Today I would like to take a look at the past year. Once again, I'm going to start this year “statistically” 😉 So here we go!
One trend continued: apart from our travels, my “working days” were now significantly reduced to just 79 days, the lowest number for 12 years. In fact, this wasn't due to the birth of our son in July (on the contrary, I've had the most photo days since then), but simply because I had a major professional project in the first half of the year that took up a lot of my time.
In addition - similar to last year - apart from our trips to Iceland, Norway, Spain, Portugal and the Netherlands, my interest in photography near my hometown was not as high as before. I'm sure that will come back soon.
However, as the average number of images per day was over 4.6 (the highest figure to date), the number of images produced was still almost as high as last year at 361. Just click on it for a larger view:
What does that mean in practice? This year, approx. 85% of all days were full days - i.e. with both a sunrise and a sunset session - I never shoot over midday. In recent years, this rate has been lower, as I almost only prefer the morning session at close range (empty spots and increased likelihood of fog). So it turns out that there were around 146 photo sessions behind the 79 days of action, which gives me 2.5 images per photo session (e.g. sunrise) to give you a feel for the figures.
I think the steady upward trend of “pictures per day of action” will soon end or stagnate. The figure was also so high because this year I almost only went out when certain weather conditions were almost certain and I always plan more efficiently. We were also very lucky with the weather when we were traveling.
I was able to publish all 361 photos in 23 blog entries. If you are interested, you can find the detailed figures in the following illustration. As always, the usual note: The number of pictures is the result of how many pictures were published in the respective year and fulfill my current “quality standard”. In 2009, for example, I spent a lot of time photographing nature, but by today's standards only one picture made it onto the website:
So that's the numerical facts for 2024.
But now to the quality, with which I am very satisfied. Once again, I had great experiences in landscape photography, wildlife photography and nature details.
Even though the number of shooting days was lower than it has been for years, I now realize that I can make more efficient (and effective) use of good photographic conditions thanks to the experience of the last few years. This year, that really came into play.
Here are 20 of my favorite moments from 2024, starting with landscape photography:
Especially with fog and interesting cloud structures, things went very well this year. The forecasts are also simply becoming more and more reliable, which is why you rarely come away empty-handed.
My wildlife year was also varied, with new animal species in my portfolio - here is a selection of 20 moments that I like to remember...
And finally, 20 great moments from „natural details, colours and shapes“. I was a bit more active in this category this year and would definitely like to expand on it next year. I'm particularly interested in plant photography.
Next, I'm looking forward to our time in Portugal, where we will once again be spending the turn of the year. We've already been here since Friday and are enjoying the mild winter climate. Christina, Ben and I will be staying here for 3 weeks, of which we will again be leading a photo tour for Brockmann Phototravel for 9 days.
I would like to wish you all a Merry Christmas, a Happy New Year and a few relaxing holidays.
And above all, thank you very much for your interest as blog readers, participants in my coaching sessions and photo tours and as cooperation partners. Thank you also for the first reviews via Google 🙏
Many greetings,
Thomas
