2024 in Review: 12 Months and 12 Lessons Learned
I learned a TON in 2024. What did you learn?
The end of the year brings us time to reflect, so recently I’ve been reviewing the tens of thousands of images I shot in 2024. I wanted to make this post to talk about each month and something I learned, noticed, or found interesting.
January:
Let’s start with January, which absolutely sucks in Nebraska. It’s cold and windy and sad, but I managed to convince myself to get out of the house and found these two deer staring at me from a distance in a field not too far from my house.
The lesson for me here is to bring a telephoto lens with me everywhere I go (or most places!) and just keep it in the back seat!
February
February was a slow month for me photographically, but I did have an epic photo trip to Minnesota near the end of the month.
It was during this trip that I tried to break out of my mindset of always taking “beautiful” photos. Since I quit my job a few years back, all I think about is taking photos that sell… but they aren’t the type of photos I often like taking.
This gritty black-and-white of an old farmhouse and a moon? It’s just awesome. I love it, and it’s totally imperfect. It contains a mystery and it makes me stop for just a moment to look more deeply.
It’s a reminder to keep filling my artistic bucket, no matter how many photos I need to be selling.
March
This photo of these birds in some kind of bird cyclone is another fun one.
During this trip to photograph the Sandhill Cranes in March, I was focused almost exclusively on the iconic migrating birds overhead and in the surrounding fields, and mostly ignored the other types of nature all around me.
This photo reminded me of just how amazing common birds like these can be, and to always be aware of my surroundings.
April
This photo is a reminder for me to try to remember to take the freaking photo. This shot with the “OZ” sign was one I almost didn’t take.
Instead, I was shooting a pretty scene on the other side of the road.
I noticed this “OZ” sign on the way back to the car, and I just thought: “that’s pretty funny.” For some insane reason, I almost didn’t take the photo.
The lesson: don’t be an idiot and take the photo!
May
Looking back through all of 2024 revealed a lot of moments with my camera through the year. This one of a totally random bird is probably my favorite wildlife photo of the year.
The evening light was beautiful, and the sun was setting softly behind the trees to the right. This common House Finch seemed to be soaking in the sun. There were birds all around it, flying through the scene, but this bird stayed in this spot for several minutes, just peering up into the sky.
It was a beautiful moment, and I’m glad I made the effort to grab my heavy telephoto lens out of the cabinet to get this photograph.
June
This was kind of a happy accident. I was experimenting with retro lenses and accidentally took a blurry photo of the leaves you see above.
Now, I do ICM (Intentional Camera Movement) here and there, but there was something about how this one turned out in a totally random way that I liked.
I don’t often pair images together, but this natural pairing made me smile, and through the year it’s started me down a path of doing these kinds of side-by-side shots that I like.
July
I took a lot of flower photos in 2024.
This one has remained among my favorites for the entire year, simply because it was one I took with the Laowa 100mm Macro f/2.8 “Dreamer” lens.
Before this moment I had a hate/hate relationship with the Laowa lens. I just couldn’t get into it, and my photos sucked.
Something clicked though, and I started to learn a little more of a slow approach with the Laowa. It’s a manual-only lens, so focusing in the wind and even doing focus stacking takes more time and patience.
I’m glad I stuck with it though. The Laowa helped me to create some beautiful macro images this year!
August
August was a prolific period of time for me. Lightroom said I took almost 10,000 photos that month, and I actually think that’s low.
During this month I took some of the most beautiful photos I’ve ever taken, and this photo I took in Iowa driving north to Minnesota is definitely NOT one of them.
However, it’s still one I love and it’s one that stood out to me in August.
Not because it’s great, but because it’s another reminder for me to get outside of the box I’ve created for myself.
You see… I know how to take pretty good “pretty” photos. Photos that a buyer might like.
But that’s only part of being a photographer, isn’t it? I have to make money, but I want to feed the artist who’s inside me and I too often neglect.
This photo is one that I just stuck my camera out the window and took the photo while I drove down the highway. I didn’t see it until the hotel room that night, and it instantly became a favorite and yet another reminder to keep paying attention, and to keep having fun!
September
This is a really awesome photograph, if I do say so myself. It’s one of my favorites of the year.
It was during this trip that I used the Nikkor 24-120 f/4s lens more than I ever had. I can be a little bit of a lens snob, so a “kit” lens like this that maxes out at f/4 just doesn’t sound great to me.
However… this lens is way, way better than I thought. It continued a theme of using cheaper and/or older lenses throughout the year, which I think I’ll be leaning into and doing more of in 2025.
October
I showed my buddy Kurt Johnson this photo I took in Minnesota, and he said: “that is wicked cool.”
It is!
I took this with a really weird lens. It’s a TTArtisan 75mm f/1.5 “Swirly Bokeh” lens, and I used it on a medium format Fujifilm GFX 100.
The way it renders light and background blur is really weird, and I LOVE IT.
This also continues the theme of using weird/alternative lenses more here and there.
November
I didn’t take many photos in November, but I did take one awesome photo trip to get the water shot you see above.
I left at six in the morning and came home close to Midnight. Hundreds of miles. Seventeen hours on the road. It was one of the best times I’ve ever had taking photos, and the crazy part was that I almost didn’t go.
I was being lazy and tired, and I just wanted to stay home. I’m so thankful I decided to take the trip, and it’s just another reminder for me to say “yes” to doing more day trips in 2025!
December
In early December I bought the Ricoh GRIII Street Edition. It’s a TINY camera (smaller than my cell phone, although a lot thicker) that produces fantastic results.
It’s so small it fits in my shirt pocket. I can take it literally anywhere with zero effort.
So when I find myself out at midnight and there’s a cool Mustang in the street: I can get a photo of it!
Some people have reminded me that I have a cell phone in my pocket, so why not use that?
Well, because cell phones suck. That’s why! the more I live my life, the more I view my phone as a distraction machine.
A focused, fully-capable pocket camera doesn’t send me notifications or emails. It just gets out of the way and lets me take cool photos.
So the lesson for 2025? Fewer distractions!
What are some lessons YOU learned in 2024? Or would you just like to share an image, ask a question, or just reach out?
If so: jerredz@gmail.com
Leave me a voice message as well: https://www.speakpipe.com/jerredz And I would love to feature you in a YouTube video like this one:
Great read, and photos Jerred!
I learned one can rise up from tragedy and find a path forward, to find the passion again in something you have always enjoyed-photography! Make new friends and go on the road again. Thank you Jerrod and NEIA !!
Donna