2025 in Photos

Another trip across the sun is complete and while the start of 2026 has been insane personally, professionally, and as a global citizen, I couldn't officially close the books on 2025 without taking one last look at the last year.

As a whole, 2025 was a pretty good year for me personally: I hit the road to both Washingtons, Stockholm, and had several bucket list moments. From going to Melodifestivalen (Sweden's national final for Eurovision) in March to National Book Festival in September to watching my beloved Seahawks at a bar in Seattle's Ballard neighborhood, the destinations were iconic.

Let me break down some stats before I jump into the photos:

• 8,670 photos taken
• 8 flights flown
• 15,311 miles flown
• 4,119 albums listened to
• 5,015 songs listened to

fff

fff

test test test

fff

Atlanta is a city full of contrasts, and April 5th was the perfect personification of that in downtown. Within hours, Peachtree went from celebrating the city too busy to hate to rising up against the Trump administration's continued slide towards fascism. I've written in detail on both events in previous newsletters if you're interested in thoughts on the vibe shift between events.

Hands Off: Covering a Protest in the Trump Era

It seems like there isn’t much that can be done to combat this, or that you’re alone in feeling affected by any of this, so it was good to be among a crowd that felt the same way.

The NotepadAndrew Okwuosah

404 Day: A Celebration of All Things Atlanta

April 4th may not ring much significance to you, but for Atlantans it might as well be a national holiday. 4/04 coincides with 404, Atlanta’s main area code, and the city has adopted it as a day (or really week) to celebrate everything that makes the Empire City of

The NotepadAndrew Okwuosah

There are a couple of photos that really stood out to me that I want to talk through in a little bit of depth from a pure composition perspective.

This feels so New York to see a guy decked out to the nines on a Saturday morning. I'm sorta kicking myself because I took another photo a couple frames before this one that told a more compelling story in my view (he had a hand on the edge of his hat and kinda tipped it down to the position you see here) except that a random woman stepped into frame and takes you out of the grandeur of the image.

I can't entirely claim credit for this image working for me but I love the color coordination between her sign and tank top/drawstring bag. At least to me, it comes across as really intentional. Part of me also wished I thought about the potential of a vertical crop (for experimental purposes I tried it and it could've done with being a bit more zoomed out).

I love everything about this photo: there's a timeless quality that I think is amplified by it being slightly out of focus because of the motion blur. It reminds me of a photo shot on film that would end up in a museum in 20-30 years. Photographer James Popsys made a great point in one of his recent videos that photography has gotten so good that it's hard to tell if it's even real (especially in the advent of AI), and this feels like the antithesis of that. A past me would've grimaced at the small imperfections, but nowadays I'm learning to embrace and lean into them.

The clean lines of the High Museum of Art in Midtown Atlanta really got me looking at ways to use clean architectural lines to my advantage when framing shots. Side note: I shot these during a jazz night that the High hosts every third Friday night and it was such a soul-filling experience to admire some art and have some good, clean fun with some fellow Atlantans.

The Capitol

One of my favorite shooting conditions is on nights when it's sorta drizzly and you get puddle reflections on the streets with the lights glistening above. After National Book Festival in September, the conditions were just right as I ventured out for dinner in Chinatown (side note: it was a really cool Ruby Bridges-themed speakeasy called Allegory - the vibes and the drinks were very nice as a solo traveller). Anyways, Chinatown reminds me most of New York out of DC's neighborhoods with its digital billboards and lit up buildings. Seeing Chinese characters so prominently on signs adds to the flair in my opinion.

The bottom left image was shot after I stayed on the Metro one stop too long and was waiting for a return train back to my hotel in NoMa (this was at the Rhode Island Avenue stop). Truthfully, it was pure luck that someone managed to walk into the light emanating from this apartment block.

There were so many couples out and about that weekend (or at least that I happened to come across). I loved the vibes of the bottom center image especially with the warm light and how the overhead light was almost nonexistent in this food hall (get the arepas and plantains from Mosaico if you end up at La Cosecha near Union Market). However, not much can compare to this moment I captured while walking back from the Book Festival:

If it wasn't for the giant hotel ad, it would easily be my favorite image of the year. Between the subtle embrace and her head peeking out of his shoulder, the expression just comes across as the perfect street photo. I was really first drawn to these two by the color coordination between the crosswalk and her shirt and only noticed the rest after the fact. This is a prime example of why I always walk around with my camera at arm's reach.

