The Best Photo I Ever Took
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Emily says: “The photo attached is my 8 year old cat Lila (like lilac with the c) in our living room. I took it about 1.5 years ago a few weeks after we adopted her. She’s my first bigger pet (I had hamsters before) and I love her to pieces.”
Tyler says: “This is a photo I took of the 2017 solar eclipse in Beatrice, Nebraska after two days of driving and dodging storms to find a spot with a clear view.”
Sid says: “Attached is a photo from Ala-Kul lake in Kyrgyzstan, taken the morning of 2019-08-05, 9 days into an 11 day hike through that mountain range. That day we walked to a nearby glacier with a smaller heart shaped lake by it (not visible in google maps due to snow/ice), but this big was was naturally the more photogenic of the two. We saw one crazy local person going for a brief swim, that must have been cold. I had a lot of podcasts downloaded for this 11 day hike, though I didn't listen to a single episode, I was far too engrossed in the scenery and the company. Since the trip I've been suggesting Kyrgyzstan to all my outdoorsy friends, it's an amazing hiking destination and with such good and cheap vodka!”
Marcel says: “It was a pretty difficult decision, but in the end I chose the picture that came into my mind first when reading the post on Patreon: a photo of the Matterhorn under a beautiful night sky with the band of the Milky Way behind it. As a big fan of the mountains, photography and astronomy, this photo has long been a dream of mine. And so in October 2018 I went with two photographers friends to southern Switzerland. The following day we hiked the mountains opposite of the Matterhorn - and we're not exactly what you would call well-trained hikers - but when we arrived at the Stelli Lake ("Stellisee") at 2,500m late in the evening, we were rewarded with this incredible view of the Matterhorn and the surrounding mountains. What followed was a night under a starry sky as clear as I've never seen it before. And shortly after midnight the band of the Milky Way was positioned exactly behind the mountain and I was finally able to take this picture - my best photo. I have some other pictures from this trip that I am very proud of, especially from the sunrise the next day, where the peak of the Matterhorn seems to be glowing red hot from the first rays of sunlight.”
Ryan says: “I took this photo this February on our trip through Europe.... (Nice-Milan-Zermatt-Lucerne- Neuschwanstein-Berlin).... couple of days in each, except 4 days skiing in Zermatt.... Amazing Trip! We were getting home just as Milan was blowing up with COVID-19, and had to talk to our local CDC about what we should do..... but we haven't really been able to relive and show friends our trip because of quarantine. I took that and that is now on my iPhone, Apple Watch, and now my default Teams/Zoom meeting background.”
Nicodemos says: “I went through a lot of pictures, and decided on something that I hope would be a little bit different from most submissions This is a close up of a hot air balloon burner, from a trip I made with my wife (then girlfriend) to Marakesh in 2011. I have a lot of great photos from what was a beautiful early morning flight over the desert. However, this photo is my favorite, as I like the idea of how the violence of the burner is in juxtaposition to the peacefulness of the balloon ride; I also like the skewed angle, and how the colors pop out!”
Spencer says: “Revolutionizing the use of the Panorama.”
Mehrnaz says: “I have a bit of a thing for clouds and will always take a few pictures if I see some pretty clouds in the sky. One day, though, I was visiting a friend in Ventura county north of Los Angeles. They live right on the beach and we were taking a post-dinner walk when the sun began to set and I snapped this amazing shot of the clouds. The color scheme, the way the last dregs of light are reflecting off the windows of the houses, the emptiness of the beach with the mountains in the distance, it all makes this my perfect photo.”
Harry says: “Here's the best photo I ever took. Technically speaking it might be a little bland, it's just the top of some houses with the moon in the daytime. But because my phone has a pretty decent camera, you can actually zoom in and make out all the greys and whites, all the craters and all the crevices in the moon. I think that's neat. Regular suburban life down here on earth, and the tiniest little white dot in the centre of the image is a celestial object hundreds of thousands of kilometers away. How neat is that? No? Well I think it's kinda neat. Took it on a walk right near the start of lockdown. Might not be super special but I like the semantics behind it.”
Dominic says: “This is a photo I took in the woods where I used to take walks with my father. This particular photo was taken in Michigan in the late weeks of August. It is my favorite photo because of the way that the sun reflects off stream, it really captures how wonderful it feels to be out hiking.”
Caity says: “Taken a couple weeks ago at Storsjön, the 5th largest lake in Sweden. There is a legend that a creature lives in it called Storsjöodjuret which is basically the loch ness monster. I was staying near it and wandered off to find a place to swim with no one around and found an abandoned dock which was beautiful.”
Christel says: “A spontaneous shot of my kids taken about 10 years ago. My daughter, during her blessedly brief princess phase, glowing in sunlight and surrounded by birthday detritus while admiring a gift. And my son, in shadow, looking very much the younger sibling whose birthday it isn't.”
Luke says: “Took this one misty morning when I went out for a stroll around my local park.”
