The capacitor (C1) is needed to make a short trigger pulse for the 555. D1 is a good idea, to avoid feeding a +24V pulse into the trigger input. D2 isn't needed.
If the LED and photodiode are part of a photointerrupter, you probably don't need high sensitivity. You can increase the trimpot if necessary. The data sheet for the photointerrupter will probably have a suggested circuit.
You're running the LED at around 110 mA... is it designed to run continuously at such a high current?