At the end of the year, there is usually a review of the year. Over the last few days, I have been looking at my pictures from the last 366 days. What is my best picture of the year? That is a very difficult question that I cannot answer. Because pictures are something personal and everyone associates something different with the result. And then, as a photographer, you also associate a personal emotion with the photo that was present when it was taken. This is rarely conveyed by the finished result. I will give it a try anyway and look forward to your view of the split seconds shown.

So this post is not going to be a review of the year. I'm going to show you three photos that have stuck in my mind this year. My personal emotions associated with the respective pictures weigh more heavily in the selection than the quality of the photos.

When I first look at my sports photos, the first thing that comes to mind is my picture of Elias Saad shortly after his winning goal to make it 3-2 against Greuther Fürth on matchday 20 of the last second division season. League leaders Sankt Pauli were already leading 2-0 before fourth-placed Greuther Fürth were able to equalize. In the 81st minute, Elias Saad celebrated right in front of my lens.

For me, the picture has a history. I was sitting between the opposing team and the opposing goalkeeper in front of the north stand. It was the beginning of February and twenty to three when the sun over the south stand cast a nice streak of light onto the grass. I thought to myself that something had to happen in front of me to get a good picture. Elias Saad did me the favor in the most wonderful way.

There is also a story behind this picture. In the summer I had the pleasure of speaking about my sports photography at the Leica Store in Hamburg. The event was also adorned with this picture above – as you can see here on InstagramThe photo was taken with the Leica SL2-S, a camera without phase autofocus, and it's a small miracle that I got a sharp result of a moving object in these lighting conditions. The event at Leica was very well booked very quickly and the participants gave me good feedback. Thank you for the opportunity.

Another image stays in my mind because it was a wonderful situation. I was trying out a new macro lens in a friend's garden. I was completely senselessly hunting for bees and flowers when suddenly there was a rustling in the grass. I quickly hid as best I could behind a hedge. A young fox stopped by the garden.

It certainly doesn't happen often that 100mm focal length is enough to photograph a wild animal. Of course, there was no interaction with the animal on my part. But the fox cub obviously hasn't had any bad experiences with people either. He or she certainly noticed me, but simply ignored me.

By the way, I deliberately did not post the picture on social media immediately because I did not want the young animal to be disturbed. However, for the reasons mentioned above, it belongs in my annual review.

Thanks to the folding display of the Panasonic S5IIX, I was able to choose a low camera position and photograph the young fox roaming through the tall grass. The Panasonic replaced my SL2-S because it was clear that the first Bundesliga would need a faster and more accurate autofocus. The cooperation between Leica, Panasonic and Sigma in the so-called L-Mount Alliance brings real added value for users. I now use a colorful mix of cameras and lenses from all three partners. Everything fits together and covers many areas of application. And with an adapter, I can also use the M lenses.

Speaking of M: I recently wrote about my latest achievement a detailed report written. I'm showing you one of the photos that was taken with the M11-D and the over 60-year-old Summicron-M 35mm of the first version. It is simply one of my top favorites of the year, because it is a snapshot of the most wonderful woman I can imagine at my side.

So that was my look at the highlights of 2024. So it's not really a review of the year, but I hope to be able to experience something similarly wonderful in 2025.

Thank you for stopping by the blog this year. I wish you all the best for 2025!