Jake says: “This is what I consider the best photo I ever took, which interestingly is the result of me being a bit of a crap photographer. It's a picture of my favorite band (Babymetal) during their show in San Francisco last year. I had a normal ticket for the show, but was given a VIP ticket by another fan and ended up in the front row. I took a ton of pictures, but I really like this one because of the blurred effect it has which is the result of a very delicate technique called ‘not holding the camera steady’. I think it adds a very cool feeling of motion and energy to the photo.”
Allan says: “Took a picture of a 180 degree double rainbow a while back”
Mark says: “I'm not much of a photographer, and this selection has some recency bias built in. What you're seeing is a shot of Gooseberry Falls in northern Minnesota. Due to COVID-19, I drove home from San Diego to Minneapolis to be with family for the summer. The area of northern Minnesota around Lake Superior (the best lake) is really close to my family's heart, and this picture was taken during a day-trip just this past week with my parents and my little sister. I took a day off work and drove everyone up there. We went along the shores of the lake, and stopped at Gooseberry Falls to do some hiking.”
Jon says: “I think this is my best photo, it's certainly the one I love the most. I took it on my birthday 3 years ago when i visited the Duke Lemur Center. It's a Coquerel's Sifaka, my favorite species of lemur partially because of the TV show Zoboomafoo but moreso because of how they look and move. I've been using this photo as my desktop wallpaper, phone wallpaper, avatar, and more since I took it.”
Michael says: “When I saw the patreon post I immediately thought about this picture. It was taken when I went for a walk on the island of Texel in the Netherlands. The first half of the trip was trough dunes and just when I was getting tired of scenery (dunes all look the same) I was confronted with this scene. This picture was taken in October of 2018 and I recall it to this day.”
Frank says: “A year or so ago I watched Super Cats on Netflix with my cat Dr. Eleanor Anne Arroway and she was completely captivated for the entire series. I'm not much of a photographer, but I was very pleased to capture this scene of my cat so still, and so ensorceled by the big kitties on the tv.”
Steven says: “This photo was taken on a skiing trip I took to Montana in early February this year. It shows the view from close to the top of the ski area near the cute little town of Whitefish, looking towards Glacier National Park. The clouds that day were spectacular, I couldn't stop taking pictures of the various formations throughout the day! This picture in particular also features some trees almost completely covered in snow, which are sometimes referred to as "snow ghosts". I do have a bunch more pictures I want to share but I don't want to break the rules so I'm just sending the best one.”
Brandon says: “We recently moved to Denver, Colorado to live a more vertical lifestyle. My girlfriend's brother is a chef at McMurdo Station in Antarctica and as such we rarely get to spend much time with him. The main stateside office for the station is in Denver, so when we first moved here he made us this incredible charcuterie board to welcome us to our new home. I find myself thinking back to this night frequently since he is about to leave again soon for his next summer rotation. He's leaving early this year to take wait out the quarantines in San Francisco and New Zealand due to the global pandemic. Hopefully we'll get another picture like this one when he returns next year!”
Marie says: “I live in the U.S. in Memphis, Tennessee and I was walking around the zoo, photographing the animals. I was snapping photos of the male orangutan, but wasn't paying much attention. Then I looked at my camera and saw that I had snapped this really fierce photo of the orangutan, fangs and all. (In reality, the orangutan was just yawning, but it worked out well for me!)”
Andrew says: “This picture was taken near Mormon Row in Grand Teton National Park (Wyoming, USA). I was living in the park at the time and had woken up before dawn to watch the sage grouse perform their "lekking" mating ritual (rude of me to intrude, I know), which involves a ridiculous dance and a mating... uh, noise... In Tetons, the Snake River runs along the base of the mountain range and divides the mountains from a valley known as Jackson Hole. You can't really see it because the picture isn't a high enough resolution, but at the time of the picture several hundred elk were migrating across the flats to graze in the valley. Meanwhile, behind me, a herd of Bison were migrating up the valley to their graze lands. Sandwiched between all the wildlife while listening to their calls and watching a pink sun rise on the Tetons is one of my most memorable moments. This is the best picture I've ever taken, not just because of its composition, but because of all the things you can't see. Grand Tetons park has an interesting history (the wilderness act was written there) and beautiful ecology that no picture can capture, but I think this picture hints at what makes the Tetons grand.”
Andrew says: “This is a panorama I took just after sunset with my drone, 500 feet above the ski trails at Michigan Technological University. You can see the lights of campus in the upper right, the moon in the sky on the right, and the ski hill lit up at the very top. The lights in the very center are the cross country ski trails that were just turned on for some night skiing.”
Erling says: “This is from a mountain trip in the middle of the night at Senja, Northern Norway; where I live. Taken at 00:30, my brother in the foreground appear to be standing on the mountains in the background.”
Rita says: “I'll send you a photo of our amazing dog Espiga (or Spigs for short). It might not be the most amazing picture ever but damn ain't she a beauty! For context - Spigs was found at 7/8 weeks old in the middle of a highway. Covered in ticks, incredibly anemic and hardly breathing because of a horrible lung infection. We spent a great deal of time and money trying to save her and now she is a lovable (albeit a bit nervous), strong, healthy, incredibly photogenic dog. We are still dealing with some breathing issues and have since found out she has a bit of cerebral palsy (her back legs are all wonky!).”
