I really enjoy looking back on photos I took in the previous year (2024) and comparing them to photos I’ve taken in 2025. It’s really cool to see how things can change in a short of amount of time, with just a few improvement to equipment and the building of skill. Photography was a hobby I picked up on a whim, and have really found it to be a passion. I can be very critical of my work, as I think most people tend to be, but I think that’s an important part of the process of learning and growing a craft.
The very first photo I took was of an Eastern Fox Squirrel, and I was so excited and proud of it. It was certainly not the worst (it def is), but I think that the difference here is quite clear. I took each of these with a different camera, and a different lens that vary in quality quite a lot. As I mentioned before, I went in to photography on a whim with no idea what I was doing, with my lens out of focus, and I had yet to learn the ins and outs of shutter speed, iso and all of those important but confusing camera functions. Editing is also a powerful tool that really can bring out the textures, colors and details in photos to really make them spectacular.
Eastern Fox Squirrel 2024 - 2025
This one is so bad! I remember being so excited to photograph this hawk. At the time I knew the quality wasn’t great, but looking at these side by side just makes me cringe, lol. I think this is also a great example of how the weather can really affect how a camera and lens take a photo. Using my original Canon Rebel T7 and a 300 mm lens for the 2024 shot, you can see that the sky was cloudy, causing the lens to really struggle and cause all of the purple and green chromatic aberration. This is something I really struggled with until I did decide to get a new lens. In the 2025 shot, you can see the day was sunny, and the sky was clear making for a much cleaner, brighter result.
Cooper’s Hawk 2024 - 2025
Honestly the 2024 eagle photo is not that bad. But again I have to reiterate how much of a difference gear can make. I used my 300mm Canon lens here in the first photo, and while a bright and sunny day, this too can also cause chromatic aberration. I don’t think that it’s nearly as offensive as it looks in the photos where it isn’t sunny, but it’s still there and not a desired effect. This would have also been my first time experimenting with removing unwanted and intrusive sticks. This is a personal preference of mine, to remove a stick or here that might have otherwise “ruined” a shot for me. I love getting a crisp and clean view of the bird, and if it can be removed in such a way that keeps things looking natural, I say why not. If I didn't mention removing twigs, do you think you would have noticed in either of these photos?
Bald Eagle 2024 - 2025
This. This comparison is so good! I cannot believe the difference in these two photos. Just another really great way to show how sunlight and clouds can really make or break some photos. I have since better learned how to work with darker lighting conditions, and almost prefer it sometimes over bright and sunny, but the sun in this instance really made things so vibrant and beautiful. The detail in the gulls eye alone is just amazing compared to the 2024 version. It’s hard to believe that this is even the same species!
Ring-billed Gull 2024 - 2025
I really enjoyed making this post, and worked really hard on editing these photos and getting everything together. If you like my content and aren’t already, consider subscribing! You will get all of my future posts sent directly to your email, with no spam, and you can unsubscribe at any time. If you’re already subscribed, let me know what you thought of this post and if you want to see more like it, what else you’d like to see me talk about, or take photos of. I’m always looking for new ideas and things to photograph out in the world.
