525,600 Minutes – 2025 Year in Review

Every last 2026 Photography 139 calendar has been distributed as of roughly 5:30 PM last night. So now is a good time to start sharing the images from this year’s calendar. We will start with the front cover.

FRONT COVER – 2026

Technical Details

• CAMERA: Sony 7RMV
• LENS: Sigma 70-180mm f/2.8
• FOCAL LENGTH: 167mm
• APERTURE: f/5.6
• SHUTTER SPEED: 1/1000
• ISO: 100
• February 15, 2025

The subject of the picture is a kite from the Color the Wind Festival in Clear Lake, Iowa. I don’t know this is even my favorite image from last year’s Color the Wind Festival, but I think it is the most fun. I wanted to include a picture from the Color the Wind Festival because I like to photograph small town festivals and last year I included the hot air balloon festival in Indianola. And the only other festival I really did much photography at in 2025 was the Color the Wind Festival. I mean some at Pufferbilly Days and a little bit at the Labor Day Festival in Madrid, but that was about it. I missed the Stanhope Watermelon Festival this year because of Becca’s wedding. But on my list of 2026 goals is to hit more festivals. Hopefully the Winter Games in Okoboji and some kind of Saint Patrick’s Day festival. Maybe in Waterloo but probably at least a parade in Des Moines. Others still to be found. Like maybe the sweet corn festival in Adel.

This image went back and forth from being in the main body of the calendar to out of the calendar until I finally set on putting it on the cover. It ultimately got left out of the main body since while it is fun, it isn’t a picture that is super artistic or technically demanding or 100 percent fits into a particular month. But it proved to be surprisingly popular with some people, so I have some regrets not having it represent a month, but no regrets in it including it in the calendars.

Perhaps at a later date I will discuss my switching to a different printer for the second year in a row. But I won’t bore you with such minutiae at this point in time.

Tomorrow I will reveal the January image.

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It is 2026 I like to look back and reveal statistics every new year, looking back at the last year. I find them interesting. Joe Duff finds them interesting. And for now, that is enough.

Every post has CATEGORIES. Those are the words at the top of every post. Here are the some rankings of the most popular categories;

TOP 20 CATEGORIES ALL -TIME (Rank at the end of 2024)

1. BLACK & WHITE – 1,363 (1)
2. FLOWERS – 1,132 (2)
3. ART – 1,040 (3)
4. ANIMALS – 925 (4)
5. JESSE – 859 (5)
6. TERESA – 802 (6)
7. MACRO – 736 (8)
8. CARLA – 732 (10)
9. ROAD TRIP – 721 (7)
10. SHANNON – 699 (11)
11. FORMAL PORTRAIT – 686 (9)
12. STILL LIFE – 679 (14)
13. WPC – SUBMISSIONS – 643 (13)
14. NATURE – 634 (12)
15. STREET PHOTOGRAPHY – 583 (NR)
16. CANDID PORTRAIT – 565 (15)
17. LOGAN – 551 (17)
18. KIM – 539 (18)
19. MOM – 484 (16)
20. MICKY – 484 (20)

PHOTOSHOP is the category that fell out of the Top 20. It fell all the way to #25. The categories that have the best chance at climbing into the Top 25 are ANDY, VEST, WILLY, SELF-PORTRAIT, and PHOTOSHOP.

TOP 20 HUMAN CATEGORIES ALL-TIME

1. JESSE – 859 (1)
2. TERESA – 802 (2)
3. CARLA – 732 (3)
4. SHANNON – 699 (4)
5. LOGAN – 551 (6)
6. KIM – 539 (7)
7. MOM – 484 (5)
8. MICKY – 484 (8)
9. ANDY – 478 (11)
10. VEST – 468 (9)
11. WILLY – 464 (10)
12. DAWN – 423 (15)
13. SARA – 416 (12)
14. CATHIE – 410 (17)
15. JAY – 399 (13)
16. ANGIE – 399 (19)
17. JEN – 399 (14)
18. TAMARA – 395 (18)
19. BILL – 369 (NR)
20. DERRICK – 363 (16)

MICHELLE was the Human Category that dropped out of the Top 20. MICHELLE fell all the way to #23. The Human Categories that have the best shot at climbing into the Top 20 by the end of 2026 are ELIZABETH, MONICA, MICHELLE, BECKY and ALEXIS.