Grant says: “Though I’m not much of a photographer, I’m pretty sure this is the best photo I have ever taken. This is my dog Titus, who is a Newfoundland. The photo was taken on the coast of Maine, near Acadia National Park, after we had been kayaking together and spent some time in the ocean. In my opinion, I think that this is just a perfect photo of Titus, as you can just see in his eyes how much he loves the water, as he gazes out over the ocean. I find the photo itself stunning, but there is certainly something magical about seeing an animal in their true element.”
Steven says: “Here's a photo of a frozen bubble I took back in 2014. It had been a week of highs hovering below -20 Celsius (yay Canada!), and I decided to bring some pipe cleaners, dish soap and corn syrup into the office for some fun. I took a group of colleagues (including a girl who eventually became my wife) out into the park behind the office and we spent around 30minutes just blowing bubbles, and me running around trying to snap pictures of them. Just to describe the picture a little, I could only really capture the bubbles clearly once they've landed somewhere; it was so cold out, my camera refused to autofocus, and bubbles floating is very difficult to manually focus on. The hole you see in the front was where I had touched the bubble briefly with my finger tip.”
Jakes says: “My photo is of a duck deep in thought, standing on the top of a weir. It was taken on the 31st of May this year. It made me laugh a bit at the time but the sight of it has stuck with me! I like to imagine a backstory for him ("Yup, that's me. You're probably wondering how I ended up in this situation..."). I've taken plenty of really nice nature photography over the years, but in the end this quite recent photo of a contemplative duck I took with my phone is probably my favourite, though I suspect it is quite underwhelming compared to what others will send :P I took it in Edinburgh (where I'm a PhD student), in Dean Village specifically. It was stood there for a fair bit, as I approached and while I was stood there at the side. Hope you enjoy my duck!”
Andrew says: “The best photo I ever took was on the farm of a friend in the summer of 2017. Right after a terrible thunderstorm, a beautiful double rainbow appeared to fall upon the farm. It seems that the pot of gold at the end of a rainbow was the tranquility of the Midwest US all along. Cheesiness aside, I did actually win a contest with this photo. I submitted the picture into a social media cover photo contest for my local congresswoman in the US House of Representatives. This photo is still the cover photo for her facebook page, and while I have no proof, I believe it is in her office in Washington D.C. as well.”
Adam says: “I took this photo at Nationals Park in Washington DC at a baseball game of the Washington Nationals vs my beloved New York Yankees. My wife and I were so excited to be there as the Yankees visit DC rarely -- once every few years or so. It started pouring rain during the 4th inning. The game was stopped and was in a rain delay for a very long time. Sadly I knew this game would be cancelled and we left the stadium. Just before we exited I snapped this photo looking into the stadium and love how it nearly looks like a black and white photo but has those pops of color here and there. You can see rain streaking in the shot and the light reflecting on the concourse. It perfectly reflected the mood of that evening. There you have it!”
Wayne says: “Leopoldskron, Salzburg, Austria. Photo taken during a dream holiday in December 2018 seeking out the place the carol Silent Night was written 200 years before.”
Or says: “I’m attaching two photographs I took when I was trekking in the Langtang valley in 2015. One picture is of the peak 'Kyanjin Ri' (I think..) and the other is of one of the villages in the area. The pictures were taken less than a week before the 2015 earthquake hit during which I was stranded near a destroyed village along with about 40 people. During this time we had to set up camp under a huge boulder, salvage food from destroyed buildings and clear a helicopter landing pad from which we were rescued 4-5 days later by Israeli and American helicopters (we also had to bury a dead body).”
Nick says: “Here's an old one that I had to think of right away. I believe I snapped it in the Reichstag elevator in Berlin in 2011 (in Berlin for sure). I chose it because of the strange combination of moods: the solemn suited guy to the left in contrast to my goofy friend and myself. I remember taking this picture hastily, but I'm very happy and proud of the result. It's a precious memory of my younger self and of what we did back then. Also, the green above my head is a nice artefact of the infinite mirror.”
Matthew says: “I was hunting for turkey and morel mushrooms in Michigan (USA), when I stumbled across this toad.”
Magnus says: “This is 'Svartisen' the second largest glacier in Norway. 380 square km in size.”
Jordan says: “It's a panorama taken up in the Snowy Range Mountains in Laramie, Wyoming. It was my first solo hike and while the views were beautiful, I ended up getting terrible altitude sickness on the way down and it was NOT so pretty. But the view up in the Rocky Mountains is pretty wonderful!”
Alex says: “It's impossible to choose "best" photo from the kzillions files :) Attached old (some 10-ish years ago) photo from rugby qualifying match
to World Cup between Ukraine and some other European team (Poland or Hungary, can't really remember). I used to shoot a lot of different sports using my cool Nikon lenses, but rugby remains second to none for me.”
