send your biggest picture from 2025
A PICTURE THAT MADE YOU SMILE, LAUGH, CRY, REMEMBER, CELEBRATE…
THE ONE
As we march onward toward the end of another year, I’m looking for your ‘biggest picture’ of 2025. The idea is simple: send the most important/favourite picture you made this year, with a few words about why it matters. It could be the frame that made you laugh, one that took you to new places or a new experience, the one that brought a tear, a picture that helped you celebrate, commemorate, or just something that stirred a quiet emotion when you look back at it.
Send your images to stories@photowalk.show - only one picture please. Please (if you wish to) include a link to your social profile or website, the full url, such as: www.instagram.com/photowalk.podcast.
All pictures will be shared on this special showpage and ten photographers will be selected to come on to the first show of 2026 to talk about their picture.
Closing date for pictures is Friday December 12th, 2025.
KIM COFIELD
Why is this photo The One? Well, this photo represents everything I have been striving to achieve with my dog photography. When I first set out to become a dog photographer, everywhere I turned to for inspiration presented me with photos of dogs in European forests and European urban areas. They are so far removed from my reality here in Australialand, I did not think I would ever be able to have any success. However, when I met my photography mentor in person last year, I came to see that I could, in fact, use the landscape around me. I simply had to look using my eyes instead of thinking I had to mimic others.
My favourite location to walk Theo and Claire has countless dead trees as well as fallen dead branches and trees. This particular tree we often walk by had caught my eye unknowingly until one day it hit me - it would be the perfect location to place a dog. I love it when an idea works out, in this case, a lot better than expected. I think will always remain one of my favourite photos.
See more of Kim’s work on Instagram.
ANJA POEHLMANN
LOBA VAN HEUGTEN
This is my The One image for 2025. I was pointing my camera towards the background trying out and making small changes to a fuji recipe on my Fuji Pro3. I was so engaged in making small changes to the white balance on the camera that I did not pay much attention to the lady who passed. When I got on the bus, I looked at the images. I deleted all but this one image, as this image captures what I have been trying to express but have not managed to before this image. I like her hair and the way she is flowing by in her own world.
KEITH JOHNSON
JBR Beech, Dubai June 2025.
This is a special place as Denise and I had been going there since 2007 and would go in January for our birthdays and October for our wedding anniversary in the last 10 years, we have stayed at several hotels that had access to the beech and have walked it together many times. And in recent years our son and his family have moved out there and we have spent time on the beech with them.
Denise passed away in September 2024 after a very sudden illness and this was my first visit to the beech alone. It was a very emotional walk on the beech that day and I walked the full length and sat myself down at this spot looked back across the bay and reflected on our life together.
My Reflection.
THAT first kiss we snatched.
How I felt close to you
How we would speak the same words together
How we laughed and giggled together
The special moments we shared
The rock you were to me
The cheeky look you gave that said it all to me
Thank you for the family we built
Thank you for understanding me
Thank you for the love you gave me
My best friend
My wife
My life
You were always there for me
THAT final squeeze of our hands that said.
"I love you"
R.J. CAMPBELL
When I heard the description of The One, I knew right away the photo that I would send.
My wife and I were visiting the St. Louis Zoo here in Missouriland in the U.S. We had two of our grandchildren with us for a wonderful day. The four of us were in the reptile house and I was playing around with making photos through one of the glass snake houses.
I am told that moment matters, and this was some moment. The two children are our granddaughter Charlotte (call sign Charlie) and grandson Richard (call sign Quinn). Their father, Lt. Rich "Dick Soup" Campbell, is a US Navy fighter pilot, hence the call signs.
Charlie and Quinn were having a lovely time watching the snake, who looked to be just as intrigued by them. I took quite a few photos with various facial expressions and smiles. But this is the photo that just melted my heart.
Thank you for the opportunity to share this photo of two of our wonderful grandchildren.
See more of R.J.’s work on Instagram.
ANDREW MELDER
Sharing my One photo for 2025 was easy, as I knew it as I took the photo back in March this year. Attached is a photo of my Mum and Dad holding hands during a lunch for his birthday.
I haven't taken a lot of photos of Dad over the last few years as his health deteriorated due to the increasing impact of what turned out to be Dementia; I preferred to remember the people-loving extrovert he was, and I'm sure he would too. Still, there were occasions where the moment and the frame just needed it.
Dad had moved to full-time care in mid-2024, so moments like his birthday and the Christmas prior were tinged with fear that he might not remember us in the next one. As Dad sat down, he reached his hand out and Mum placed hers together with his; it felt like a memory to preserve.
I would not realise just how fleeting and final this image would become, as just two months later, Dad passed due to a heart attack. A weird mix of shock, grief and an odd sense of relief that his suffering was done; and that dementia had not yet taken the memory of his loved ones prior.
