#14 The Best photos of 2024 - Part 2
The 24 shots that stopped me on my tracks this year
Welcome to issue 14. Today’s edition continues from Issue #13 The Best Photos of 2024 1/2, which garnered more than 34,000 reads! Every time I post a newsletter, I’m filled with gratitude seeing how many of you engage with it. So, thank you—and happy new year!
Let’s get into the photos now.
#1 Slim Aarons - Corsica
If you don’t know Aarons’s work, you’re in for a treat. After serving as a combat photographer during World War II—an experience that earned him a Purple Heart after being wounded during the invasion of a village in Italy—Aarons decided he’d had enough of war. In a moment of irreverence, he gave his medal to a “blonde” whose name he couldn’t recall and resolved to spend the rest of his life photographing “attractive people in attractive places doing attractive things.” This photo is a perfect reflection of that mission statement and one of my favorites of his. Especially because it’s from an area I didn’t even know existed! I’ve sailed from Corsica to Sardinia but must have been asleep when we passed by the Lavezzi Islands!
#2 Henry Kornaros - Iceland
I’ve always had great respect for people who commit to shooting ‘high-stakes’ commercial work on film, especially medium format. Henry is one of those individuals, and I love what he created in Iceland for Bandit Running.
“From a vision standpoint, the main thought was to put the gear to the test in the environment it's meant for. Bandit has 1 thing about them being pretty unique in the running space and that's that they follow a season schedule like most fashion houses, unlike most running/outdoor brands. Which leads them to this one unique issue being a New York based brand when they need to shoot a collection it's never the season it's meant to be because of schedule. So for this campaign we couldn't shoot the Winter collection in New York when it was still almost 80 degrees in mid October when it needed to be shot, so originally we thought let's go to Iceland, there will be a mix of Snow/Ice + other biomes that read cold. In regards to the helicopter being a main motif that's featured throughout the campaign, it really came down to 2 things. One being a time saver/practical aspect of having only 2 days in Iceland to shoot the project, instead of driving around to places. The other reason is that a lot of the images that we were inspired by were from ski & snowboarding campaigns/editorials and in some of those images they were being dropped off on the top of a mountain via helicopter. So it was this thought of being dropped off to run in places that you can't get to without a helicopter (or a big hike) was a fun take on it.
So to circle back to the top of what I'm giving some backstory on is that we wanted an emphasis on putting the gear to the test in a diverse grouping of locations + biomes and temperatures.
Everything was shot on film, about 60 rolls of Portra 120 with varying speeds and about 10 rolls of Portra 35 with varying speeds. Camera wise I shoot RZ67 II + 37MM Fisheye, 65MM, 90MM, 110MM and 250MM & Contax G2 with the 28MM or 45MM.”
#3 Brendan George Ko - Hawai’i
I reached out to Brendan to feature the first photo in the set but when he shared the backstory, I knew I had to share the entire set.
“As someone that lives on both the mainland and in Hawai’i, I see two completely different views of the islands. Both of these views implies a paradise: from the outside it is a form of escape into a world so beautiful it can be experienced as a fantasy, lush vegetation, perfect weather, beautiful shorelines, warm waters, and its taste, sweet as the tropical fruit; from the inside it is a place under illegal occupation from the American government, it is the most expensive state to live in, but those fortunate to live here they are part of deep and caring community, where aloha (unconditional love) is not a commodity but relationship to the people one surrounds themselves with. Paradise is what the first people to arrive on these islands two thousand years ago found. Along the journey to arrive here, there were atolls which had sparse fresh water from the lack of cloud blocking mountains, or more southern islands that were too cold to grow all their favorite canoe plants, what would later be named Hawai’i had everything they needed.
So when I see this image of Hala (pandanus) against the Northern coast of Hawai’i, I see something that describes that ancient notion of paradise, there, Hala, a canoe plant that the voyagers used as a sail material and brought to new islands, already here and greeting them to their new home.”
#4 Emily Garthwaite - Tigris River, Iraq
“The Tigris river, known as the Dijilah, has always been a conduit for more than water. Along with its sister, the Euphrates, it formed the eastern bound of Mesopotamia and irrigated some of the earliest civilisations on earth. For 7000 years its cycles of flooding have created seasons of plenty and scarcity, and at natural ports and confluence points major centres of power and influence grew. Political capital flowed up and downstream with the products of the ancient commercial world.
