2025 in the Rearview Mirror: Fog, Moravia, and Photos on TV

Time really does fly. It feels like just yesterday that I was sitting at home in the Posázaví region at the end of 2024, looking out the window and reflecting on my photographic highlights of the year. Back then, I promised myself that before publishing any new photos, I would finally finish our family photo book from 2023 - which, in the end, I actually did.

One year later, I’m sitting in the same spot again. There’s fresh snow outside, and I’m looking back once more, knowing that I’m still a year behind. The 2024 book is now in the queue (and 2025 has clearly just joined right behind it) - along with publishing new photos which, for the time being, at least made it into this article.

Photography remains, above all, a source of joy for me and a way to clear my head and recharge. I’m not a morning person, and the sound of an alarm clock is usually not something I look forward to - but when it comes to photography, the rules change. Foggy mornings, first light, and a slowly waking landscape have a remarkable ability to get me out of bed, sometimes even without an alarm. Occasionally, all it takes is a sentence from my daughter: “Dad, come look - there’s beautiful fog outside.”

In moments like that, sleep quickly becomes irrelevant. I’m fully in the zone, searching for compositions and getting absorbed by the atmosphere. Many of the images that meant the most to me in 2025 came from moments like these.

The Magic of Foggy Landscapes

As the introduction already suggested, foggy landscapes have become one of my favorite subjects over time. Early mornings in the mist, the gradual shift from blue to golden hour, and a landscape slowly coming into view are what keep drawing me back.

Posázaví, where we’ve been living with our family for the past two years, offers ideal conditions for this kind of photography. Foggy mornings are not a rare occurrence here but something you can almost count on. Over the past year, I spent much of my time exploring the nearby landscape further and photographing it during those calm, early hours.

Feet on the Ground, Head in the Clouds

A few years ago, I got deeply into aerial photography. Drone images have their own appeal, but over time I realized that too much of it can easily become repetitive. Gradually, I found myself returning more to shooting from the ground - to using a tripod and looking for compositions from a more familiar perspective.

These days, I feel like I’ve found a better balance. It’s easier for me to decide when it makes sense to take off and when it’s better to stay on the ground. Thanks to that, aerial shots have quietly made their way into this year’s selection - and I value each of them a bit more because of it.

Moravia, My Second Home

When it comes to recharging my batteries, I can’t leave out South Moravia. It’s a place I keep coming back to - for its calm, its landscape, and because I have a place to stay there thanks to friends. One might think that after all these years there wouldn’t be much left to discover, but the opposite is true.

With every trip, I try to find new places - sometimes by scanning a map, other times simply by driving around. Whether in spring or autumn, Moravia continues to surprise me. This year, I brought back not only new images, but often photographs from places where I was standing with a camera for the very first time. And that only makes me look forward to the next trip even more.

The Moon, Towers, and a Bit of Adrenaline

When I realized that a total lunar eclipse would be visible over the Czech Republic in September, I paid close attention - especially since the Moon was supposed to rise low above the horizon while already in eclipse, which promised interesting compositions.

Reality, however, had other plans. Due to haze near the horizon, the Moon appeared later than expected, by which point my original composition no longer worked. What followed was a frantic run across dark fields with a nearly dead headlamp, trying to quickly find a new angle and place the eclipsed Moon into a workable composition next to a church tower.

It may not look like it, but the Moon moves surprisingly fast across the sky, and every minute counts - especially shortly after moonrise. In the end, the shot came together - just not the one I had originally planned.

And since church towers are part of the story here as well, I’ll add a few images from a freezing Christmas morning in Prague, when the first sunlight picked out the silhouettes of the city’s churches and cathedrals.

Keep quiet! My man is in television!

Whenever I manage to capture images with some meteorological value - which foggy mornings often provide - I try submitting them to the weather forecast on Czech Television. Each evening, three selected photographs appear directly in the main prime-time news broadcast, Události.

Over the past year, my photos made it onto the screen four times. Below, I’m including all four appearances, together with the original photographs, without the distortion caused by a studio camera.

What’s Next?

Where my photography will head next is, as usual, a bit of an open question. I still have plenty to explore in the landscape around Posázaví, and I’ll keep returning to Moravia again and again - those are probably the only certainties.

I’m also tempted to spend more time with astrophotography, although I know it’s a discipline that demands more time and energy than I can realistically give it right now.

One thing is certain: I’ll keep taking photos. Whether they end up in photo books, online galleries, on social media, or simply in archives waiting for their moment.

And a small teaser to wrap things up - if everything goes well, I’m currently in talks about exhibiting my work in spring 2026. For now, there’s general agreement, but until everything is confirmed, all I can say is: stay tuned! 🙂

To everyone who made it all the way to the end, I wish you all the best in the new year - and may the light be kind to you, not only in photographs.