After carefully going over the results of the survey I sent out the other week, I have chosen the 12 photographs and overall theme for the Lenspiration 2025 Calendar!

But choosing the 12 main images is only the beginning of the calendar creation process!

As I blogged about last year, there are many steps to creating a Lenspiration calendar. One of those steps, Step #5, is to “Create Cutouts.” And what is a “cutout”?

To help make my calendars unique, I like to add little cutout images on the bottom section of each month. I was first inspired to do this when I saw it done in another fine-art calendar a long time ago. Those small, supporting cutouts were simply cut out from the main images, though. So I thought that surely, if I was the one who photographed the main photo, I should be able to find complementary photos that would provide a little more variety and “depth”. Could I find a different angle on the subject that’s in the main photo? Did I photograph close-ups of elements that are in the main photo? What objects did I photograph in other directions at the same location?!

Ever since I started making calendars, the cutouts have been just as important and enjoyable as picking out the main photos!

So, here is the reasoning behind the 12 cutouts that I chose for the Lenspiration 2025 Calendar:

1. January 2025

As you can see on the calendar product page, the main image for the month of January is “Guardians of Winter”, a photograph of snow-covered pine trees under what appears to be a full moon rising. It’s actually just the sun shrouded by clouds, the photo intentionally being underexposed to create the desired effect. But when it came to choosing an accompanying cutout photo, I didn’t have many options to choose from! Nothing that I photographed at the same location stood out to me as something that would work well as a cutout. So I went looking around in my portfolio. What would make a good complementary cutout? And that’s when I ran into this photo of my old Outback. It was not taken anywhere close to where the main photo was taken, but I thought I would use it anyway as a tribute to the vehicle that made it possible to go to so many of the places where main photos were taken. I sold the Outback in the spring of this year, and I’m waiting for winter to find out just how much I’ll regret that decision. 🙂

2. February 2025

I found myself in a similar situation for February’s main photo. I guess the older I get, the less “supporting” photos from the area I have time to take. Especially when it comes to closeups; I used to photograph little details and small objects a whole lot more than I do now! But because the main photo was taken on the coast of Connecticut, it reminded me of another time I was on the coast of Connecticut earlier in the same year, that time at Hammonasset Beach State Park. These little living mollusks caught my attention, being all lined up in a row and safely tucked away in the small crevice of a rock.

3. March 2025

Who doesn’t love an amazing mountain photo! And I never tire or looking at them. Or photographing them! I didn’t know this particular mountain, called Mt. Washington, existed until I was driving through western Oregon one time. The main photo for March was taken in a parking where I spent the afternoon working on projects on my computer. The cutout, however was from further up the road where I was able to get a more clear view of the magnificent monolith.

4. April 2025

It was pretty easy to know which cutout to use for April. At the foot of the center cross at Cross on the Prairie was a masterful display.

5. May 2025

I photographed Grandview Overlook in May. And in West Virginia in May, rhododendron is in full bloom! There was a beautiful little patch of it just off the frame to the right. I couldn’t include it in the main photo because I was already photographing at as wide an angel as I could. And I couldn’t back up because I didn’t want the observation deck in the frame. So, knowing that rhododendron would make a fantastic cutout, I went looking for photos of rhododendron in my portfolio. But I couldn’t find any! I could have used the little patch from other photos taken there at Grandview Overlook, but the patch was so small and fairly scraggly-looking that it wouldn’t make a good cutout at all. So, I just ended up using a random photo from my portfolio of a random pink flower. Note to self: photograph rhododendron up close whenever possible.

6. June 2025

Lovely Lane Chapel on St. Simon’s Island, Georgia, was such a beautiful subject to photograph! But I didn’t photograph many other angles of it. So instead, to add some lively variety, I decided the cutout could be a squirrel that I had photographed a few hours earlier on the same island. There were plenty of squirrel’s around at Lovely Lane Chapel too.

7. July 2025

Let’s just say that fireworks would be extremely difficult (if not impossible) to cut out. So, I just found a photo of objects that would add a contrast in feeling to the main photo, reminding us that Independence Day is more than just a day of bombastic celebration. We must not forget to reflect on the sacrifices made by so many who trusted God to establish the greatest country in the world.

8. August 2025

This fantastic waterfall in California was super fun to photograph! While the main photo was taken from below, this cutout was taken from above where the trail passed by before zig-zagging down to it’s base. The arid surroundings made it easier to photograph than most waterfalls I’m used to here out East.

9. September 2025

There are many places you can stop to get amazing views down the Columbia River Gorge in Oregon. One of the best is the Portland Women’s Forum Viewpoint, which is where the main photo was taken. But for the cutout, I thought it would be neat to add a closeup of the Vista House itself, the round building visible on the far right side of the main photo. I remembered photographing it too. But when I looked through all the photos from that trip to the Columbia River Gorge, I couldn’t find it! After practically giving up, it dawned on me that the Vista House photos were taken on a different trip to the same area, 5 years earlier. After that realization, I was able to find my cutout photo no problem. 🙂

10. October 2025

I really didn’t feel like using a small cutout of the church. It felt to repetitive to have the little white church as both the main subject and the cutout too. So, I opted to draw attention on the weeds in the foreground. A nice closeup shot of a “weed” (or at least what looks close enough to a weed), would be just what I was going for.

11. November 2025

I literally only took one perspective on this roadside falls! I don’t think I was feeling particularly creative that day, having just stayed up all night doing an airport run. So I had to think creatively when putting the calendar together to think of what to do for a cutout. After a few not-so-great ideas, a great idea struck me. A turkey! You know, for the month of Thanksgiving, a cutout of a turkey would be perfect. So I went looking for pictures of turkeys in my portfolio, and this is the one that I came up with.

12. December 2025

Because December’s main photo was kinda dark, and because there was no snow in it, I decided to cheer things up a bit by using a bright photo of a bird for the cutout. And I think we would all agree that a chickadee would fit the bill!

I hope you enjoyed hearing a little bit from behind the scenes!

Some other behind-the-scenes news that you might enjoy about the calendars is:

• I’ve removed the restriction of ordering only quantities of 10 for the Original Calendars!
• My printer made it possible to completely remove the flap from the Personalized Calendars . . . which means that the cover, each month, and even each day can now be completely personalized!
• My team created a super creative, brand new landing page for the Artists Calendars!
• I updated the pricing structure for all 3 types of calendars so they could all be cheaper in general
• I completely revamped how shipping is calculated on the website so it could be more accurate and thus, hopefully, cheaper for everyone, especially for those who do not live on the Eastern seaboard.
• I decided to keep free shipping available to Lenspiration Members, though I restricted it to cover only orders of up to 30 calendars 

Whether it’s through these calendars or not, may your eyes be lifted to behold the glory of the Lord in 2025!