Graham says: “I took this photo of Mount Fuji when I briefly lived in Japan. There’s no big or interesting story behind it, but it was taken in Autumn 2015, shortly after buying my first Proper Camera. A friend and I climbed a mountain just outside Tokyo (and by ‘climbed’ I mean ‘took a cable car’), and hung around the top for what seemed like ages until sunset. Luckily it was a clear evening, and I managed to get this shot just as the sun dipped behind the mountains.”
Ant says: “A hobby of mine is taking pics of the family in weird sleep positions. Usually these will premier on the family room TV during holidays. This is one of my wife in my home office guest bed. She ordered a kid's unicorn blanket to use as a raffle at work. Trying it on as a joke she got too comfortable and fell asleep in it. I consider this the best photo I ever took.”
Clara says: “I took this intending just to take a panoramic picture with my iphone of a lovely rainbow on the farm where I live in the US in the state of Virginia. I was startled to see a flash as I panned and this is what resulted. I had been thinking of going out into the field for another shot but abandoned that idea lest I die from another lightning strike.”
Jason says: “This probably isn't the best photo I've ever taken but it's certainly the best for a while. A robin laid their eggs in a large bush at perfect viewing height for me and my eight-year-old son. We've really enjoyed freaking in on the baby birds on rate occasions and watching from a distance as mother robin feeds the young birds. They should start flying soon and we hope to observe that sequence as well.”
Galen says: “Taken on tour in Namibia, where this fella hides under the sand and ambushes passers by.”
Kris says: “Photo I took of a white spider catching a honey bee on a current berry bush.”
Matthew says: “It's my best not because of the photo content, but instead because of the associated memory. I took this photo from Indian Fort Lookout near Berea, Kentucky as part of a road trip I took in April 2019. I started in Ontario and travelled down to northern Alabama. Along the way, I stopped at the Armstrong Air & Space Museum in Ohio, Mammoth Caves as well as the Pinnacles (where the photo is from) in Kentucky, saw the Parthenon in Tennessee, and ended by seeing the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama before turning around to head home. It was my first solo road trip and, as a Canadian, the first time I had really gone down to explore within the States. I was able to listen to a lot of podcasts during the drive as well as explore some great sights throughout part of the USA. This photo reminds me of that time and also serves as a reminder of the value of taking a brief vacation before stepping back with a new-found focus. Especially in these times where travel is certainly more restricted than it used to be, I enjoy the memories of the great travel experiences I have already had.”
Wikus says: “I quickly scrolled through my photos of the past and I came past this photo I took on 11 February 2017. I must say it is not a particularly artistic photo, but I find the story interesting. The photo is of a church built on Robben Island (10km off the coast of Cape Town, South Africa) and opened in 1841. Robben Island is of course where Nelson Mandela was kept prisoner for 18 of the 27 years he was in prison. What I find interesting is that the church is not active anymore (or I think....) as the island is basically only a museum now, but every year on 14 February they hold mass weddings at the church. Nineteen couples got married at the church this year on 14 Feb. I guess some people are into getting married at prison museums.”
Aksel says: “A friend of mine and I were driving on motorbikes in Ha Giang, the northernmost province of Vietnam. I took a loooot of photos, but I am particularly fond of this one. We had been driving through foggy mountains for a while, and hadn't been able to enjoy the view for a while. Coming down into the valley, it started clearing up, and it was magnificent. We could see a lookout point way back from where we came, and debated whether to double back to get a view of the valley from above. I was the only one to do so, and was blessed with the view you see pictured. That motorbike trip in Ha Giang is the best thing I have ever experienced, and this photo encapsulates much of what we saw.”
Jon says: “I took this photo a few summers ago when I was working at a B&B in an historic lighthouse in Northern Norway . One unusually calm evening after work two of my co-workers and I borrowed a canoe from a guest and went fishing on the fjord. Some local fishermen happened to be working at the same time, so I took this photo from the canoe looking back at their boat, the lighthouse and the mountains in the background. Looking back at the picture now reminds of this perfect moment, with the midnight sun (this would have been around 11pm), the brilliant still sea, enjoying a cold beer and fishing with friends. Even the seagulls surrounding the fishing vessel seemed peaceful (and I normally hate seagulls).”
Mike says: “This is a photo taken at the Gettysburg National Park in Pennsylvania. My wife and I were walking the battlefield with our dog (black lab - Bailey) and took this photo of the Codori Farm which lies near the middle of the battlefield. The area was in the middle of the action on the 3rd and final day of the battle. The storm clouds that were on the horizon the day of that picture were nothing compared to what happened in 1863 or today. We will press on. In the words of Sir Winston Churchill - "Success is not final; failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts."
Didrik says: “I had a couple to choose from, but I ended up going with this photo of the Abiskojåkka river that I took when I visited the northern tip of Sweden (around Kiruna) during a space camp a couple years ago. The reason for being this far north was to allow us to visit Esrange, Sweden's only rocket base, which also functions as a satellite station and a place to launch stratospheric balloons. The reason we visited Abisko despite it being located 140 km from Esrange was as a sort of bonding experience, wandering through the mountains. It symbolises some of my fondest memories of that trip overall, and to this day the water from this river is the most delicious water I've ever had. Someday I think I'll return, if only to see how divine tea brewed from that water would be...”
