Glen Fisher went to Assynt in the far north-west of Scotland for a photography workshop with one goal. To come away with three photographs just a level or two higher than anything he had made before. On a grey morning with no sun and clouds hanging low over the hills he stood in the cold marshland looking at a lone tree on a rocky outcrop and saw the image in his mind before he pressed the shutter.

Neil Silk's wife gave him tickets to see Joe Bonamassa at the Royal Albert Hall for Christmas 2023. No professional gear was allowed so he brought a £50 Canon compact he had picked up secondhand. Security laughed. His phone would have been worse. Back at the hotel that night scrolling through blurry unusable frames his heart began to sink. Then one image appeared on the screen.

Phil Anker always takes in Salisbury Cathedral on his photo walks because of what the light does in the cloisters at different times of day. One afternoon a man sat on a corner wall with beautiful light falling on him and Phil sat down on the low wall opposite, opened his flip screen, and waited. Tourists kept walking through the frame. The man kept his position. Then the moment arrived. Shortly after he stood up and it was gone.

Shane Guidaboni was riding the 66 bus through Brookline in 2015 when he noticed a mother asleep across the aisle, one daughter out cold on her lap, the other wide awake and quietly going through her purse. He had no camera. He had an iPhone 6s and about thirty seconds of soft afternoon light coming through the bus windows. Ten years later the image still feels emotionally complete to him.