I didn't quite realise how much the photo truly meant until I temporarily couldn't find it in my files; thankfully, I managed to dig out a copy. For all of my close to 42 years on this planet, most of those with the privilege of having my dad being there to guide me through life's events, this photo forces me to confront the feelings I try to suppress as we move forward without him. Mainly, that it's ok to miss him.
PER BIRKHAUG
Picking The One for 2025 was a bit hard, I must admit, but finally I decided on a photo I made during my third attempt to summit Store Soleibotntind, which is, in fairness, a rather accessible peak in Jotunheimen, at 2083 meters above sea level. But even if it's accessible, just a little bit of scrambling, nothing technical, it took three attempts before I was able to summit. First attempt was with my son and Mira, the Eurasian. And it proved too risky to bring her to the top. Having to carry a 25 kg dog down from high up, several kilometres - no need to risk that. So while my son summited, I turned back with Mira.
The second attempt was without the dog and with my youngest daughter. Which provided a different set of challenges: High anxiety. What scrambling there was just turned out too challenging to her. So after trying to negotiate a part where there was a drop of about five meters if you lost your footing (there was a fair amount of tears involved as well), I decided to call it quits, and we headed for some easier hiking. Still turned out to be a lovely day in the mountains. But it nagged me that I hadn't fulfilled my plan for the summit, so about a week later, when the weather was favourable, I gave it another go. Alone this time. And success. So the photo shows part of the view from the top, looking further into Jotunheimen.
IGOR BARINOV
I returned to my hobbyist photography full time so to speak after a heart attack at the age of 49 last year. It affected my pre-existing condition and I have been not employable since (unless someone is looking for a lighthouse keeper). Meditation is a great way to be, but I also needed something to do to stay sane and (re-)connect with life here on Earth. And photography worked. I did already have an iPhone camera, and I wanted more control and better images, and a new toy, of course.
I first got a Canon 6D, but got quickly distanced from it due to its weight and size. Then I remembered that I used to enjoy a X100S which I sold back in 2018. It was time to look at Fuji again. Ended up with Fujifilm X-T4. The "T" I'm sure stands for "tank", it's solid, I like it, still not big enough to scare me away.
I take it on my walks and drives. I just shoot what I notice. I stop when I feel that "pat on the shoulder" when something in me says "look at that". It could be a landscape, could be just the light at that time of the day, could be something in the street, without that framing, light and juxtaposition they are banal, mundane things.
I love the pictures I keep (but not all the ones I take). I try to be my own curator, my own librarian. I often like to delete the bulk. It's easy to become a hoarder of a bloated image pile in our digital age. The sheer number of image files would just dilute my joy of photography and keep me away from looking at the mess. I want to feel like I'm in my personal photo gallery rather than in a paper recycling facility when I go into my photo library .
So, it was a bit hard to choose THE ONE.
Anyway, this frame is dear to me because it's of my son in one of his many happy moments. The kitten was happily purring with him in the hammock outside, and the boy would purr with joy, too, if he could :)
PAUL FRIDAY
Best picture of 2025? It would have to be this one.
It's probably the least technically accomplished picture of the year too, but I don't care. This is me watching manta rays feeding on plankton on a night dive. This one brushed my head as it went over. This was the event that made 2025 an experience and not a number.
JOHN KENNY
Recently in preparing for my parent's Golden Wedding Anniversary, I was tasked with the challenge of obtaining copies of their wedding photographs. I had to bide my time and wait for an opportunity when the stars all aligned and they would both be out of the house.
I carefully photographed a range of early photographs, before coming to the official wedding pictures. I am pleased to say the photographer did a good job. The colours have stood the test of time, focus is good and the poses do not look awkward. It is unfortunate there was no way to get them from behind the reflective cellophane of the album.
Working in photoshop to enhance and tidy up some of the images, I was struck by how strange it felt to be viewing them, much younger than I am now. I couldn't help but try and imagine what they would have been thinking then as I look back along their lives now, afforded the fantasy of time travel via a photograph. Then in the back of my head, probably whilst sleeping, I realised how I could identify a picture of perhaps more importance than others.
The passage of time is often what adds value to a photograph, whether a news photograph or more humble picture of family. The attached photograph was taken at the opening of some newly regenerated community buildings in the nearby town of Loftus. My nephew is the one handing the scissors to the Lord Lieutenant of North Yorkshire. He looks very stoic, but was no doubt nervous. His younger brother looks down from the railings at the top left of the frame.
No doubt he has already forgotten this day as he copes with making friends and finding his place at senior school. Thanks to photography though, he may well look at this picture in 40 years time and be transported back to who he was then, what he felt and the memories of people that were there and may no longer be with him.
