Hwhup The Deans List? The Jason Dean here, bringing an end to the Weekend like it was the Christmas shopping season. Seriously, folks. If you haven’t finished your shopping yet, then just stop. STOP. All the good stuff has been picked over. It’s too late to get Turbo Man. You might as well just admit to the people in your life that you don’t love them enough to get them the things they actually wanted (man do I hope that I don’t have any last-minute shopper fans…).

Anyways. Let’s get into it.

Favorotos

Tomorrow, I’ll start posting my 2025 Favorotos (I’ve hinted at the portmanteau for a couple of weeks now, so I’m assuming you’re smelling what I’m putting down) on The Gram. Today though, for you special folks that subscribe to The Deans List and make it a part of your Sunday morning routine, I have a special Holiday treat: The 2025 Favorotos Honorable Mentions.

In no particular order.

I was too bright and cheery a lad to have had an emo phase, but sometimes I have my moments, like this time I was laying in the hammock and digging my luscious locks of hair.

After a wave shoot at the Black Rocks, I bumped into Kurt taking some photos of the surfers and decided to join him. The rain ended up coming in and blowing right at us, so we didn’t stay too long; just long enough to catch this dude surfing towards us and happily spotting our photographing.

Otter is such a good boy! Here he is lounging on the floor, soaking up some sun rays during a winter afternoon. I actually have several photos of him that were on the short list of Favorotos but I chose this one because I really like how I framed it.

This was my first year photographing the UP200 Sled Dog races. On the opening day of the race, I photographed two locations; downtown for the start of the race, and then one of the checkpoints several hours later. The difference between the two settings was stark; downtown Marquette and its well-lit streets lined with hundreds and hundreds of spectators laughing and cheering as the sled dogs passed them, contrasted with the checkpoint where a couple of volunteers tossed logs into a trash can fire in order to avoid being swallowed by the cold darkness.

I did more night photography in 2025 than I ever had before, and I hope to continue to this trend in 2026. This was a photo I took of the Superior Dome during one such session with the Lightroom sliders cranked to 11.

Being a photographer is much more about preparation than it is luck. Nonetheless, there is some luck involved, like there was when I happened to be on a walk through Park Cemetery near my house when a gust of wind happened to blow some of the snow off of this tree while the sun blazed gloriously behind it.

One of the things I love about photographing people is trying to capture them in the quiet moments. Smiles do not tell stories; at least, they don’t tell the whole story. I love this photo I took of my son on the day of his graduation between posed photographs, playing with his tassel while his mind danced between a thousand different futures.

If you like these, please check out my Instagram account over the next week and a half to see more of my favorite photos of the year!

Humana Obscura

The Winter issue of Humana Obscura is live! Check it out, friends, and check out my images that will be a part of the issue.

New art

I’ve shared several images today, but I do want to share at least one brand-new image. I know, it’s another fall image. But check out that little Lake Superior-shaped hole in the leaf!

Sorry to cut this short, but I need to go do some last minute shopping. Have a blessed Christmas season and a Happy New Year, friends 😊 I’m so excited to see what 2026 has in store!

See you around,

Jason