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Estas fotos son recientes: son del verano pasado.

Estas fotos son recientes: son del verano pasado.
These photos are recent: they're from last summer.
From Lesson 286:Reading the news (reciente, breve, el periodo)·Spanish (Spain)

Questions & Answers about Estas fotos son recientes: son del verano pasado.

Wait, shouldn't it be estos fotos since fotos ends in an -o?
No, fotos is actually a feminine noun because it is short for fotografías. That is why we use the feminine plural estas instead of estos.
Why is it son recientes and not están recientes?
We use ser (here as son) because being recent is treated as an essential quality or time classification of these photos. While we might think of being recent as a temporary condition in English, Spanish uses ser to identify when an object is from.
Why does it say del verano instead of just de verano?
In Spanish, you generally need the definite article el before seasons when specifying exactly which one it is (like last summer). The preposition de (from) combines with el (the) to form the mandatory contraction del.
Could I say el pasado verano instead of el verano pasado?
You should keep pasado after the noun when talking about specific time periods. Phrases like el verano pasado (last summer) or la semana pasada (last week) are fixed patterns, and putting the adjective first sounds unnatural here.

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