So this is my most important picture of the year, because I believe it is a future ticket to time travel.
See more of John’s work on his website.
KEN ROTHMAN
I made this photo during a workshop with Reuben Radding this summer and of all the work from that excellent time, and the year in general, i'm finding this image standing out.
I typically work in black and white, but this one only works in color. And that's making me try to work more in color, which is a challenge i'm enjoying. Doing both is ok with me :)
TRACEY AINSLEY
I really appreciate beautiful Architecture, and I’ve always, well, since it was built, wanted to see the Guggenheim in Bilbao. This year, we were there on an excursion from an Ambassador cruise. I couldn’t wait. We got there, and the heavens opened. We took a few photos, bought a brolly from the hawkers, and moved on. I happened to turn round and saw the fake ‘mist’ over the water. I quickly took this snap on my iPhone.
I’ve flipped it as I liked it better that way. We had a great day in Bilbao as there was a festival too. We loved the place so much and we didn’t have time to go inside the museum. Next time we will stay a few days. One thing I realised was that the building I loved in Vegas, the Centre for Brain Research, was designed by the same architect, Frank Gehry.
See more of Tracey’s work on Instagram.
JOHN ANDERTON
2025 has been a year of ‘encounters’ for me – good encounters, during which I’ve had the pleasure of engaging with people from all walks of life, while making their portraits and asking about their ‘Life Sentence’.
Maybe I should expand on that a little – I haven’t been making portraits of individuals who are incarcerated at His Majesty’s pleasure (though wouldn’t that be a fascinating project…).
I wander around Birmingham, making a nuisance of myself with my camera by bothering strangers and asking if I can make their portrait. Most people say yes, many are surprised, and some are flattered. I also ask my ‘models’ for a pearl of wisdom to accompany their portrait when I post it on my website and Instagram account.
This can be a life philosophy, a value they hold, something they’ve learned, and so on – but it needs to be encapsulated in a single sentence. I call this their ‘Life Sentence’.
Not everyone provides a Life Sentence, but we still make a portrait.
More recently, I’ve been chatting for longer with the people I encounter. I use my phone to record our conversations and then write them up as captions to post alongside their portraits on Instagram. Their ‘Life Sentence’, however, is always added to the portrait itself.
I retired in January 2025 after working for many years with children and young people who have experienced abuse and trauma in their lives. As much as you try not to let it happen, you can start to develop a rather bleak view of the world. I knew, though, that there is goodness and kindness out there – and that’s why I started engaging with strangers. The lovely people I’ve spent time with and photographed have proved to me that my faith in human nature is justified.
Since March 2025, I’ve photographed over 130 people – 50 of whom have provided me with a ‘Life Sentence’ – so my project is still in its early days. The challenge was deciding which photo to choose.
I decided on my portrait of Rae. Not so much because of the photo itself, but because of Rae’s ‘Life Sentence’:
“Everyone wants to save the world, but it’s okay to save just one person, and it’s okay if that person is you.”
Rae’s life value reminded me of the importance of being kind to ourselves as well as to others, and that it’s not selfish to think of our own needs occasionally. It’s a philosophy I have adopted myself, so this photograph is significant to me.
LAUREN MCCLANAHAN
The one. It seems that I should select a photo with a bit more gravitas, but alas, my mind keeps coming back to this one. This photo was taken as I was travelling in London this summer. Typically, when shooting in big cities, I have my trusty Fuji XT-3 at the ready. I also typically shoot in black/white. However, on this sweltering day, I just wasn't feeling like carrying an extra ounce of gear. I was hot, grumpy, and generally throwing myself a pity party. That's when I turned the corner and saw this woman. "She is me!" I thought. Kinda done with the heat and just all of it. I quickly pulled out my iPhone ("the best camera is the one you have with you") and took one shot. The hair, the expression, the late-morning beer—and the RED! Honestly, she kind of sums up life these days for me in the United States. I feel seen.
See more of Lauren’s work on Instagram, the website, and non-profit media project.
DAVID MUNRO
This photo is taken in Llanberis in the Snowdonia (Eryri) National Park, an area I know you have visited (Ep 385) and 'survived' with survival expert Andy Fisher.
I only took this photo, actually, about a week ago. It represents where I would like to shift my photography to and also the start of a project - 'In search of the game' .
The idea is to find football matches in different places - possibly places that you wouldn't think the game would be played, and also how they intertwine with the community around them.
I have only been shooting for about 5 years - originally inspired by Stuart Roy Clarke, who you may know is a documentary style photographer and has been shooting the beautiful game for many years. I have to say if I had a dream guest on your show, he would be it. If you have not seen his work - take a look.
