just leant itself to creating portraits and stories with lines and shapes.

I talk about this shoot in Episode 247 of my Understanding Photography podcast - https://youtube.com/live/yB1FjX1f2ys - which for some reason has had more views than all of the rest of my podcasts in 2025 combined!

Firelight Trio

I did 4 shoots with Firelight Trio across 2025, as they developed their new album. The first took place in Ruth & Gav's living room where they were joined by Phil to rehearse and fine-tune the tracks.

The second was a performance of the new material at The Catstrand in New Galloway.

The third was at Castlesound Recording Studio.

I talk about these shoots in Episode 259 of my Understanding Photography podcast - https://youtube.com/live/QyaaL60o2N0

We also shot the album cover around a small fire in a patch of woodland, but I can't show you that until the release of the album - which should be at Celtic Connections later this January - so watch out for that in an upcoming podcast, or in next year's Best of 2026 blog!

The Sailmaker's Palm

The Sailmaker’s Palm is a performance art project, created by Alex Rigg and his theatre company, Oceanallover, that explores the relationship between humanity and essential coastal crafts, specifically sail making and salt panning.

I created this shot at the top of the Blackthorn Salt Tower in Ayr, Scotland, which Alex was also involved in the design and construction of.

Unfortunately this is another of those shoots where there is still a huge folder of images to go through, select and edit when I have the space to do so, but the images will appear on my blog, podcast, and/or social media when I do!

Sparrowhawk in the Garden

My wildlife photos generally tend to be of the backs of animals as they disappear into the distance. So when Maggie called me to the kitchen window to say she thought a sparrowhawk had got a pigeon at the end of the garden, I hastily attached the zoom lens to my camera and carefully crept out of the back door.

There were still plenty of plants and long, un-mown grass in the way, so I had to stealthily move up the garden - doing my best sneaking predator impersonation from watching David Attenborough Wildlife programmes - desperately hoping I wouldn't startle it.

Eventually I managed to get close enough to fire off a few reasonable shots. None of them will win any awards, but for me it was a complete triumph.

Silhouette

A "Day-in-The-Life" shoot I did for a wonderful couple who were revisiting the area as part of their wedding anniversary celebrations. The woman used to visit the region when she was a child, and we spent the day exploring half-remembered places.

I took this photo of them at Kirkcudbright Bay, and with the sun behind them it was an ideal shot to turn into a high-contrast black and white cinematic silhouette. Additional fun was had by lightening the flowers that were part of the pattern of her dress, which creates an extra layer of shape into the normally completely black silhouette.

Giant Dice and a Narrow Staircase

Heather Taylor is creating a multi-sensory role-playing game for people with additional support needs and disabilities. We had a fun time creating various promotional images, utilising different spaces in Drumcoltran Tower - including the stone spiral staircase

Slay The Spirits

The 3rd drag queen shoot I did was to create promotional images for "Slay The Spirits" - a set of videos created along the lines of a drag, "Most Haunted". We ended up in an old disused chapel.

The first shot I set up lights inside the chapel.

The second was using the natural light coming through the entrance to the chapel.

The third I made the most of fallen trees across the path to frame them in a cinematic shot of them in front of the chapel.

Wave Blues Band

I did a promotional shoot for Wave Blues Band a few years ago (see https://kimayres.blogspot.com/2022/01/photographing-wave-blues-band.html )

Sadly Brian, the founder of the band, died back in the summer. After much thought and deliberation, the rest of the band decided they would carry on, and recruited Darren as their new guitarist.

Of course they now needed a new promotional photo, and had in mind the idea of them cruising along in an open-top American car. Fortunately I knew Ash, who had 1967 AMC Rambler convertible and was happy for us to use it.

Unfortunately the only day we could get everyone available for the shoot happened to be raining.

So we decided to do the shoot in Ash's garage, with the photographic lights in full view, and lean into the idea of it being a completely staged shot where everyone is cruising in the car, but it hasn't left the building.

The 2nd shot is a behind-the scenes image taken by my daughter, Meg, which gives a sense of the setup.

Dunskey Castle

A private shoot I did for a couple getting married included creating a set of cinematic shots out at Dunskey Castle. Given this was the middle of October, we were extraordinarily lucky for it to be a dry day, and even sunny for part of it too. An old ruin perched on the clifftops, with views across to Ireland on a clear day, it's a dramatic setting, and I was pleased to get this shot before we moved onto the next location.

Phil Crennell

80 year-old Phil Crennell is an artist, woodsman, and furniture maker where his incredible creations use the natural shape, patterns and burrs of the wood.

Here are a couple of images I took when I spent the day with him.

Unfortunately this is another of those shoots where there is still a huge folder of images to go through, select and edit when I have the space to do so, but the images will appear on my blog, podcast, and/or social media when I do!

Llamas

The Patagonian Steppe, or in a field just on the edge of Castle Douglas in SW Scotland?

Given I took this with my phone while out for my daily walk, it doesn't take much deduction...

I saw them near a gate to a field not far off my path and when I stopped to look, they all stopped to look back. I loved the way they were all lined up. They shuffled nervously as I got closer, so I slowed down and avoided any sudden movements.

The field they were in was sloping up, and I found that if I moved my phone close to ground level I could see the sky between the legs and get a wonderful sense of them being on a ridge.

Just me, my phone, some llamas and 2 minutes before they got bored with me and wandered off.

But I do love this photo.

I hope you've enjoyed my selection - please leave a comment below with any thoughts or observations, and let me know your favourite(s)!

Wishing you a more gentle year ahead.