Many of those settlements of the old world are still industrial hubs; cities like Mosul, Baghdad, Samarra and Basra. Today almost 30 million people live in the watershed of the Tigris, but now the river faces existential threats on multiple fronts. Since the 1970s Turkey has built 16 new dams on the upper reaches and, with another 6 to come, the construction has already reduced the flow of water to Iraq. Dams in Iran and inside Iraq too also contribute to a significant change in the waters of the Tigris on its way south.
Meanwhile temperatures rise, and so too does reliance on increasingly sparse resources. Combined with over-consumption and aging water management systems, the Tigris may run dry before it reaches the Gulf. Millions of people’s homes and lives are at stake. Another result of the drying of the river, and the increased brackishness of the estuary, may be the death of the southern marshlands. There, since the time of the Sumerians, the Marsh Arabs have maintained a unique way of life, settling in reed-built huts and using water channels to travel between their herds of buffalo. The land often said to have been the Biblical Garden of Eden survived intense persecution under Saddam Hussein, but now its fate is tied to that of the river that feeds it.
This project tells the story of the uncertain future of the Tigris, and places it in the context of modern Iraq and the wider region.
And the image:
It was taken in Abu Al-Khaseeb district, just south of Basra. You can actually watch a video of me heading off to take the photograph.”
#5 Joe Greer - New York
Another shoot for Bandit, this time by Joe Greer, on film, and in a studio. Sounds like a big headache? It was…
"This year, I had the privilege of shooting Bandit's spring and summer campaigns entirely on medium-format film, a departure from my usual outdoor, natural-light photography. Both shoots were at ARI Camera Rentals' studio in Queens, featuring a 30-40 foot-wide LED backdrop. The controlled environment brought its own challenges, like managing pixelation and working within a tight framing space, but it also pushed my creativity in exciting ways.
For the summer campaign, Bandit’s founder, Tim West, envisioned a theme centered on the intense energy and heat of a New York City summer. The LED screen displayed AI-generated visuals, capturing that mood, while I worked to incorporate motion and emotion into the images. Shooting entirely on film—over 100 rolls across two days—I balanced technical demands with creative flexibility, leaning on my experience as a photographer and my background as a runner to craft authentic compositions.
Despite the constraints, I found liberation in working within these boundaries. Shooting with longer focal lengths, exploring dynamic motion blur, and finding unique compositions allowed me to merge my love for film photography with the essence of the running community. It was a collaborative effort with Bandit’s incredible team, models, and creatives, resulting in some of the most rewarding work I’ve done in years."
#6 Guillaume Blot - France
This set hits close to home—literally. The shot below, along with many photos in Guillaume’s book, was taken in sleepy roadside bars near where I grew up in France.
“Gérard, a regular at the Café des Récollets in Largentière, Ardèche, France. This photo will grace the cover of the my book Rades. A year later, he confided that he wasn’t wearing his sunglasses for style, but because he had just undergone eye surgery.”
From the book Rades, a photography book capturing a France of lively bistros, their owners, and regulars.
#7 Mason Mahon - Pemberton, BC
This place has always lingered in the back of my mind because I flew over it with Bradley Friesen and Cole Sprouse on a cold winter morning. We were on a day mission to the Pemberton Glacier, and Brad wanted to show us this scene along the way. We snapped a few shots and carried on, but a few weeks later, I stumbled upon Mason’s image.
This particular spot means a lot to both Rory Bushfield (pictured) and I. When I mentioned to him that this spot would be a great place for us to winter camp, he told me that the road had been dedicated to his wife (widow), Sarah Burke. It was one of those situations that felt so right. This photo was taken the morning after our first night staying in it here, and it had snowed 3 feet overnight. In a lot of ways it felt like a gift from Sarah, as we continued to follow our hearts and dreams in the mountains.
#8 Dean Bradshaw - Alaska
Here’s yet another catalog shoot for the 2024 roundup. Capturing shots that feel natural during a commercial shoot is one of the highest achievements for a photographer—and Dean did just that.
“Where to begin—this shoot was an incredible experience, and one I’m truly grateful for. It was all about real people, real locations, and real action. For a brand like Filson, which embodies grit, hard work, and rugged environments, there’s no better way to capture that spirit than by diving into a genuine adventure and approaching it like a photojournalist. Instead of meticulously crafting each frame or staging scenarios with models, the team embraced the idea that the magic happens when you immerse yourself in dynamic, authentic scenes—real people doing real work. My focus was on staying in the action, even while navigating deep snow and the cold. The conditions themselves were as much a character as our talent.
My approach was the same as it would be for any photojournalistic assignment in extreme conditions: fast, reliable cameras, shooting plenty of frames and putting myself in the right spot. Nothing fancy when it comes to gear - what was more important was finding the best angles and compositions on the fly. I tend to thrive in that kind of chaos, so it was a lot of fun.