Alison says: “My boyfriend is a hobbyist beekeeper (and loyal listener of the Unmade Podcast), and this was taken at the entrance of one of the hives in his backyard. I was able to get close enough with a macro lens to shoot this (I used a DSLR, for reference). Bees are very non-confrontational- if you aren’t wearing dark colors (which make them think that you’re a predator) or bright colors (which make them think that you’re a flower), they pretty much leave you “bee”. “
Arindam says: “I have attached the photo of a ruined housing complex of the ancient city of Lothal from the Indus Valley Civilisation. Lothal was a trading city of the civilisation that existed from approximately 2500-1900 BCE. Characterised by precisely shaped clay brick structures, a great dockyard for trading ships, a public bath, and elaborate sanitation infrastructure; the city is a witness to that great ancient civilisation. While most of the cities of the Indus Valley Civilisation lie in modern-day Pakistan, Lothal is one of the few which are in India. While it may not be the most beautiful photo, its setting and the ancient history make it the 'best' photo that I have taken. I am currently a researcher at the University of Sheffield. This photo was taken during one of my summer internships in India. Currently, Lothal is a small village in a very dry region of the country; but once upon a time a mighty river flowed through the region, making Lothal one of the trading cities of the civilization.”
Andrew says: “A photo I took two weekends ago. It's the fog-obscured summit of Mount Lafayette on a hike in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, USA. Feel free to share if you choose. Just a lousy cell phone camera photo, but I love it. It was a tough hike to the summit, and when we finally got there, there was absolutely no visibility! Fortunately, in our subsequent hike along the ridge to a second summit, the clouds would occasionally part and we would be rewarded with a sneaky glimpse of the rolling mountain range beyond. Our hike along that summit ridge had clouds rolling through constantly, and the effect was incredible.”
Ryan says: “I took this photo while hiking on a trail in Taroko - Taiwan. We had to apply for permit for the trail but there didn’t seem to be anyone checking it. My girl that I know, is Taiwanese and this was my first time visiting Asia. We spent 2 weeks traveling around the country and it was the best holiday I’ve ever taken.”
From Lia
Asso says: “Bardenas desert in Spain - a friend of mine up to no good :). The road was actually access free but since the sign post was just so close a bit of trolling was appropriate. Felt way more hard core than what it is for real".”
Jonathan says: “This is my favorite photo. I’m not a very skillful photographer but I like this one. This is a picture of the beautiful landscapes of Acadia National Park in Maine, United States. More particularly, on top of Mt. Cadillac. During this brutal hot summer, I like looking at this photo as a reminder how nice this trip was and how cold it was when I took this photo.”
Tadas says: “I don't know if it counts because i took this photo with a drone. I like it because:
1. I grew up here. This place is very important to me. I know every nook and cranny that you can see here. (this is Lithuania, by the way)
2. I always envied storks that can fly really high and can see far and wide. Now i know how it looks from up there, so it gives me peace of mind.
3. I took some time to plan, execute, and make. It required perfect lighting, no clouds, it's also panoramic photo merged from 6 different photos, each of those 6 photos is HDR made from 5 different exposures. So it's not 1 photo, it's 30 photos merged into 1.”
Hope says: “Attached below is the best photo I've ever taken. It's a shot of the very frozen Minnehaha Falls in Minneapolis, MN, USA, taken in February 2015. This is one of my favorite places in the world and I love this photo so much!”
Daniel says: “I took this with my cell phone at about 5:45am on a dock that stretched into the Sea of Galilee. It is mostly my favorite because of the great memories I had traveling to Israel, but I think it's still quite beautiful. I'm from Ohio (USA), so it was quite the adventure for me.”
Olli says: “Here's a photo I took on my iPhone 5 back in May 20th 2014. It was late in the evening and a thunderstorm had just passed over Helsinki
(Finland). Behind me was a bright rainbow, which I also took some photos of, but this picture of the Aleksanterinkatu street had a quality of light
that made it special. Aleksanterinkatu ("Alexander's street", named after the Russian Czar Alexander the first) is the main shopping street in the centre of Helsinki, with many of the expensive fashion stores etc. At this late hour and after that heavy storm it was almost deserted.”
Gustaf says: “This is a view of Great Gable from Wast Water in the Lake District. I just love the brown colours and the deep blue of Wast Water. Not sure this is what you were going for, but definitely one of my favourite photos. (Best to view on a large screen I think)”
Alexander says: “I took this photo when I visited my parents in 2018, we had a lovely evening out on yacht.”
Alexander says: “I took this photo last year on a trip to Copenhagen, and I’ve always loved how the reflections turned out. Also it’s so funny that after spending hundreds of dollars on a fancy DSLR my best came from an iPhone”
Shelby says: “Here is what I think is my best photo (or at least one of them). It captures the steeple of a local Episcopal church and the sun shining through the waxy leaves of a beautiful magnolia tree. This was taken in my hometown of Nacogdoches, TX, USA. It's not much but the warm sunlight in the soft, blue sky always makes me feel nice when I look at this photo.”