TOP 20 NON-HUMAN CATEGORIES ALL-TIME

1. BLACK & WHITE – 1,363 (1)
2. FLOWERS – 1,132 (2)
3. ART – 1,040 (3)
4. ANIMALS – 925 (4)
5. MACRO – 736 (6)
6. ROAD TRIP – 721 (5)
7. FORMAL PORTRAIT – 686 (7)
8. STILL LIFE – 679 (10)
9. WPC-SUBMISSIONS – 643 (9)
10. NATURE – 634 (8)
11. STREET PHOTOGRAPHY – 583 (13)
12. CANDID PORTRAIT – 565 (11)
13. SELF-PORTRAIT – 455 (15)
14. PHOTOSHOP – 439 (12)
15. HISTORY – 432 (14)
16. CHRISTIANITY – 420 (1)
17. NAIMA – 409 (16)
18. IOWA STATE – 382 (18)
19. WPC – REMINDER – 325 (19)
20. MUSIC – 322 (NR)

NIGHT was the Non-Human Category that fell out of the Top 20. It fell to #21. TRAVEL, BOONE FUMC, RUINS, RAILROAD, and PERSONAL PHOTO PROJECT are the categories that have the best chance of climbing into the Top 20 by the end of 2026.

Now to look at the top categories of 2025!

TOP 20 CATEGORIES – 2025 (2024 Rank)

1. STREET PHOTOGRAPHY – 173 (3)
2. SIGN – 136 (NR)
3. ART – 127 (1)
4. STILL LIFE – 119 (2)
5. TERESA – 90 (4)
6. FLOWERS – 88 (8)
7. LOWELL – 82 (NR)
8. LOGAN – 77 (6)
9. ANIMALS – 75 (NR)
10. ANDY – 74 (12)
11. KIM – 70 (15)
12. ELIZABETH – 68 (11)
13. CARLA – 67 (9)
14. BLACK & WHITE – 65 (7)
15. DEB – 65 (NR)
16. JESSE – 64 (5)
17. ANGIE – 62 (NR)
18. TRAVEL – 62 (NR)
19. ALEXIS – 61 (NR)
20. JOE DUFF – 61 (NR)

TOP 20 HUMAN CATEGORIES – 2025

1. TERESA – 90 (1)
2. LOWELL – 82 (15)
3. LOGAN – 77 (3)
4. ANDY – 74 (6)
5. KIM – 70 (9)
6. ELIZABETH – 68 (5)
7. CARLA – 67 (4)
8. DEB – 65 (NR)
9. JESSE – 64 (2)
10. ANGIE – 62 (15)
11. ALEXIS – 61 (NR)
12. JOE DUFF – 61 (NR)
13. MICKY – 59 (20)
14. CATHIE – 58 (18)
15. SCOTTIE D. – 58 (NR)
16. NATHANIAL – 58 (12)
17. DAWN – 56 (13)
18. SHANNON – 55 (14)
19. MONICA – 53 (NR)
20. AUNT LINDA – 53 (13)

TOP 20 NON-HUMAN CATEGORIES – 2025

1. STREET PHOTOGRAPHY – 173 (3)
2. SIGN – 136 (NR)
3. ART – 127 (1)
4. STILL LIFE – 119 (2)
5. FLOWERS – 88 (5)
6. ANIMALS – 75 (11)
7. BLACK & WHITE – 65 (4)
8. TRAVEL – 62 (16)
9. MUSIC – 57 (19)
10. TENDERLOINING – 55 (7)
11. WPC – SUBMISSIONS – 54 (8)
12. SELF-PORTRAIT – 50 (15)
13. Bokeh – 50 (NR)
14. MACRO – 48 (10)
15. ARCHITECTURE – 43 (NR)
16. NATURE – 39 (8)
17. IOWA STATE – 36 (NR)
18. CANDID PORTRAIT – 32 (13)
19. NIGHT – 32 (NR)
20. CHRISTIANITY – 30 (12)

If you have spent any time on this website you realize the 100 most used categories are listed on the left side. When I’m looking at these stats, I also like to look at the bottom 10 of the top 100.