As for challenges, working in the snow was the biggest hurdle. The physicality of the shoot is all part of the story—moving through deep snow and capturing moments that were often impossible to repeat. That said, we lucked out with relatively mild weather and plenty of sun, though I wouldn’t have minded a bit more snowfall to heighten the drama of the images.
All in all, it was one of the most memorable shoots I’ve been on, with an incredible team and very rewarding since we were shooting something authentic without a big crew and with a ton of freedom.”
#10 Evegnia Arbugaeva - Siberia
Every few months, I check in on Evgenia’s work. On my latest visit, I discovered this now-completed series about her hometown in Siberia. These are the characters and conditions I can only dream of capturing—places where it feels like time has stopped. I did get Evgenia’s blessing to share this set but didn’t hear back in time about the backstory. If you’re curious to learn more, just grab her book linked below.
From the book Tiksi which explores the peculiarities of the far north through the eyes and games of a little girl.
#11 Clara Shuku Mokri - O’ahu, Hawai’i
“This is a photograph of my good friend and surfboard shaper Trey Martinho in Oahu, Hawaii. As cheesy as it sounds, anyone who has dedicated their lives to surfing will tell you that it’s so much more than just a sport—the spiritual connection is more akin to a religion than anything else. To me, surfing is my way to connect with my Indonesian ancestors—people who depended on the ocean to live and travel, and who have recreated in it for generations. Without fail, surfing boosts my serotonin and eases my mind. When I began photographing in the water, I assumed that these feelings would translate. While in many ways I still experience the peace of being in the water, there’s so much more to surf photography than just the standard light and composition. In addition to "getting the shot", the photographer also has to do it while swimming, fight the currents to stay in position, dodge oncoming waves and stay out of peoples’ way. There’s also the element of the unknown beneath the surface. On this particular day, shortly after swimming out, another surfer had paddled up to me saying that he had just seen a great white shark in the lineup.”
#12 Joseph Haeberle - Oregon
Typically, I come across more photographers who aspire to be cowboys or ranchers—which is fine. But when I discover someone who’s more rancher than photographer, I know I’ve found a true gem. I’ll cut Joseph some slack for his rather succinct caption; I’m sure he’s back out fixing fences.
Cowboy nap on the Carman Ranch in Wallowa, OR
#13 Maria Lax - Sweden
Maria’s work has been an inspiration since I found her nearly five years ago. The way she lights her saturated scenes at night is something I admire. She’s one of those photographers who makes me miss winter during the summer. I got her blessing to share this image but she’s been too busy with the holidays to give me the backstory so I dug up some technical bits about her process, mainly to satisfy my own curiosity.
“Maria Lax's process for creating her distinctive night photos with lights involves using continuous lighting, lens filters, and colored gels, along with long exposure techniques to capture vivid, colorful scenes in low-light conditions. Influenced by her background in cinematography, she experiments with various types of lights to push creative boundaries, often shooting in natural settings like forests, which she considers her "safe space." Lax aims to transform familiar locations into almost unreal landscapes by enhancing colors and contrast in post-processing without altering the original elements of the image. Her solitary shooting sessions in remote areas allow her to immerse herself in the atmosphere, resulting in otherworldly images that blur the line between reality and fantasy.”
Thomas Lodin - Australia
“I captured this photo at Bells Beach, Australia, in June 2023. I was accompanying my surfer friend, Arnaud Mestelan, to document his trip for Oxbow as part of the documentary Walkabout, produced by the brand and centered on him and Robbie Page. After nearly 40 hours of travel, we arrived mid-afternoon to be greeted by an exceptional swell—the first of its kind in three years. Mesmerized by the endless right-hand waves rolling out of sight, Arnaud couldn’t resist jumping in the water before nightfall. He wanted to shake off the journey and get his bearings in preparation for an even more promising swell in the days to come.
From the cliffs, I photographed every one of his waves while exploring the area to find the perfect angles. As night fell and Arnaud emerged from the water, he paused to take in one last set of waves. By chance, I was perfectly aligned with him and managed to capture the moment. Arnaud’s stance and the light perfectly reflect his state of mind: a surfer experiencing a unique moment at Bells Beach, a legendary spot rich in history and energy. With his Single Fin Pipeliner under his arm, the image takes on a timeless quality.”
That’s it for today. Thanks so much reading, and a solid year to you.
Alex
Always inspiring to discover new artists, thanks pour le partage!
Amazing! Thanks for sharing all of these incredible photographers.