Harvey says: “Photo was totally nicked from waiting in the queue to in to the Reichstaag “
Michael says: “The high-school age son of dear friends living in Italy visited Toronto and we wanted to show it off a bit for him.”
Jodie says: “Here’s the best photo I’ve taken - it’s a picture of a stray cat that I found at the start of lockdown in the accommodation I live in at university. I named her gabby (the building I live in is called the gab). When I first found her, she was shy and scared of humans but with time, patience and a bit of tuna I managed to get her to love me! This picture was taken the first time she came close enough for me to stroke her! We (me and some people I live with) eventually got in touch with the local vets and found her owners - they lived over 30 miles away and the cat had been missing for over a year! It was a bittersweet goodbye but she made lockdown a bearable experience (along with the unmade podcast of course) and I’ll never forget her!“
Chas says: “Here’s the best photo I could find that I’ve taken recently. It may not look like anything special, but I took this in Bluff, New Zealand on my trip there last year. What’s special about Bluff is that it’s the most southern point of mainland NZ, which means, without a boat, it’s the furthest south I could have gone.”
Shelby says: “This is my favorite picture I’ve taken. It’s maybe not the “best”, but it is just perfect I think. It shows my son’s personality perfectly. (This was taken 8 years ago if that is relevant or anything)”
Nathan says: “Taken in June of 2019 in Wadi Rum Jordan, an area that truly looks like the surface of Mars.”
Ross says: “This lovely gal posed for us on the side of the road in the Azores, overlooking the ocean. I've always liked this one.“
Will sent two submarine photos - we’ll allow two because submarines are cool!
Laria says: “I took it in 2018 when my dad and I went hiking in the Sarek national park in Sweden. We camped close to where this photo was taken for the night. I took some more pictures of this place that showed a bit more of the landscape and the spectacular views, but I really like the colors in this one, they seem to resemble the image I have in my brain of that place the best.
We hiked there for two days and decided to turn around the next day as the weather was reported to get worse (it did get worse, we were soaked in rain when we pitched our tent the next day) and we didn't feel too comfortable about that, especially since:
a) the next planned stage would not have included any marked trails
b) we weren't *that* experienced hikers
c) we heard at "base camp" that some hikers died in Sarek a couple of weeks before when trying to cross a river.
While we were a bit bummed that the trip ended early (and therefore didn't get to see the famous Rapa river delta), it was still really enjoyable and I daydream about it all the time and want to return some day.
Jason says: “This is a photo of my daughter with her dolls I took a few years ago. We were playing and the idea came when they were somewhat laying in a row. The iPhone had a new feature called panorama mode, so it was a good opportunity to make use of that mode. I like the composition and the way she looks in the camera. If I were to take the photo again with all here dolls now, I would have to climb a really long ladder to fit them all in 1 photo.”
Anežka says: “Once in the Prague subway I heard a strange beeping and I thought someone is probably not answering their phone. But after a while I realized that the sound is coming from a knitted bag on a strangers lap. After some (not sure how discrete) staring I gathered the courage and asked the guy sitting in front of me what is in that bag. Turned out to be his new pet chicken and he was very happy to talk about it. It’s name was Red riding hood (in Czech Červená Karkulka- not easy to pronounce, I know.. Č is like “ch” in chili) and since he was not sure about the gender of this chick he said that in case it turns out to be a rooster, he would have to find some other name. Than he talked about the struggles of having pet chickens since you can’t “potty train” them and you either have chicken poo everywhere or you have to buy special diapers. It was a very surreal moment for me, to sit in the metro and talk to some stranger about chicken diapers.. And by the way this guy was against the diapers because apparently it’s not that natural.. :D I know it might be slightly off the rules since it might not qualify as the best photo in quality or awesomeness but I love the story and the absurdity of the situation.”
Wilson says: “I'm Wilson from Canada (where else?), and I took this photo on Skye when I was visiting Scotland last June. My girlfriend Joanna and I walked to a place called the Fairy Glen on the north of Skye and watched the sunset there. You can see her blended into the rocks on the left of this photo.”
Tom says: “Sending in a photo I took at the Fushimi Inari-Taisha shrine in Kyoto. I shot it on my Nikon F70 with Fuji Superia Premium 400 35mm film. You see some perfectly composed photos of the orange gates at this shrine. This is not one of those photos but I love the movement captured here. It was a drizzly day and heaving with tourists. I was with my (now) wife and mother-in-law. Our speed was set by the latter's pace. This shot brings the scene right back for me. I ended up reaching the top by myself where all was peaceful. Wouldn't say it is my best photo but I like it.”
Gordon says: “Shortly after dawn on a Canadian lake. Shot on an unusually cool June morning earlier this year.”
Kaitlin says: “It was hard to pick just one of Bournemouth beach, but this is my favourite and I think best. I was made even better as I was going through a really hard time but found that the sea and nature helped me through it. I went on many a walk accompanied by the dog and the chronicles of Narnia.”
