The 24 greatest photographs I took with my Pixel telephones in 2024

I like taking photographs, and for the previous 10 or so years, my cellphone has been my major digicam. Whereas my trusty Olympus sits at residence, ready for a short-lived job like capturing attractive snaps for my Android Authority articles, my Pixel 8 Professional after which Pixel 9 Professional XL have traveled with me to Barcelona, Lisbon, Tirana, London, Antwerp, Bastia, Dubai, and plenty of extra cities. They’ve been on adventures, to concert events and cathedrals, to eating places and museums, and far more.

Sifting by the 5000+ photographs I took with my Pixel telephones in 2024 to choose solely 24 favorites hasn’t been a simple end-of-year job. However regardless of the sheer variety of snaps I’ve taken this yr, there have been just a few that I simply knew I completely beloved. This train hasn’t been simple; photographs are very private, and what could seem as “pixel-perfect” to me might not be as wonderful to you. I feel, although, that I managed to discover a good stability between what I actually like and what’s objectively a pleasant picture, no matter context.

So, with out a lot ado, listed below are the 24 greatest photographs I snapped in 2024. All of those haven’t been altered in any option to edit their colours, sharpness, or what was captured by the Pixel 8 Professional or 9 Professional. The one factor I’ve allowed myself to do is to rotate or crop a smidge to higher body some photographs — I seize a whole lot of snaps with the 2x, 5x, and 10x zoom, and it’s nearly unattainable to completely body a shot when zooming in handheld mode. The tiniest handshake adjustments the angle or alignment.

The 24 greatest Pixel 8 Professional and 9 Professional photographs I took in 2024

If there’s one snap I’ll eternally keep in mind 2024 by, it’s this beautiful panorama close to the man-made Bovilla “lake” in Albania. After driving for 30+ minutes on nothing however gravel and mountaineering up a winding street, this was the beautiful vista that awaited me. I like the mid-afternoon sky, the water’s good turquoise colour, the mountains and mountains and extra mountains, and every part about it. From a technical perspective, although, this was the primary time I may belief my Pixel with a correct high-resolution panorama as a result of Google had lastly mounted that mode on the Pixel 9 sequence.

In the identical vein, right here’s one other panorama snap of a winding river and lovely panorama, additionally taken on the Pixel 9 Professional, from the Rozafa Citadel in Shkodër (Albania). This one showcases the brand new panorama mode’s improved HDR rendering. Any earlier Pixel would’ve made the city and homes too darkish in comparison with the sky and river.

The following two snaps embody moments of serendipity greater than pixel perfection, however please permit me to take pleasure in them. My husband and I have been driving by the lakeside street between Shiroka and Zogaj in Albania after we noticed just a few horses on a hill close by, consuming the grass. I snapped many photographs, however that specific horse with its flowing mane is my favourite. The following snap is from Elevate 109 within the Battersea Energy Station in London. As I disembarked from the elevate, I rotated and noticed my husband standing on the opposite facet by the glass, trying on the elevate’s inside. There’s one thing very sci-fi about that shot, though I might’ve modified lots about it had I had the time to border it correctly earlier than the information ushered us away — nonetheless considered one of my favourite snaps this yr.

One in every of my favourite picture angles is peering by little cracks and pinholes on the life outdoors, and these two photographs beneath are a superb instance of that. There’s the busy major avenue in Rouen (France) seen from the Grand Horloge and a desk tennis desk seen from the cracks within the Girona (Spain) metropolis partitions.

Sunsets and golden hours are attractive almost in every single place. But when I have been to choose my favourite sundown snaps from 2024, these two would come out on high. Rising up on the Lebanese coast, I’m used to seeing the solar set into the ocean, however seeing it transcend the ocean and the mountains was a brand new visible feast that solely one thing just like the Karaburun peninsula dealing with Vlore (Albania) may present. The second snap is from the Skanderberg sq. within the capital, Tirana. The sky’s dramatic and velvety orange texture seemed attractive.

