087-Light and ShadowsAt a certain time in the afternoon, the light going through AT&T Stadium is crazy with long shadows as the sun shines through the west window. This is Mount Pleasant High School working with the lights and shadows.

Since 2013, I have reflected on each year by reviewing all my photos and selecting my top 100 favorites. Unlike many years, my travel in 2025 was limited. This was a year to stay close to home. I had just one round-trip flight - a trip to Texas during the government shutdown. I visited only 9 states this year. I continued with my weekly photography challenges with the Ricky Tims Critique Group, finishing out my eleventh straight year – 520 weekly challenges without missing a single one. 

This blog post will give an overview of my year of photography with a focus on my top 100 photos. I reviewed about 262,700 photos from the year to identify the best ones to tell the story of my year.

Equipment

I continued with the Sony mirrorless system. I picked up a few new lenses including the Sony 50-150 f/2 GM and Sony 28-70 f/2 GM along with a second "mark II" version of the Sony A1. I also bought a 17-28 Tamron lens for my full spectrum Sony cameras. I wanted a lens slightly wider than the 28-200 I usually use for infrared photography. The Tamron lenses are decent for normal photography but they excel with infrared. 

Top 100 by the numbers

By Camera - Most of the photos were taken with the Sony A1 II. One was taken with the Sony A6600, one with my cell phone used in a composite and 18 with the original A1. 

By Lens - 17 different lenses were used for the top 100. The Sony 70-200mm f/2.8 GMii accounted for the most photos with 32 (some with teleconverters) while the long glass (300 & 400 primes) combined for 25. The wider zooms - Sony 24-70 GMii and Sony 50-150 GM - accounted for 13 and 15 respectively. The other lenses were in the low single digits. 

By Location - 33 locations are represented in the top 100. The location with the most (14) was Bethlehem, but that was for two separate events - a WGI regional and MAIN Championships. The event with the most photos was TIA Championships in Wildwood with 11. 

Activity - Due to limited travel, the vast majority of the photos are from the marching arts. 41 Indoor Guard/Drumline/Jazz/Twirlers/Dance, 20 Drum Corps, 33 Marching Band, three wildlife/bird photos, two photos from Amanda's wedding and one photo at Longwood Gardens.

The numbers reflect a year that stayed local and leaned heavily into the marching arts.

Indoor Guard, Drumline, Dance and Twirlers

From mid-January through the first weekend in May, the regular weekend shows provided many opportunities to experience incredible performances. I had the pleasure of photographing championship events for Mid-Atlantic Percussion Society (MAPS), Mid-Atlantic Indoor Network (MAIN) and Tournament Indoor Association (TIA). I also covered five regionals for Winter Guard International (WGI) including trips to Corning NY and Dartmouth MA. The indoor season is the longest part of my year and includes a lot of variety and opportunities for individuals to really show their talents. More than 60% of my photos for the year are from the indoor season.  

Winslow Township Guard quickly became one of my favorite indoor guard shows this year, with a program inspired by the musical Six - a modern pop concert retelling of the six wives of Henry VIII, giving each woman her own voice and perspective. With only six performers, it would’ve been easy for the show to feel small - but it never did. Every phrase had intention, and every member carried real weight in the storytelling. After one of their runs at Wildwood I told the director, “I could take pictures of your group all day,” and I meant it. I wasn’t familiar with the musical at the time, but the performance still landed, so much so that I went home and looked it up after the season. I'd love to see the musical live someday. 
 

035-One of SixOne of my favorite indoor guard shows this year was from Winslow Township Guard who did a show based on the musical The Six. In keeping with the show title, there were just six members in the ensemble. This is one of them.

One theme that shows up in my top 100 is people upside down. I particularly liked this one of Emerge Twirlers. This one was in the running for favorite photo status. The motion + fabric + body line. It’s dynamic, dramatic, and feels like a “you can’t fake that moment” frame. Often with photos like this, the background activity can be distracting but in this case I really liked how it filled out the frame. 

040-I Can See the Ground from HereA member of Emerge Twirlers with some impressive acrobatics.

Drum Corps

The summer drum corps season usually provides opportunities to travel but this year I went only to shows within driving distance. I tried to focus on the Open Class corps as much as possible, along with the shows in the Philadelphia area. My schedule had me at just about every performance from the Raiders. In addition to photographing their competitions, I was around for some camps and for Friends and Family events. One memorable show was Sheffield, PA where I drove 7 hours only to have the show rained out. I spent the whole rain delay hanging out with the Raiders admin staff. One of the design choices the Raiders made was to march a lot of snares. I think there were 9 in the primary line plus another 5 in what they called snare prime. All of them had memorable photo opportunities during the show, providing visual excitement and energy to the production. Here are some of the snares at DCI Open Class championships. 

053-Jamming SnaresSome of the Raiders snare drummers having a moment of intensity at DCI Open Class Championships.

Drum Corps International (DCI) championships week was busier than usual with the addition of a Friday prelims event for the All Age class. To keep things sane and to spend time with my daughter Amanda, I shot from the stands on Thursday for Quarterfinals. On Friday, I left the camera at the hotel after the All Age event. So, my only time on the field was for the All Age competitions. DCI reserves seats in the stands for credentialed photographers and I've taken advantage of that opportunity since it was introduced in 2021. The location affords a different view and with my 200-600 lens, I can get photos I would not be able to capture from the field. This one is of a Blue Stars brass player with eyes wide open. I cropped square to lock attention on the eyes.

