12 Months, 12 Photographs

2024 was an incredible year for me. Not just personally, as it was a pretty great year in that regard, but also photographically. I travelled quite a bit and always with a camera. I also transitioned almost entirely from digital to analog this year. To say that it was difficult to select one from each month is an understatement. I was able to narrow it down to 33 photographs before finally selecting the 12. I'll describe why each photograph was chosen, as well as the camera, lens, and film used for each.

January

Made with Leica Q.

This photograph was actually made on New Years Day at sunrise. We had left on our family winter vacation the day before and celebrated New Years Eve with my aunt and uncle in Celebration, Florida. It was to be a pit stop on our way to Asheville, North Carolina. That morning, I awoke early to walk our family Labrador, Storm, and walked with her all around this lake upon which our hotel, The Inn, rests.

Celebration is one of our favorite places in the world. We considered moving there from Miami when Steph and I first married, but ultimately stayed in Miami. We had never stayed at The Inn, despite having been to Celebration numerous times. So it was great to finally spend a night there, even if it was just one night.

This photograph so perfectly announced the dawn of a new year for me.

Misty sunrise over a lake with house silhouette and overhanging tree branches.

February

Made with Fujifilm X-T2 and Leica Summicron R 50mm f2.

At this point I had two cameras that I used exclusively, my Leica Q and Fujifilm X-T2. My love affair with the Q drove me to seek Leica glass in other focal lengths than the Q's native 28mm, however. So I sold some digicams that I was no longer using and got myself a Summicron R 50.

I was adapting this lens to my X-T2 and testing it out when I made this portrait of Storm. Storm is very often in whichever room most of the family is in. She loves to hang with us. And as a member of our family, she is always welcome to sit with us on the couch or come rest with us on our beds.

She is somewhat camera shy, not liking big lenses to be pointed at her. Subsequently, many of the photos I have of Storm have been made with my iPhone camera. So, when I can get a good photograph of her with my camera, I'm always happy.

A black dog rests on dark cushions with an attentive gaze in a moody black and white photograph.

March

Made with Leica R4s, Elmarit R 28mm f2.8, and Fujifilm C200.

Here begins my modern film photography. With the exception of a few rolls I shot during the COVID lockdowns, I had not shot film since I was in high school. But, due to purchasing Leica R lenses to adapt to my Fujifilm X-T2, I ended up wanting to shoot these lenses with film and thus purchased a Leica R4s to do just that.

I've written about this photograph numerous times, most recently in this blog about my LFI Mastershots, so I won't say much about this photo. I will say that it remains my favorite photograph of Wes and my favorite portrait I have ever made. I likely won't ever make its equal and I am ok with that.

A joyful expression captured outdoors on a sunny day near suburban houses.

April

Made with Leica R4s, Summicron R 50mm f2, and Film Photography Project Dracula 64.

Back in March we had taken a trip to Walt Disney World in which I took film and digital photos, proving something important to me: I could photograph my kids using manual focus lenses without fear of missing (too many) shots! So when Spring Break came around and we took the kids to Universal Studios, I knew I was going to be prioritizing film over digital photos.

Link had suggested I try out the FPP Monster films at Universal Studios as a way to connect those emulsions with the Universal Monster movies that inspired them. It was a great idea that led to the creation of this street portrait of Link at Universal Studios' San Francisco area.

A candid black and white street portrait showing pure joy and happiness.

May

Made with Leica SL and Vario Elmar R 28-70mm f3.5.

I work at one of the greatest schools in the world. And we definitely have the greatest student activities committee in the galaxy. So, when they organized for the US Navy and Marines to visit our campus during fleet week, I knew I needed to take my camera into work that day.

I had received my Vario Elmar zoom just a few days before and wanted to put it through some paces, so I mounted that onto my SL and drove to work.

The end of the day saw many of our student athletes volunteer for a Marine boot camp, where this photograph was made. I stuck mostly to the widest end of the zoom range and was able to keep shooting in the extreme heat and sunlight well after the Marine photographer's Sony overheated. There really is nothing like a Leica!

Military training session shows recruits doing pushups on a sports field while an instructor supervises.

June

Made with Leica R4s, Summicron R 50mm f2, and Fujifilm C200.

At the end of June, we took off for our summer family vacation. For the past five years or so we had taken a week of down time on the west coast of Florida, but decided to change things up this year. So we hit the east coast of Florida and spent a week in Saint Augustine and Orlando.

Having become more emboldened by my time prioritizing film, I waded into the pool at Sapphire Falls (one of our usual hotels when staying at Universal Studios) with my R4s. I snuck around Wes as he played with this beach ball, hoping to get a candid shot of him flashing that smile of his. The timing of it just wasn't working out, though, and I was about to give up when he finally spotted me over his shoulder.

The candid shot had turned into an intimate portrait as he smirked at me and the beach ball bobbed into the foreground at just the right time. Moodier than I intended, this is definitely a different kind of portrait than Wes and I usually make together. He's always willing to pose for me, while Link usually needs some convincing. Regardless, I'm glad I didn't throw in the towel when I had felt this shoot was pointless.

A summer pool scene with orange floaties and swimming activities at a resort water park.

July

Made with Leica R4s, Elmarit 28mm f2.8, and Fujifilm C200.