BOTTOM 10 OF THE TOP 100

1. TOWN SIGN PROJECT – 135
2. BLOGGING – 134
3. RUSSELL – 127
4. JILL – 125
5. MARY – 120
6. NATE – 118
7. PUFFERBILLY DAYS – 112
8. LAYLA – 102
9. BECCA – 101
10. PASTOR SARAH – 100

The Categories most likely to fall into the Bottom 10 of the Top 100 are STEPH, YOUTH GROUP, SHERI, SIGN, and BETHANY. Although it is unlikely SHERI and SIGN will fall in 2026.

The Categories most like to climb into the Bottom 10 of the Top 100 are FAUST, ANDREE, WRITING, AUTOMOBILES, and HOUSE. Although realistically that list is ANDREE, DEANNA, SELF-PORTRAIT PROJECT, and BOKEH.

In 2025, NATHANIAL, MINDI, and SHERI climbed out of the Bottom 10. HOUSE, FAUST, and WRITING fell out of the Bottom 10. MARY climbed into the Bottom 10. TOWN SIGN PROJECT, BLOGGING, and JILL fell into the Bottom 10. RUSSELL, PUFFERBILLY DAYS, LAYLA, BECCA, and PASTOR SARAH all held their positions in the Bottom 10 of the Top 100.

On to the most popular Photography 139 Galleries in 2025:

1 – LIFE – 267,339 VIEWS

2. WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – YEAR 12 – 250,994 VIEWS

3. TOWN SIGN PROJECT AUXILIARY IMAGES – 175,874 VIEWS

4. TENDERLOINING – 168,589 VIEWS

5. TOWN SIGN PROJECT – 139,181 VIEWS

6. WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – YEAR 11 – 102,780 VIEWS

7. WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – 89,528 VIEWS

8. WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – YEAR 9 – 75,233 VIEWS

9. WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – YEAR 7 – 56,443 VIEWS

10. WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – YEAR 8 – 55,034 VIEWS

11. DRONE – 52,752 VIEWS

12. PHOTO JOURNAL REJECTS – 52,234 VIEWS

13. NAIMA – 51,146 VIEWS

14. WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – YEAR 6 – 48,815 VIEWS

15. WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE – YEAR 4 – 48,411 VIEWS

16. CHRISTOPHER D. BENNETT – 48,275 VIEWS

17. SOUTH DAKOTA ROAD TRIP – 46,640 VIEWS

18. IOWA STATE FAIR – 2024 – 46,415 VIEWS

19. TULIPS – 45,590 VIEWS

20. 2008 – JANUARY – JUNE – 45,310 VIEWS

In 2025, the Photography 139 Gallery had 5,512,474 views.

These were the most popular days for the Photography 139 Gallery in 2025:

1. 2025/04/25 – 92,895 views
2. 2025/09/19 – 63,746 views
3. 2025/12/17 – 49,380 views
4. 2025/11/07 – 48,851 views
5. 2025/12/18 – 47,559 views
6. 2025/08/18 – 43,534 views
7. 2025/09/20 – 39,121 views
8. 2025/11/14 — 36,791 views
9. 2025/09/02 – 32,882 views
10. 2025/01/02 – 3,365 views

But what about my 2025 that isn’t related to this website? I know, it is hard to believe that I exist outside of this website. But I do, I really exist in the physical world. But first, the social media world:

I’ve pretty much given up on Instagram. Meta has utter and completely destroyed it, but I did post 29 times in 2025. These were my Top 9:

Every single one of them, except for the sunflower, is from the Ireland trip.

How active was I on Snapchat?

