My best film photos of 2025
A little retrospective: one photo from each month
At the end of every year, I go back through my scans and pull the frames that still hold up. The ones where something landed. This year I processed over 150 rolls and 4,600 frames, most of them on the streets of New York, but many in Japan, and a few in California, Boston, and Rio de Janeiro.
It took me a while to select, and here's what survived the culling, along with a micro story of each shot. Hope you enjoy!
January
My film photography journey was just getting started in January 2025. I had begun carrying a camera with me every day, regardless of weather. This was taken during a cold NYC winter day: a Batman-themed FDNY truck. I was crossing the street when the truck stopped at the light. I took the shot quickly and kept walking, knowing I had something good in the can.
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February
I took this one while heading home from Brooklyn to Jersey. I call it “Modern Blackhawks of 2025,” and I wrote about it here:
March
My first black and white roll was CineStill BwXX, shot during a photowalk with my friend Kimi from Gelatin Labs. It was still cold in March. I got a few other shots I like from that walk, including some in front of the Netflix studio in Brooklyn.
I wrote about this film stock here:
April
April is when I traveled to Japan. Choosing the best photo from this trip was difficult. I went with this one because of the red, which pulls your eye immediately. The place is Fushimi Inari Taisha, a shrine in Kyoto. My family and I were jetlagged and arrived around 5 AM. The place was empty. I shot plenty of frames.
This was my first roll in Kyoto, and I documented the rest of it here:
May
Warmer weather arrived in New York. In May, I grabbed my camera and headed to Coney Island. This shot was taken on Mother’s Day. The subject is King Bing Bong, a Coney Island fixture. This guy is a living internet meme. He went viral a few years ago, and according to The Independent, people crowdfunded $35,000 to help him out. “He should be getting all the funds from that video, he’s a star,” one fan wrote, referring to a viral TikTok video featuring him.
I wrote about it here:
June
I took this in Times Square and included it at a larger size so you can see the facial expressions and where everyone is looking. These guys do street shows where they gather a crowd and jump over each other, usually lining up volunteers for a final big jump (they love getting kids involved). I snapped this quickly and kept walking, afraid they’d ask me to participate.
July
This one was taken in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The word “OLHE” means “look.” It was painted on the bike lane next to the boardwalk in Barra da Tijuca, with one of Brazil’s most beautiful beaches in the background.
August
Back in NYC, I shot this with the panoramic kit on the Mamiya 7ii. I had Kodak Ektar 100 loaded, and without thinking about the low ISO, I just pressed the shutter. The slow film captured the motion blur of someone stepping through the half-open subway door. What I like about this frame is the ambiguity: you can’t tell if the doors are closing or opening, just that there’s movement. I also find it charming when the film borders extend into the image area like this. Related post here:
September
I took this one on a road trip to Boston, also using the panoramic kit for 35mm on a medium format camera. The muted colors are calming, fitting for a city that moves at a slower pace. These two stood up a second after I pressed the shutter. Lucky timing. I documented more shots from this trip here:
October
During a California trip full of CineStill, halation chasing, and neon lights from the van, I took this photo at the Santa Cruz Pier. I was walking with a friend on a warm night, and I pressed the shutter right before they shut the lights off. Timing is everything.
Here is a more complete registry of the California trip told via film rolls:
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November
This one was taken with digital (I know, I know), but at least I used a Tri-X film simulation that does a decent job. I shot it in Manhattan during my commute to work. Although I took it on digital, I applied a film process to it: shot with a rangefinder, no LCD, and shot only once (no burst, never). I was happy to capture the walking feet without conflicting ti
December
They installed this carousel near 33rd Street in Manhattan for the holidays. I brought the Mamiya and shot a full roll of it. This frame won because of the yellow cab passing through, cutting across the blur of a spinning thing dropped in the middle of the street.
Really solid retrospective, the culling discipline is impressive. The way the August subway shot captures that ambiguous moment (doors opening vs closing) shows how much editingskill matters after the shoot. I've started being more ruthless with my selections lately too, and it's wild how much better a small curated set looks compared to showing everything. That ratio of 4,600 frames down to 12 keepers feels about right for getting to real quality.