2025 was a stand-out year for me as a photographer. It took me from the plains of Kansas to some of Europe’s most iconic locations, along with all across the Rocky Mountains of Canada down to Colorado. As the year winds down, I’ve put together my Top 10 Landscape Photographs of 2025 that includes some of my favorite scenes from across the United States, Canada and European countries like Italy, Iceland, France and Switzerland. While I still stay true to my roots as a nature and landscape photographer, I also veered even further into man-made elements into my photography this year. It’s hard not to when traveling through Europe, as I included architectural photography and even a new beautiful libraries of the world collection to my portfolio this year. So without rambling on further, here are the top 10 photos from 2025!
1. Chateau de Chillon Sunset | Switzerland’s Famous Castle
This sunset at Château de Chillon was one of those rare moments where everything came together at the right moment. However, I nearly missed it while photographing another location and had to sprint down to the spot I wanted to photograph from to catch the very last bit of light on the peaks beyond. Sitting on the shores of Lake Geneva with the Alps rising behind it, the castle can feel like a timeless relic. And it honestly is. Especially as soft evening light wraps around the ancient walls. As one of Switzerland’s most famous castle, it was a joy to see it glow as the sunset faded. It was also nice to finally give my Switzerland gallery new life with icons like this castle, the Matterhorn and other famous mountains and locations across the Swiss Alps!
2. Eiffel Tower at Night | Paris At Dark
This was the one I was probably most excited about. I’ve always wanted to photograph the Eiffel Tower lit at dark, and after numerous years of trying to gain permission to sell prints of it, was finally granted that possibility. I found a great place to get a nice vantage point of the iconic Eiffel Tower at sunset, capturing a few different angles of it. It was a blast being up here, switching from wide angle to telephoto to find so many different compositions. In the end, this was probably my favorite!
3. Admont Abbey Library | The Beginning of my Beautiful Libraries Collection
This classic shot of the beautiful Admont Abbey Library in Austria easily makes the list! The early morning natural light, along with the perfect symmetry and historic atmosphere make it a piece that has resonated with collectors and architecture lovers alike this year.
4. Autumn at Bow Lake | Fall in the Canadian Rockies
Bow Lake in Banff National Park is stunning in any season, but going in the autumn brings forth a much more quiet and atmospheric scene. With moody low hanging-clouds in the cold morning air, and subtle fall colors in the shrubbery along the shoreline, this was one of those classic Canadian Rockies places I had hoped to capture while there in September and October. The Canadian Rockies remain one of my favorite places in the entire world, and moments like this show why! It was also nice to finally add some autumn images to my Canadian Rockies collection after multiple summer-only visits to Banff, Jasper, Yoho and Waterton.
5. Sunset over Provence | Purple Lavender Fields of Provence, France
There is nothing more impressive than witnessing the iconic lavender fields of Provence when they are in full bloom. But photographing them at the right moment in the right light makes all the difference. On the evening I photographed this scene, I had maybe 3-4 hours of fantastic light as summer storms passed over. With multiple new Provence images in my France photography collection, it was hard to choose which lavender photo to include in the top 10. I narrowed it to between this photograph, a double rainbow or the final sunset over the larger field, but the warm light contrasted beautifully with the deep purple rows of lavender in this image took the top spot for me. I feel like it is the best suited for high quality decor as a fine art print as well, given the contrasted colors in this piece from the south of France.
6. Aspen Row Reflections | Autumn in Colorado
Every year, I continue to go back to Colorado for the fall colors to add to both my Colorado gallery and aspen tree collection as those famous trees put on a show in late September and early October. This was another good year for vivid colors. I even saw some aspens with red leaves, which are pretty rare. In this image, calm winds and peak fall foliage color created a perfect reflection of golden aspens along the lake’s edge. This photograph captures the quiet and fleeting nature of autumn in the Colorado Rockies.
7. Spring Burning of the Flint Hills | An Ancient Tradition
The next photo in my list is from early spring out on the prairies of the Flint Hills of Kansas. I was looking for some classic scenes with redbud trees in bloom, and eventually made my way over to one of my favorite lookout points on the east side of Tuttle Reservoir near Manhattan, Kansas. What I didn’t expect was to find the area during a controlled burn. These spring burns are an ancient tradition in the Flint Hills, dating back many years to when Native America tribes did this to rejuvenate the grasses and attract bison to hunt. I was happy to find that not only did I get lucky with the spring burns, but even caught a few redbuds in this photograph!
8. 1:30 a.m. in Iceland | Summer in the Land of Ice and Fire
Night in Iceland doesn’t quite mean the same thing in summer as it does further south. While it certain gets a bit dark for a couple of hours, the atmosphere from sunset to sunrise is interesting as you get a prolonged sunset, followed by an even longer blue hour before another prolonged sunrise takes over. I aptly named this image 1:30 a.m. in Iceland because it was pretty much smack in the middle of “night” in eastern Iceland as I drove back south towards Vestrahorn for sunrise. Even at 1:30 a.m., there was enough light to capture this beautiful scene. Aided by calm winds, the lupines here were gently lit by soft twilight allowing me to take a five second exposure with little movement. The lack of wind is a miracle in itself for Iceland sometimes, so it was a fantastic moment to witness when I should have been in bed sleeping by this point! Long summer nights like this make Iceland one of the most unique landscape photography destinations in the world and images like this allowed me to create a new Iceland gallery of images.
9. Annecy Sunrise | The Venice of the France
Annecy is often called the “Venice of France” or even the “Venice of the Alps”, with it’s flower lined canals and the towering Alps in the backdrop. Annecy gives a French flair to the iconic Venice-style scene. Sunrise is a perfect time to visit, skipping the heavy crowds and allowing the scene to be captured with still water and soft morning light with quiet streets that create a peaceful scene before the town wakes up. This sunrise in Annecy definitely became one of my favorite European sunrise photographs of my big trip this year.
10. Spirit Island Sunset | Jasper National Park’s Crown Jewel
As one of the most iconic locations in the Canadian Rockies, Spirit Island is at sunset is when it truly shines. As warm light began to fade behind the surrounding peaks, the calm waters of Maligne Lake reflect those towering mountains in the background. This photograph closes out the Top 10 as a reminder of why Jasper National Park is such an amazing place and very worthy of a visit beyond Banff when going to the Canadian Rockies.
Honorable Mentions
While these ten images represent my personal favorites from 2025, there were so many more amazing moments this year that really stood out. It was one of my best and most successful years to date. Below are a few more photographs that resonated strongly with collectors and became best sellers or fan favorites. To view more from the last half of 2025, visit my new releases collection of photographs.
