June brought us to San Diego and a film resurgence.

May was dominated by a family trip up the Oregon Coast followed by a couple of days in Portland.

My trip to Tucson was the expected highlight of the month but I like many of the local photographs I was able to make locally as well. Several of these photographs ended up in my portfolio so that’s always makes for a good month of photography.

I had so much fun on my last road trip that when the message came through regarding the Leica Society Spring Shoot in Tucson, I decided to attend and make a road trip out of it.

At the end of every month I will select my twelve favorite photographs and offer a bit of commentary for each. Since March is the first full month since inaugurating this new vision, it will be where I start things off.

I’ve been trying to write this piece for a few weeks now and something keeps getting in the way of me sitting down and writing about this incredible experience. I think a part of it is that it’s had such a profound effect on me that I’m scared I won’t properly convey the depth of it with mere words. But ultimately, words are all I have so I will endeavor to relay my experience.

Now, I’m not sure if I’ve always known that, or suspected it, or what, but saying it out loud in front of a group of other photographers felt a bit embarrassing.

No matter how great the moment, photographs need to stand on their own.

I pick my ten favorite photographs taken in 2025 with some commentary for each one.

Looking back, I cannot remember having such a good time doing photography on a trip in recent memory. I honestly think the pictures I have from the trip are the best I have ever taken. And since I’m the only judge in that respect that matters, then they are the best set of pictures I’ve ever taken.

Your aesthetics, knowledge, and taste changes over time. Don’t delete those “non-keepers.” There might be a winning photo in there.

Joined a Leica photo walk in San Francisco with the M11-P. From Chinatown to North Beach, I chased photos, solitude, and the rhythm of the city.

A photo-filled escape to Carmel, Monterey, and Capitola—good food, coastal views, and a surprise return to YouTube.

A sun-soaked escape to San Diego, with stops for wine, baseball, and beach views—worth every mile (even the ones through L.A. traffic)

When we flew across country to spend Christmas with relatives, I decided to only bring film cameras. It was a fun, yet busy, trip.

During the holidays, the park is transformed into a winter wonderland of festive decorations and classic holiday music. The celebratory mood of all the families, the the aroma of baking treats, mixed with the holiday-themed decorations, evokes a nostalgia of days of Christmas past.

When we would travel down to San Diego every couple of years, we would take our daughters to the San Diego Zoo, mostly to see the Pandas. My oldest is especially nuts about them. Show the girl a Panda TikTok and she immediately gets those Puss in Boots endearing eyes.

At one point, there was a subtle cacophony of squealing and we realized that we were hearing bats up in the darkened ceiling out of eyesight. Creepy. Where was Bruce Wayne when you needed him?

We took a trip to Santa Cruz over the Labor Day weekend. We usually go to Aptos when we come to the area but my youngest wanted to stay in the mountains for a change. We found a nice Airbnb in Boulder Creek, a small community in the Santa Cruz mountains. It was a nice change of pace to staying at the beach. I can’t say I like it more, but it is nice to change things up now and then.

We had been mulling over several options to get away for our 25th Anniversary week and we finally decided as a family to head down to San Diego. We were there in Mission Beach with my wife’s extended family in 2017 and had a great time, so we thought perhaps we could recapture some of that magic.

This past weekend my wife and I took our 17 year-old daughter down to San Francisco for the weekend to experience Pride weekend. She is a lesbian and has a hard time meeting others where we live so we wanted her to know what it felt like to be around lots of others like herself.