Henry says: “Holiday photo I from the coast in Antarctica of a ship wreck. Sorry I don’t remember the name of the ship. Near an abandoned oil digging site. Taken in 2013.”
Michael says: “This was taken just after dawn from our campsite on Grand Manan Island, New Brunswick Canada. We also saw whales swimming by. It is a 30x40 print on our wall. Unfortunately, they closed the campsite a couple years ago.”
Annie says: “I know it isn’t grand or remarkable, but it makes me happy! I work on a farm in South Carolina in the U. S., and taking care of the chickens is one of my favorite tasks.”
Brandon says: “I took this photo of my friend standing next to the Angel of the North near Newcastle, England.”
Alvino says: “I was doing a part time job as tour leader, while bringing tourist from my country (Indonesia) to Japan. When I visit the two temples, it was quite crowded, I could not take good picture without the tourist wandering around, so I quickly though thought to shoot the upper parts of the building, and voila! Best picture, 10/10 will visit Japan again.
Kyle says: “This was taken at the Classic Fighters air show in Marlborough, New Zealand which along with a WWI and WWII aerial display includes ground events like the jousting shown in this photo. That year, some crew from the Lord of the Rings movies were involved so the armory was particularly impressive.”
Bruce says: “I love taking pictures and started in the '60s with a Kodak Instamatic. I now have a Nikon D810, but for a long time I was using a D5300.. It's hard to pick my *best*; I have some great shots from the IndyCar Portland Grand Prix, so I'll go with the shot of Ryan Norman running in the Indy Lights series in 2018. I love the song by Journey that he's used for his car's livery, I love auto racing, and I love taking pictures, so it's a trifecta for me.”
Madeleine says: “This is a photo of my horse, Zen, being weird. took this photo a few months after my family bought him, when we learned of his odd tongue habits...it turns out, he really likes his face to be brushed! And when you brush his face, he sticks his tongue out. You never really think about how huge horses’ tongues are, but I think this photo is good evidence. I know this isn’t the highest quality photo, or of the most beautiful scenery, but I think it’s absolutely hilarious to look at giant horse tongues sticking out at odd angles. I hope you like it!”
Neeharika says: “The story behind this photo is that I love looking at water. It could be a river, a lake or an ocean but I love looking at the way it moves, how it interacts with it's surroundings and the reflections. I honestly could stare out a window all day if it had a water view! Anyway this photo was taken on my honeymoon last year in Bali. The sunsets were amazing down on the beach and one of the days I finally managed to get my phone out and take a pic. It's not the most interesting photo but I love the colours and it reminds me of a very happy time in my life (especially love looking at them now that we can't travel!)”
King says: “I was just on a walk one Sunday just to get a bit of exercise and I saw a rainbow, so I decided to snap a pic. My phone does not have a very good camera, and I am not the photography type, but I just thought it would make a good picture, and I was right. I am from San Antonio, Texas, in case you were wondering.”
Tyler says: “This photo was from when I got my first beehive, which was something I was working towards for the first time. It was a moment of achievement for me.”
Will says: “Here is the best photo I have taken. It is a sunset over Sebago Lake in Raymond, Maine, USA. I happened to catch a glimpse of the sunset and then decided to go get a better view. I'm very glad I did.”
Michael says: “Here is my submission for THE BEST PHOTO I EVER TOOK. This photo was taken on the Mt. of Olives just outside Jerusalem. I went with my church (Colonial Hills Baptist Church in Indianapolis, IN) on a two week trip to Israel to visit several sites from the Bible and Israel's recent history. For most of the trip I had been anticipating riding a camel, preferably on a Wednesday. The opportunity came on the last day of the trip (not a Wednesday unfortunately). This picture took place just before the camel ride. The camel was peacefully waiting for riders, so I approached and took a few selfies with him. This photo in particular was my favorite because the camel looked directly at the camera and the lighting was very instagram worthy.”
Ueli says: “A photo i took 14 years ago in Malaysia. Taken with a relatively cheap camera (EOS350D) on a very cheap flimsy and light tripod. To this day this is one of the photos that i‘m most proud of. It came out so clear!”
Alex says: “California is one of the most diverse places on the planet when it comes to nature. I could go on about the beauty of the state, but I want to focus on a region that is about 2 hours away from home, Joshua tree national park. This place may look barren when you first arrive, but if you look closer, it is filled with life. In the picture below is a plant called the Joshua tree. This tree is know for thriving in a dry environment, but it is sensitive to elevation and this region is the only place you can find this of tree. I would recommend checking out the internet to learn more about them.”
Ross says: “According to the power of instagram this with a grand total of 18 likes (yes only 18) this is what the internet is considered the best photo. My wife and I continuously talked about hiking up a hill for sunrise after reading Alastair Humphreys Microadventure books. After too much procrastination we decided to get up early, pack some hot drinks and headed out to the local hills. This was taken in January in the Pentland hills near Edinburgh. Sunrise did not disappoint and it was worth the effort to get up early. Writing this now makes me want to do it again. I am an amateur photographer but I try not to take myself too seriously. While according to instagram as being the best photo and I do have memories attached to it it is not what I would consider my favourite photo.”
