Eloquent Images by Gary Hart
Insight, information, and inspiration for the inquisitive nature photographer
Looking Back at 2025: I Was There
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One of my favorite things to do at year’s end is to look back at the images that made the departing year especially memorable. And each year, I think to myself, ‘Wow—this was probably my best year ever and there’s no way I’ll be able match that success next year.’ You’d think maybe I’d learn after more than two decades of saying the same thing at the end of each year that maybe my pessimism is unjustified, yet here I am wrapping up another year doubting that I’ll ever be able to top it….
The true reason I’m always irrationally exuberant about the most recent year is that I still love what I do as much as I did the day I started. (That is, a lot.) Both the sights, and the people I share them with. I often think in terms of “I was there” moments in my photography life: experiences in Nature that will be forever etched on my brain—not simply for visual component and the resulting images, but for the entire experience, from the anticipation or surprise (depending on whether I planned for the latest spectacle or not), to the people I enjoyed it with, to the euphoria that follows. That applies whether the sight was as rare as a total solar eclipse or dazzling comet, or simply a sunrise/sunset or lightning display that was so spectacular its memory supercedes all that preceded it.
Sometimes these “I was there” experiences are (more or less) predictable (like a rising moon, eclipse, or comet), other times they’re completely unexpected (like a vivid sunrise or rainbow). I don’t get one every year, and in fact they’re rare enough if I even get one in any given year, I consider it a win. In 2025, I had three (or more, depending on how I count them—read on for an explanation).
I’ve already had a couple of Iceland aurora displays that qualify, and I added another one in February. This year’s, in addition to rivaling the best aurora shows I’ve witnessed (for both color and intensity), was especially memorable because it was so unexpected. I blogged about it three times:
(To appreciate the expansive spread of the aurora that night, note that each of the featured images in these three posts was captured facing a different direction.)
Most recent was the Kilauea eruption in September. I’ve witnessed many Kilauea eruptions (some of which have made my “I was there” list), but none that compare to this one. I have three blog posts dedicated to this experience:
- Kilauea Eruption Episode 33, Part 1: So You’re Telling Me There’s a Chance… (this was actually a precursor event leading up to the main eruption)
- Kilauea Eruption Episode 33, Part 2: Grand Finale
- A Moving Experience
But the “I was there” experience that stands out most, not just for 2025 but for my entire life, is my storm chasing trip in June. Even though here I’ve lumped the entire storm chasing experience into a single qualifying event, I could just as easily break it into multiple days—at least two, with several others coming close as well. The two most significant days of that trip are what everyone in the group started calling simply, “the tornado day,” and then “the supercell” day a couple of days later.
Our tornado day was notable for me less for the photography and more because I got to check off a lifelong bucket list item: See a tornado. Our supercell day may have included the single most photographically productive two hours of my life. Check it out:
Here are the seven blog posts I wrote dedicated to this trip:
- Storm Chasing Diary: Hit the Ground Running
- Storm Chasing Diary: My First Tornado
- Storm Chasing Diary: “Large Cloud in the Sky”
- Storm Chasing Diary: Safety, Schmafety
- Storm Chasing Diary: More Tornadoes
- Storm Chasing Diary: Lucky Strike
- Storm Chasing Diary: Saving the Best For Last
I’m afraid that breaking the year down into a series of grand “I was there” events risks minimizing the other beautiful sights I got to witness. Yosemite, New Zealand, Grand Canyon, the Eastern Sierra, and the Tetons were all the best versions of their spectacular selves, as you can see for yourself in the gallery below. Because I resist ranking my images, or picking specific favorites, I’m sharing them here in random order. I hope you take the time to review the gallery, and please feel free to share with me the one (or ones) you like most.
Now, on to 2026….
Workshop Schedule || Purchase Prints || Instagram
(It has come to my attention that my galleries don’t display well on some smartphones—I’m looking into this, but in the meantime I strongly recommend viewing them on a computer.)
2025 Highlights
Click any image to scroll through the gallery LARGE
Eloquent Images by Gary Hart 