My activity.

My longest streak.

My streak that almost ended the most.

My Snap Bestie.

My most active Snap Group.

I ended 2025 with the current Snap Streaks:

• Logan – 1,451
• Brandon – 1,207
• Nathanial – 1,045
• Elizabeth – 595
• Lowell – 593
• Dawn – 284
• Alexis – 4

I don’t listen to much music on Spotify. It is almost exclusively podcasts, but here are some highlights from my wrapped:

But where did I travel to in 2025? My travels were pathetic! At least in the States. I plan to do better in 2026.

That is 8 states. If you count Iowa. That is beyond pathetic. I will definitely do better in 2026. I can’t believe I never even made it to Nebraska or Kansas! I’m tentatively thinking about a trip to Yellowstone around my birthday, but we will see if that comes to fruition. I did visit two foreign countries, so I should give myself some grace, but that is still pretty pathetic. I never left Iowa after August! I can’t figure out if that is more sad or more pathetic.

In 2025 I attended 29 sporting events. Every single one of them was related to Iowa State. This one was my favorite:

Iowa State 74 Iowa 69 – Women’s Basketball

This was a tough choice, but I’m going with it because lately we’ve owned Iowa and Kansas State in football, so those wins were not as sweet as finally beating Iowa in women’s basketball! Plus it was a very exciting game!

Honorable Mention goes to:

• Iowa State 85 #4 Kansas State 63 (Women’s basketball)
• BYU 88 Iowa State 85 2 OT (Men’s basketball)
• Iowa State 24 Kansas State 21 (Football in Ireland)
• Iowa State 16 Iowa 13 (Football)
• Iowa State 39 Arizona 14 (Football – the last time the team was healthy)
• Iowa State 79 Kansas 76 (Women’s basketball – Kenzie Hare corner 3 as time expired to win the game)

I only saw a handful of movies in 2025, but the best movie I saw in the theater was a pretty easy pick:

It currently streams on Peacock. I’m just saying…

I really only went to one real concert this year. I saw a lot of music on free stages, so the best concert I went to in 2025 was really on a no brainer.

The Swell Season in Minneapolis

I clearly watched too much television in 2025. So the best show I watched in 2025 was a harder pick. But not that hard:

Hacks – Season 4

Honorable Mentions:

• Wednesday (Season 2)
• Severance (Season 2)
• All Her Fault (Season 1)
• The Gilded Age (Season 3)
• The Studio (Season 1)
• Task (Season 1)
• Your Friends & Neighbors (Season 1)
• The Bear (Season 4)
• The White Lotus (Season 3)

Like I said, I watched way too much television. I’ll just throw one more out there, cause I’m still on the fence about it. Pluribus (Season 1).

And finally a couple of random stats:

• Christmas Cards received – 10
• Trick-or-Treaters – 33

How did I do on my 2025 goals. Probably terrible:

• Freshen up this website – Partial credit
• Visit more than 7 states – Check, but barely
• Visit places on my Iowa bucket list – Partial credit
• Make a list of people to visit – Abject failure
• See more live music in 2025 – Calling that one a push
• Bring back the Selfie Project – Check.
• Having a birthday party – Abject failure

So I can basically just regurgitate that goals for 2026:

• Freshen up the look of the website – Maybe start a WPC Hall of Fame
• Visit more than 8 states
• Complete more than 50% of my Iowa Bucket List this year.
• Make a list of people to visit and complete more than 50%
• See more live music
• Continue the SELFIE PROJECT
• Bring back the 9 EMOTIONS PROJECT
• No birthday party, but maybe an ambitious road trip around my birthday. Possibly to Yellowstone
• Following the marching orders of Jesus in Matthew 25:35-36 and his “inconveniently woke teachings” – ³⁵ For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, ³⁶ I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

I hope you have a good to great 2026.

For those of you looking for your Thursday flowertography fix? Don’t worry baby birds, I’ll feed you. But it might not be until Saturday. Or it might be later tonight. I don’t know what 2026 has in store for me.