Inspired by Stuart, I picked up a camera - but ended up being steered one way or another into sports photography, becoming Football Club photographer for non-league teams Avro FC and Altrincham FC. I also started working for an Agency, and then I became Club Photographer for Crewe Alexandra. To be honest, I couldn't believe it - it all just snowballed. The next minute, I was shooting the play-off final at Wembley Stadium.
At the end of last season, I came to the decision after two seasons with Crewe to finish and really try to go back to the original idea of a more documentary style of photography . After listening to so many of your podcasts, the importance of personal projects is one thing that always shines through, and 'In Search of the Game' was born. As I say, it's in its infancy, I am in the process of designing outlets to display the photos.
But the photo is a start, the game at its basics with the beautiful hills behind and the community watching on.
EWEN CRAIG
This is Ewen from Sweden-land (!), originally from Northern Ireland. This past year, I have jumped wholeheartedly into the nature photo hole, and I can't find myself leaving this magical and vast sector of photography knowledge and experiences. The photo I have shared was taken just before I made my first wildlife Photography purchase of a 70 - 300mm telephoto lens. I shot this deer lying down about 30 meters from me on my Canon M50 with the EF-M 18 - 150mm lens. The deer was distracting me so that its partner and child could get away safely. I had never witnessed such behaviour first hand, and I was so impressed that it just lay down next to the tree and stared at me kneeling in the distance. The wonders of having a respectful one-on-one encounter like this gave me chills of excitement. I hope you enjoy the image. The reason for this choice is that I realised my love for nature & wildlife photography after this day.
GEOFF SMITH
Often, some of your best images come when you least expect them. In May, my wife and I were visiting family in a semi-rural town near Australia's capital, Canberra. Our visit was to allow the family to catch up for Mother’s Day, always a joyous experience for Mums, children and grandchildren.
We currently live on the coast, where fog and mist are a rarity, so when I awoke to heavy mist one morning during the visit, I immediately knew it was time for a photowalk! I set off towards a pair of marshy ponds in a heavily treed parkland nearby that I expected could yield some atmospheric images. I had lined up an interesting composition with reeds in a pond and misty trees in the background, when out of the corner of my eye I spotted a man walking his dog. I waited until they entered the frame, and this was the result.
MICHAEL MIXON
Despite all of the photos I took this year on my “big boy” cameras (my XT5 and Ricoh GR 3x), I think the one that resonates with me the most is one I took very quickly with my iPhone.
It was a shot that wasn’t supposed to happen, because we weren’t supposed to see this part of the country again, yet here we were, dropping in on our way out.
On our last driving day in Norway (which was already going to be about 6 hours long), we decided to make it longer by taking a detour to see one of the stave churches, and then made it longer again by getting lost on our way to drive through the longest tunnel in Norway and found ourselves driving over the tunnel instead. We got to the top of the world by accident but couldn’t linger because we were afraid our EV’s battery would deplete (seeing as we hadn’t planned to climb as much as we did) and we’d be stuck up there, cold, hungry and expensively behind schedule while surrounded by epic beauty.
The mountain pass eventually relieved us of our mix of anxiety and awe and we found ourselves descending into a part of the country we’d been to the week before and had not expected to see again. Like being given the opportunity to rewind our home movie and relive some moments when we were in the middle of our vacation vs at the end of it.
So I was already in a state of nostalgia when this idyllic scene of a father playing with his two sons presented itself to me. We were near a campground, charging our car, and I was ambling about, relishing the arrival of the late afternoon light and wishing there was a way to press pause and stay here instead of continuing on our slow exit from this country and our vacation.
But as I watched them play in the grass, what I found that I really wished for was the ability to press rewind even longer and go back about ten years when my son was that age, when that kind of impromptu and immersive frolic was an everyday occurrence.
And then press pause.
CHARLES NAGY
I was listening to the episode with David Duchemin and you mentioned listeners should send in their favorites. I had 3 potential shots but ultimately chose the shot of DK Rider Zach North doing a trick called a Nac Nac. His are so original that I call them Zach Nacs. The other 2 were photos of bands, Redd Kross and The Melvins. I Chose this one because I feel like I was able to convey a sense of movement using a slow shutter speed and rear curtain flash while panning. I hope that you are well.
See more of Charles’ work on his website portfolio.
JOHN WAINE
Hoxton, London, June 2025.
I was drawn initially to the quiet elegance of the young woman in the foreground but then noticed the crazy girls behind her. I later spoke to them and made some portraits. They were a vocal group and great fun with bags of energy.
It wasn't until I was back home editing the photo that I realised the significance of both parties looking at their phones.
The group of girls were recording or maybe live streaming (ie broadcasting), whereas the young woman in the foreground was consuming content on her phone. The chances that she was watching them are remote, but I reflected on the connectedness that phones and the internet provide, however near or far apart we are.