This may have been the toughest month to choose one photograph from because of the two weeks I spent in England with my students on a study abroad. You can read all about that trip and the making of this photograph here.

This photograph, however, is one I keep coming back to and is why I ultimately chose this over some of the other great photos from this month. There is something about the fields on either side of the street, the street that bisects the countryside, the even blueness of the sky, and the whiteness and consistency of the clouds that works for me. Aside from its Hayao Miyazaki-esque coloring, there is an emotional connection that I have with this photograph, feeling like that street is carrying me into the future.

Empty country road stretches into distance between green fields under blue sky with white clouds.

August

Made with Leica SL and Elmarit R 35mm f2.8.

Steph's work sees her being invited to industry events which she often takes me to. As an event planner working primarily in weddings, her work is detail oriented, often glamorous, and always interesting. She is approaching the ten year mark as a business owner and has seen the wedding market in Miami change and grow, being responsible for some of that change herself. So, when she can attend an event as a guest and enjoy the night off, it is always a great thing. As it was this night in the River District in Miami.

If there is someone I can call my muse, it is Steph. As portraiture is the practice of capturing a person's essence on film, I believe there is no one I get closer to accomplishing this with than Steph. And I feel like the nighttime glamor of this street portrait captures just that.

Dramatic nighttime portrait on a dark city street illuminated by street lights.

September

Made with Leica R4s, Summicron R 50mm f2, and Kodak Pro Image 100.

I have already written about the making of this photo here, so I won't go too deep into it, but I do have some thoughts after reflecting on it a few months later.

Prior to this cruise, I was primarily a 28mm shooter. However, as my Summicron R 50mm was the fastest film lens I had, I used it quite a bit on this trip, wanting to keep shooting well into the night. I was enjoying the process of composing with 50mm and kept it going the next day when this photo was made.

Seeing this photograph come back from the lab is what convinced me that 50mm was something I could not only use, but get results I really liked for street style photography as this is likely my favorite photo of 2024. It also helped convert me into a lover of Kodak Pro Image, Kodak's most under-appreciated film.

Vintage-style photo of people relaxing on deck chairs around a cruise ship pool.

October

Made with Leica M3, TTArtisan 50mm f1.4, and Palm Panchromatic 400.

I started using Palm Film Lab in April of this year. Finding that lab was the best thing to happen to my photography this year. And every time I would drop off some film for development, I'd see their proprietary film on their shelf. I decided to take a roll with me to New York in October and pushed it two stops.

The results from this roll were mixed, as I wrote about here. Some came out fantastic, while others were seriously underexposed. However, this one is a frame that helped convince me that I no longer needed to shoot digital for myself. For a few months I had essentially been shooting digital only at night for high ISO photos. But realizing that pushing film is not just a possibility, but also yields great results was enlightening.

This one works for me in a number of ways, but what I love most about it is the contrast. The blacks are deep and dark, while the whites are bright and punchy. The blooming highlights are just perfect and the setting of 6th Avenue, with the Radio City Music Hall sign aglow, is classic New York.

I made many photos in New York this October that I was very proud of, but this is one feels like the New York I fell in love with.

This was also the trip that helped me bond with the M3. An interesting series of events led me to the M3. First was a stop at Leica Store Miami for some information on an R lens back in August. There I had an opportunity to play with an M4 and really enjoyed it. The next was rediscovering 50mm as described here. The natural progression was then to move on to an M3 and a 50mm lens, which is exactly where I am today.

Moody black and white cityscape of illuminated signs and crowds on a busy night street.

November

Made with Leica M3, TTArtisan 50mm f1.4, and Kodak UltraMax 400.

I'm realizing now how many times we visited Universal Studios this year! Yikes!

I documented this trip here. It was an emotional one for me because of the significance that I wrote about in that blog. However, this photograph felt special even among all the portraits of my kids.

Kodak UltraMax has been a film I've enjoyed using the last few months. Previously I used slower films because of how much light we have here in Florida. But when I started using faster films, I realized I could stop down for greater depth of field and keep a relatively fast shutter speed. It helped make this photo possible as I was able to freeze the dragon's fireball perfectly.

Having learned how to capture action from comics books, I always go back to Jack Kirby's words on capturing the moment of most kinetic action. This is, I believe, much like how Henri Cartier-Bresson writes about the Decisive Moment, to keep it photography centric.

And with the grain and color provided by UltraMax, this almost looks like a still from the set of Dragon Slayer or some other 80's dark fantasy romp. That is definitely my wheel house. And I can't wait to head back to Universal and get some more film photos at the upcoming Epic Universe park, where the Universal Monsters section will likely yield some more dark fantasy magic.

A dragon breathes fire above Victorian buildings in what appears to be The Wizarding World theme park.

December

Made with Leica M3, TTArtisan 50mm f1.4, and Kodak Gold 200.

While December is not finished yet, I feel confident in choosing this frame for the month. And its a meaningful one as well.

This is the view of the lake where my parents' home is located. We do a big family dinner once a week, usually on Sunday nights. And the sunsets from this spot have always been something I loved. I have continually come to this spot and taken variations of this photograph for many years. I can't say if this is my favorite of the sunset photos made here, but it is my favorite of those made this year.

And with a sunrise to start the year and a sunset to end the year. I am not sure there is anything more poetic than that. Because there will be a sunrise to open 2025, and I'm more excited about photography for that than ever before.