My 2025 photography year in review
January
I updated my website right at the end of December. Photoshelter was getting very onerous and I suspect they have no plans to develop their services - you’d get the odd update from them and they’d say ‘this is happening’ then nothing would occur for nearly a year. So off to Squarespace which is… fine for the moment. It costs a bit more but I’m not endlessly faffing around with updating Wordpress plugins which is what I want to get away from (although I may end back on that in the future - that or Neocities).
My Arts In Hospitals exhibition rolled over from last December into March. I think it was fairly successful in terms of viewership and I was told by staff that a good many people would chat about it.
The end of an agonising journey involving the worst solicitors in Tadcaster.
February
Moved house, what a needlessly stressful business but at least we’re not technically homeless any more. We’re now nine months down the road and pretty much settled in and the house properly Looks Like Ours, rather than a Location With Our Stuff In.
Attendees having a tea break at the LawtechUK Alumni event at the York Guildhall in March 2025.
March
Back to the York Guildhall for LawtechUK Alumni event. It’s an excellent venue for taking photos in - you get a really tasty light filtering through the high windows with lots of shadow and colours from the stained glass. Lawtech / Codebase are a nice chill client to work for too.
April
I went to Photo North for the third or fourth time. To be honest I can’t really remember that much about it eight months later. There were some very good talks as usual, spotted some of the usual crowd and rode a yak to find the Channel 4 archive in the most remote room in the building. It’s on again in March 2026 and I’ll go again and it will be very nice as usual.
A view of Ennerdale Water from the south western end.
A quick trip to Ennerdale to scatter some parental ashes with my brother and cousin. Ennerdale was a regular family holiday trip before I was 18 until the farmhouse we stayed in stopped doing holiday lets. I’ve only been to neighbouring Buttermere a few times in recent times so it was nice to return and see what was still there that we could remember.
I started working on the Feelgood Collective which is a partnership project between Brighter Futures Selby, York & Scarborough Hospitals Charity and the Now Then! arts and communities events being run in our local area. I was part of a series of workshops guiding people on how to explore places for wellbeing through photography, alongside sound artist Gaia Blandina, creative writer Angela Bridge and sound therapist Gemma Hargreaves. This culminated in a series of exhibitions in Selby, one in the hospital cafe, one in Selby Abbey and one that might still be floating around on the library bus. In addition there was a book printed which you can online read here.
Scenes from Kotor in Montenegro. You can see loads more here.
May
Off to Kotor in Montenegro for a proper relaxing holiday, just puttering about either eating, swimming or taking photos around the old town. Dear lord, did we ever need a holiday after the previous 18 months. Old Kotor itself is a proper lure for photographers.
York Photographers featured in Amateur Photographer and I had two photos featured in that months issue spotted just as we were jetting off on holiday. There was also a York Photographers evening with actors, working with studio flash which is something I don’t normally use but good fun (if a little chaotic).
Jockey Cian Horgan on Al Muqdad at York Races during the Apprentice Handicap.
June
Only trip to the races this year for my Look At The Horses project. It was a nice day but I think this project might be slowly winding down. I’ll keep plugging away at it but I think its now less of a priority compared to other things.
Back to the Walled Garden to continue my Right Here, Right Now… project. There’s more video and sound work this year, my having bought a Lumix S5II. This means I can show more of the day to day, and also means more complicated editing due to who wants to be in the project and who doesn’t (some who are especially loud and can be heard everywhere).
July
I worked on a lot of promo photography for Brunswick Organic Nurseries shop while also nipping back and forth to the walled garden to get more project work done there.
A genteel trip to the Peak District with family. I’ve never been in that area at all so it was great to finally go. It reminded me of a mix of the Dales and Shropshire near the Long Mynd.
An array of badges and snacks including a pickled onion, a pork pie and badges featuring Dr Who, Happy Eater and Dan Dare.
August
I started a new project with food and the family archive which has slowly turned into A Catalogue Of Pickled Onions. This is still at early stages but I’m happy with the direction so far. It will be interesting to see how this one will flesh out as I work further through all the piles of stuff I’ve inherited off my family throughout the years.
September
A week long Antwerp trip to get away by myself (something I’ve never done) and a good excuse to eat a lot of frites with sauce.
Mini exhibition of my Right Here, Right Now… project work
I went to the Disability, Accessibility and Representation in the Creative Industries (DARCI) conference at the University of York after answering a callout looking for speakers and exhibitors so I stuck in to show some of my Right Here, Right Now… work.. As well as photography I also work on a lot of graphic design with an emphasis on accessibility so this could have potential to meet a lot of like minded people (and it turned out yes, it was).
Ed Clews and Sue Vaughton of Biscuit Books at the Impressions Gallery photobook fair in Bradford, October 2025.
October
Both me and Sue Vaughton from Biscuit Books did the Impressions Gallery photobook fair and did the biz chatting to loads of people at our stall. It was a really reassuring event to talk to other like-minded people who are into photography who aren’t just camera clubbers and we had some real in-depth conversations. Biscuit Books is being slowly recognised as a thing within that particular area within photography and I even got recognised by name which was the first time that’s ever happened.
The following weekend a larger Biscuit Books group went to BOP Bristol which was also a success in that Biscuit Books was recognised and talked about and they shifted quite a few books. It probably helped that the stall this time was sandwiched between Magnum, Jem Southam and Mark Power so people were drawn to that area.
The view from the York Creatives showcase stand in the Guildhall at the Aesthetica Short Film Festival event in November 2025.
November
I manned a stand for York Creatives as part of the Aesthetica Short Film Festival fringe showcase event and talked myself hoarse all day chatting with tons of other creative people from all over the world and telling locals ‘yes, York has been a UNESCO City of Media Arts for over ten years’.
December
A pleasant (but freezing) York Photographers event to see Aneesa Dawoojee talk about her work and how she works on long term projects.