Rebecca says: “Here's the best photo I ever took. It was last summer at my parent's place in BC, Canada. They're right on the water on a small island My boyfriend is playing the guitar. Normally he doesn't like photos like this but I snuck up while he was playing outside and took some shots anyways. He didn't see me and was pleased with the photo in the end. Nothing too remarkable technique wise as I just relied on the nice auto-settings of Canon. But being able to take a true candid shot is my personal achievement. “
Cathy says: “Below Lake Fontana in Bryson City, North Carolina in the Great Smoky Mountains, lies the lost town of Proctor. Proctor and the surrounding communities were flooded when the Fontana Dam was created after the Pearl Harbor attack to power a nearby aluminum plant. The lake displaced the residents and their town was submerged. The residents were promised a road to the north shore of the new lake but only seven miles were built and the unfinished road remains – The Road to Nowhere. During the annual Decoration Days, visitors are taken by pontoon across the lake to decorate the graves at four cemeteries there and share a meal together. We found this gem while hiking in this part of the National Park this summer.”
Paul says: “I took this picture while I was a passenger on a small Cessna Caravan, flying over Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, fall of 2018. One can see ships of the US Pacific Fleet anchored at Pearl Harbor. The USS Arizona Memorial is also visible on the right, near Ford Island.”
Giorgos says: “This photo may not be the best, in fact it's downright mediocre technically wise, but these two swans playing or duking it out or whatever they were doing caught my eye immediately and I was lucky to catch them in this very moment. There's nothing special behind the photo but I thought it was cool and I hope you do, too.”
Beth says: “The photo attached was taken by me so it meets all required criteria. It was taken in Virginia Beach, Virginia, USA on Back Bay just off False Cape State Park. There really isn't much of a story behind the picture. Basically, my husband and I took the boat out so he could do some fishing and I could lounge around listening to The Unmade Podcast (seriously, that's what I do while he is fishing). The weather was great in the morning but there were supposed to be thunderstorms coming in the afternoon so the sky was this brilliant blue and the bay was so perfectly calm before the storm (I guess that's where the phrase comes from). I saw this huge white cloud against that gorgeous blue sky and how it was reflecting perfectly on the water and I thought it would make a pretty cool picture. So I guess the most interesting part of this picture's story is that it was taken while listening to you guys.”
Meg says: “I don’t know if this is unequivocally the best photo I have ever taken but, it was probably the best one on my phone. I took this photo of my sister at White Sands National Park while visiting her in New Mexico a couple years ago. Rising from the heart of the Tularosa Basin is one of the world's great natural wonders - the glistening white sands of New Mexico. Great wave-like dunes of gypsum sand have engulfed 275 square miles of desert, creating the world's largest gypsum dunefield. White Sands National Park preserves a major portion of this unique dunefield, along with the plants and animals that live here. And I definitely didn’t copy and paste this from the visitor website. We were quite fortunate that the dunes were open during my visit as it is often closed because in addition to being a national park it is also a missile test site! It was an extremely fun outing, families come and bring their saucer-style sleds and slide down the dunes like a mountain of snow.”
Daniel says: “this was taken 4 years ago up at a family cabin in the mountains of Colorado west of Denver. The cabin is a National Forest lease near Empire, Colorado next to Clear Creek, a small river that was tainted by mining slag over 50 years ago, but used to be great fishing before then. It’s a very memorable haunt from my childhood from the 90’s that we used to visit annually in the summer. When I purchased my good camera a few years ago I decided to have a bit of an artsy afternoon the last time we were there, and this was one of my favorites of this set.”
Richard says: “This photo is from one of my first trips to San Francisco, I got to the Palace of Fine Arts late, and ended up shooting long exposures there. I ended up with this photo which brings me back to the joy of travel, and one of my favorite cities ever. I take many photos so choosing one was nearly impossible, sentiment for the City of San Francisco won out. I end up taking 2 trips a year there in normal (non-covid) years because I love the feeling of the city so much.”
John says: “This is my daughter riding a horse and kicking up the dirt and just looking majestic. Obviously a lot of its majesty is because she's my daughter, but I thought you might enjoy.”
Glenn says: “I just finished listening to the "Best Photo" episode and I loved seeing all the images people have sent in. I have a degree in photography and ran a commercial studio for 25 years. So picking one image is like Brady's whispered "list of top 100." But I did choose one to send to the podcast. I was in New York City in December of 1977 and on my last day there, I finally managed to get to the twin towers so I could take a specific photo I had in mind for the trip. It was just past sunset on a wintery day but I got the image I wanted. It was shot on B&W film with a 20mm wide-angle lens. It hangs on the wall of my studio. Of course I can never get this image again and every day I look at it I feel it's more powerful.”
Erasto says: “I know that technically it isn’t very good, but those are my late grandpa and grandma, and the picture captures perfectly the feeling of the days when they used to take us out for lunch.”