The next day was very much me seeing where the wind took me... and naturally breakfast was the first port of call. However, you might not expect me to say that breakfast was served from a trash-filled alley. The micro shop isn't much bigger than a closet and started with master bakers practicing their craft to make the perfect baguette at the French restaurant Le Diplomate in Logan Circle. They've seen moved to Union Market for this disparate operation that sells the best flaky croissants and breads daily until sellout while still supplying the original restaurant.

The previous night's rain gave way to a gloomy sky that really made me the graffiti of the market pop even more.

Afterwards, I crossed an item out of my bucket list: climbing (well, riding an elevator) to the top of the Washington Monument. I'll probably make a full recap later on the experience because the views were both stunning (thankfully the thicker clouds and rain lifted as our group went up) and the monument itself speaks a ton about the American spirit that's really relevant to these times.

These images appealed to both my love of photography and good urban planning as the bird's eye view really let Pierre Charles L'Enfant's plan for designing the capital city shine with the immaculate grid emanating from the National Mall. I'm particularly proud of the top left image that frames the Jefferson Memorial and the perspective it gives of looking from the observation window.

The harsh midday sun is typically a photographer's worse nightmare, but I've been inspired to make what's typically a disadvantage into a strength. You saw it earlier with the 404 Day shots and I think this is another great example, especially with a subject that isn't particularly interesting at first glance. Australian photographer Lucy Lumen does a lot of work in this vein with film and older DSLRs and it was cool to get something similar with my trusty Sony.

Live music has always been so captivating to me: whether it's an emerging artist at a venue that seats 500 or the biggest stars inside a packed arena, there's nothing quite like being entrenched by someone's art and story. I haven't shot any cameras in even a semi-professional capacity but one of my favorite pastimes is grabbing my iPhone and shooting my perspective from the crowd.

I remain so impressed with how Dua Lipa's stepped up her game as a performer, creative, and a human. If the Future Nostalgia tour was her Magnus opus, the Radical Optimism tour was like a homecoming. She had the ease of a seasoned vet and it was really gratifying to see her interact with the fans that have been with her throughout her journey. Even though I was literally across the building from the stage, I still had a good view with the naked eye.

On the other side of the spectrum, I saw Maude Latour (for the fifth time, thank you very much) for her tour supporting her debut album Sugar Water. If you know me, you know how much I adore Maude as a human and as an artist. MARIS opened for her and she's such an electrifying performer in her own right. She's also such a gem for signing my phone case (twice, I also saw her at her co-headline tour with Caroline Kingsbury) and honestly starting a new tradition for when I see emerging artists.

I have accepted that concert lighting will be the death of me in terms of getting a picture-perfect shot, but this year saw me lean into the chaos of unpredictable stage lighting.

Sleepless in Seattle

Let me share some images that I haven't even posted on Instagram yet from Seattle (perks of posting on such a delay).

I really fell in love with the way that my 50mm lens (my relatively new go-to for night photography with its blessedly fast aperture) blooms harsh light like you can see in the headlights and streetlights. It's really something that I want to take advantage of more in the year ahead.

I'm very curious to see how I'll be able to execute this in other locations, but I love this motif of taking a step back from the view and blending street photography instincts with capturing said view. I realized while taking the sunset photos at Gas Works Park that there's so much life happening in the fringes: dog walks, first dates, etc. and capturing those are also enticing. I also really lucked out with the weather (it didn't even really rain!) so capturing a sunset in the Emerald City was really special.

My last full day in Seattle was spent roaming in downtown where I was surprised by just how steep the hills were. They genuinely give San Francisco a run for its money, but they were also really nice for shooting straight down the street grid and picking out silhouettes. I'm not ashamed to say I stood in the middle of the crosswalk for a couple of these lol.

I just think these are neat moments that helped the year stand out for me.