Top 5 Nature Photos 2024
21 January 2025
In the first part of this trilogy, I analysed my photography during the last year using a set of about 70 favourite photographs. Additionally, I made some assumptions about what may happening 2025. The second part was devoted to my five favourite street photographs, and the last part of my 2024 review (quite late for that, I know) is dedicated to my five favourite nature shots.
Sunrise with Stripes
Although I wasn't out in nature as often as I would like to be during last year I managed to stand up very early a few times. I packed my gear the evening before and after a quick coffee I snapped my bag and went out to enjoy and capture the sunrise. This time in April was really special. The view was clear with just a few high-hanging thin clouds and the timing was perfect to see the sun appear at the horizon.
And the conditions lasted the entire sunrise!
Naturally, I took numerous pictures and in retrospect, there are many that I truly like. But this one stands out: The stripe-like pattern in which the clouds are put across the sky and how they are lit by the ascending sun makes the picture look absolutely interesting in my eyes.
Flowing
On a vacation in Carinthia (Austria) at the end of April and early March, I had the luck to see a plethora of waterfalls. Smaller as well as larger ones. The only problem: I didn't bring a tripod because I didn't think I need one. Well, my back still thanks me… So instead, I searched for some rock, tree, or similar near the water where I could press my camera against, in the hopes that the image stabilisation of the camera would do the rest. Surprisingly, this worked out quite well on multiple occasions.
This shot is nothing too special. But I like the flow of the water at the chosen shutter speed, the greenery around the water, the light falling in from above and finally the composition. Therefore, I decided it to be among the top five.
Oh, a few months later I bought a set of ND filters. I still haven't done much with them but I'm looking forward to it!
The Pass Road
Four months later we were on another vacation at the Adriatic Sea in Italy. On the way back we made a short stay in Merano and on our journey there we drove over a mountain pass. We just made a short break on top and enjoyed the view for a bit. I made some quick snapshots of the mountains around us without focusing too much on the photography.
Nevertheless, I cannot get this picture out of my mind. Every time I look at it, it somehow fascinates me. I don't know precisely why. Perhaps it is the memories, perhaps the mountains and the whole area that I dearly love. I don't know. I just knew that I had to include it in my top-five selection.
The Mountain Mirror
Another shot from the Alps and again a different part. This one was during a short vacation in the Tannheimer Valley in Tyrol (Austria). I was there for two full days: the first one with perfect weather (so I hiked on top of a mountain) and the second with much fog and later additional rain (so I hiked along a lake in a side valley). During the hike along the lake, the fog started at about 50-100m above the ground and the water was absolutely calm. This resulted in a huge amount of possible compositions and subjects to shoot. And I had a lot of fun doing so.
But this photo of the opposite mountainside is my favourite. Not only is the mountain slope mirrored in the lake but it is also (at least partially) mirrored horizontally. This combined with the fog (and its mirror) which fades the landscape out to the top and bottom and the vibrant colours really fascinate me.
The Bell Tower
Lastly, a shot which is not in the Alps! On a day trip in my region, we visited the Hochablass of Augsburg (part of the city's historic water management system) during the Christmas holidays. Contrary to the whole time before and after this day, the weather was quite good for a few hours. And when the sun came out it even made the low temperatures more bearable.
As we were walking in the riverbed of the Lech I took various shots of the entire structure and the bell tower in particular. But this one worked out really well. Standing among the rest of some older structures of the weir I used the pillars and the sun reflecting in the water as leading lines to the tower. I then decided to go for a black and white edit to eliminate any distracting colour in the background to just put the focus on the scenery in the foreground, the monstrous structure of the weir and especially on the, in contrast to the rest even a bit funny looking, bell tower in the middle of the whole scenery.
Closing words
All in all, I'm quite happy with the pictures I took during the last year. Even though I don't always realise it throughout the year, it does seem that I'm growing in my photography. And this makes me eager to look forward and to see what I will be capturing next.