2024 - A Year in Twelve Pictures

So, that was 2024.   There were certainly some good bits, but also a fair number of not so good bits. 

The photographs tend to capture the good bits.  There were c. 30,000 pictures to choose from, but I've distilled the year down to twelve images - one from each month.

Part One (January to March)

A mix of Shetland and Oxford (and a bit of London thrown in for good measure)

Snow on Quendale Beach, Shetland, January 2024

The Duke's Cut, Oxford Canal, February 2024

Thames Path, London, March 2024

Part Two (April and May) 

Travelling. Italy and Norway. Trains and boats and buses.

Boario Terme, Italy, April 2024

Narvik, Norway, May 2024

Part Three (June to August)

Shetland. And lots of time hanging out with the auks at Sumburgh Head.

Puffins at Sumburgh Head, Shetland, June 2024

Puffling 'Spike' at Sumburgh Head, Shetland, July 2024

Lots of pufflings at Sumburgh Head, August 2024

Part Four (September and October)

Italy, Austria and Switzerland. Mostly mountains and more trains.

Dolomites, Val Gardena, Italy, September 2024

Zurich, Switzerland, October 2024

Part Five (November and December)

Mostly Shetland, and some Oxford and Fife.

Snow on Fitful Head, Shetland, November 2024

Start of the winter storms, Scat Ness, Shetland, December 2024

Monthly Report, November 2024

A Shetland month.

Reporting Days: 30

Location: Shetland

Distance Walked: 203 km

Distance Driven: 1297 km

Photographs Taken: Thousands, mostly weather or wave related

At this time of year outdoor activities on Shetland are dominated by two things: the (variability of the) weather and the (lack of) daylight.  

It is however still possible to find some weather windows most days and when the sun comes out it is so low in the sky that it is always the 'golden hour'.  And I guess it's inevitable that the photographed story of a winter month on Shetland is going paint a positive picture of a month which did have it's fair share of storm days too.

These ten pictures were all taken on different November days, and all (with the exception of the Lerwick picture) were taken around the south end of the Shetland mainland.  

West Voe Beach in the morning sunshine

Waves at Brei Geo, Scat Ness

Snow showers over Fitful Head

Winter calm at the South Mouth, Lerwick

Snow on Quendale Beach 

Blue skies at Sumburgh Head

Calm on Scat Ness

Looking south into the morning sun on Scat Ness

Returning Guillemots at Sumburgh Head

Near sunset at St Ninian's Isle

Next month: Back south, but there again, most places are south of Shetland