I visited dozens of cathedrals and church buildings round France and Europe this yr, but when there are two photographs I’ll always remember, it’s these two. I like the lights, colours, heat, and general humility of the primary one taken in Chartres (France) distinction with the grandeur, solemnity, and vacancy of the second shot from Saint Quentin (France).

Animals are a few of my most popular picture topics, however managing to snap a shot of a pet or wild animal is an train in frustration for an novice photographer like me. I don’t have hours to sit down and look ahead to the fitting second; I’ve seconds. So once I handle to seize a superb shot, I treasure it. Behold the glory of Picchu, my neighbor’s cat (sure, her sister is known as Machu), and this majestic knob-billed duck (as Google Lens tells me) noticed within the Beauval Zoo (France).

I often seize quick movies of my favourite songs at concert events, however now and again, I’ll snap a nonetheless picture. This is without doubt one of the greatest ones I’ve grabbed this yr, with the beautiful Käärijä basking within the glory of his adoring followers in the midst of converging spotlights. The second snap is one other sundown a lighthouse in Zvernëc (Albania). I do know there are various snaps from Albania right here, however are you able to blame me? The panorama of the nation is beautiful.

I like dramatic interiors, and the following two photographs are good examples of that. The pops of colour in a world of grey-beige concrete and stone are lovely. The primary one is from the Worldwide Stained Glass Centre in Chartres (France) and the second is from the Terreiro de Paço metro station in Lisbon (Portugal). Evening mode on Pixels is how I’m capable of seize the vary of colours and darkness in these two photographs.

Talking of Portugal, listed below are two photographs from Sintra. The crowds make each snap a problem within the Pena Palace, however when you’ve got an amazing zoom lens (for the primary shot) or the attention to discover a distinctive angle with few folks round (for the second shot), you’ll be able to seize some actually cool photographs.

The stained glass of the Palau de la Música Catalana is the hero of the primary shot right here. I’d been there earlier than in early 2019, however my Pixel 2 XL didn’t have any zoom capabilities to seize the intricate particulars of that roof. With the Pixel 8 Professional in 2024, I used to be lastly capable of zoom in and get the picture I wished with each darkish and lightweight glass items. Staying with glass, the following shot is from a small wood cabin I used to be sleeping in. I woke as much as discover that the mirrored glass I used to be all evening hid lovely timber and a clear-blue sky. As soon as once more, right here, the Pixel’s HDR capabilities shine by, capturing the darkness inside and the intense colours outdoors.

Landscapes, sunsets, cathedrals, and peering by cracks are my favourite picture topics, however there are occasions when my husband will discover me standing “nothing” and tilting my head round. He is aware of I noticed a sample or an concept for a sample picture, and these two are good examples of that. The white and pink metallic construction is from a tunnel close to the cruise terminal in Antwerp (Belgium), whereas the infinite stairs lit up at the hours of darkness of evening are from the Pyramid of Tirana (Albania).

It was cloudy for the entire 4 winter days I used to be in Bastia (France), however there’s one second, once I was mountaineering the Lotu-Saleccia seaside path once I noticed a little bit of the turquoise waters that summergoers can take pleasure in. The fence, the vegetation, and the colour of the water make this picture unforgettable for me. Subsequent up is, properly, one other snap from Albania, however I swear it’s the final one! You’re a seaside bar in Zhanpovel Bay on the Karaburun peninsula, however what I admire right here is the distinction between the darkish foreground and the intense background, and I particularly love that the Pixel was capable of seize the delicate reddish wooden of the shaded bar high in addition to the very blue waters behind it.

Moaaaaaar 2024 photographs from the Pixel 8 Professional and 9 Professional XL

Alright, look, I lied. I picked 24 photographs, after which I picked a 100+ extra. It was a unbelievable feat that I used to be even capable of slim down 24 absolute favorites, however the subsequent photographs are simply as superior when you ask me. There isn’t sufficient time on the planet to explain all of those, so I’ll simply dump them right here and allow you to discover and check out to determine the place, how, and why these are among the greatest photographs I captured with my Pixel telephones this yr.