060-Wide OpenA Blue Stars brass player with eyes wide open. Square crop was for Instagram but really worked well compositionally to focus attention on the eyes.

Anniversary Trip

For our anniversary this year, Donna and I took a quick midweek trip to Havre de Grace, MD which is located at the mouth of the Susquehanna River, where it flows into the northern part of the Chesapeake Bay. While this wasn't a photo trip, I did bring my Sony A6600 full spectrum camera. Besides the waterfront and lighthouse, the town is famous for bird decoys. On these pillars there were some decoys, so it wasn't immediately obvious to me that this was, in fact, a Great Blue Heron standing motionless on the post. 
 

066-Heron’s WatchFor our anniversary, Donna and I made a quick trip to Havre de Grace MD which is famous for bird decoys. On these pillars there were some decoys, so it wasn't immediately obvious to me that this was, in fact, a Great Blue Heron standing motionless on the post.

Marching Band

Unlike 2023, weather did not pose any issues this season, though a few shows had moments of rain. I had a great time taking wide low angle photos this season. I really try to elevate the subject of my photos and getting low really does that. The wide-angle lens creates a perspective that makes the performer appear larger than life. This is especially fun at places like MetLife Stadium where I can use the background to create a sense of context. I ended up doing two events at MetLife this year. 

098-Circle of LightDouble flags from Upper Moreland HS in a dramatic low-angle hit at MetLife Stadium.

Every year I photograph the Collegiate Marching Band Festival. This unique non-competitive event brings together 20 collegiate bands. Some bands come every year. One of the perennial favorites is Towson University. You can always count on the Towson University cymbal line for an exciting conclusion to their marching band show. Unlike a normal band competition, the Festival offers me a little more flexibility to move onto the field at the end when many of the bands bring part of their ensemble to the track. So for Towson, I was able to hang around the area with the drummers and cymbals as the show came to an end.
 

074-TUYou can always count on the Towson University cymbal line for an exciting conclusion to their marching band show. Unlike a normal band competition, the Collegiate Marching Band Festival offers me a little more flexibility to move onto the field at the end when many of the bands bring part of their ensemble to the track. So for Towson, I was able to hang around the area with the drummers and cymbals as the show came to an end.

Eastern University

I was thrilled to learn that my alma mater, Eastern University, launched a marching band program this year. I introduced myself to the band director, shared what I do, and rearranged my schedule so I could be there to photograph their first home football game - their first time taking the field in uniform. They’re off to a strong start, and I can’t wait to watch the program grow in the years ahead.

069-Home GameEastern University started a marching band last year and this was their first year with a field show and uniforms. I discovered this was happening from talking with staff who had a booth at MAPS championships. I was very excited because I graduated from there a long time ago. I was invited to a few events including a home football game when they debuted their new uniforms.

The band also marched in its first-ever parade in early December, and I was invited to walk the route as their photographer. A burst of snow hit as they lined up, and I’m glad it did - the flakes and wet pavement add a little extra atmosphere to the warm-up moments. Not long after, the snow stopped and the sun came out, but those first frames captured the day perfectly.

100-Let it NowEastern University had their first ever parade and asked me to come be their photographer for the day. As the day was starting out, we got some nice snow showers but that quicklly yielded to a warmer (but still cold) and sunny day. It isn't often that I get to photograph marching band in the snow.

Year Word

My year word for 2025 was Action, chosen in part because I am an action photographer. When I pick my year word, I try to find something that hits multiple areas of my life. I think Action was such a word in 2025 with significant actions taken. While my photo for my year word didn't make the Top 100 cut, this one of the Madison Scouts captures the action spirit. 

050-Guard TossThat's not guard equipment! The Madison Scouts toss - and hopefully catch - a guard member.

The Top 100

So, those are some of the photos I took this year and a bit about this year's photography journey. You can see all of them in the Top 100 gallery.  Here is a quick thumbnail view of the bunch. 

Top 100 2025Contact sheet of all 100 top photos for 2025
 

Favorite Photo

Our final photography challenge for the year was to pick our Favorite Photo. I narrowed the top 100 down to 18 candidates. Unlike many years, I really didn't know all along which photo I was going to pick but my final pick was always in the running. While the weather was mostly pleasant all fall, we had a day of interesting weather for the USBands Marine Corps Invitational in Annapolis. Lightridge HS had the opportunity to perform in the rain late enough in the day and with rain heavy enough to be impactful on the photo. The scene here really tells the story and has the emotional impact I hope for in my photography. 

078-Let It RainWe experienced a wide variety of weather types at the USBands Marine Corps Invitational in Annapolis. Mostly when it was raining we were just getting wet. it was not enough water or dark enough to really impact the photos. This is not the first time in recent years that I've captured the Lightridge Marching Band in the rain at this event.

 

2026?

I have not made any plans for trips yet but I'm considering heading to the Northwest this summer along with time in the Midwest. We'll see how that pans out. It is unlikely I'll make it to Hawaii which is the last state I have to visit. I will continue with my marching arts photography working with the same circuits I've covered for a while. I am continuing with the Ricky Tims Critique Group for year number 12. The weekly photo challenges are a way of life now and motivate me to explore other kinds of photography and new locations, though I still try to meet as many challenges as I can through the normal flow of my photographic life.