Well, first things first - looks like I skipped 2022. I have no excuses, but here's two of my favorites from then, and we'll call it good.
I was pretty darn close to skipping my 2023 wrap-up too - every time I looked at my favorite photos from the year, I'd find myself thinking "Really? That is one of your favorite photos from 2023?" One of the things I'm trying to do is be kinder to myself, and to remember that the perfect is the enemy of the good... but it's hard. Brains are jerks, and will tell you terrible things about yourself if you let them.
I couldn't find any overarching themes for the year, but there were a couple of notable images, and a few paid portrait gigs. I flew my drone a bit less this year, but I did make some aerial images that I reall like. And in November, I went on an epic backpacking trip to Santa Rosa Island in the Channel Islands National Park. I heard once on a podcast that it's important to experience the feeling of awe - that is, to be in a surrounding that dwarfs you, that is beautiful, but at the same time a little threatening. I thought about that a lot during that Santa Rosa trip.
So here, in no particular order are some of my favorite photos from 2023.
people
I did a few portrait sessions this year. Not as many as I’d like to; in fact one of my 2024 goals is to book 2-3 portrait or headshot or family sessions per quarter. Feel free to reach out to set up a session! Anyway; here are some images from those sessions; a portrait of some random strangers on the street; and a self-portrait with dramatic lighting that I keep coming back to.
aerial
I love flying my drone and making images from a different perspective than we’re used to. In addition to some images at the beach, and in Prospect Park, I also dipped my toe into aerial real estate photography, which is also something I’d like to do more of.
nature and outdoors
Who doesn’t love the outdoors? I spend a lot of time in Prospect Park, as I have the good fortune to live across the street, so most of these images were taken there.
nyc miscellaneous
I got a some cool random shots around the city, but some standouts for me are Damon the JĒSISM guy; the orange air pollution sky, and that cool not-quite-Manhattanhenge sunset. I also love the roller coaster image.
santa rosa
This backpacking trip with two of my oldest friends was transformative. Hard backcountry hiking, with 40 pound packs filled with food, water and supplies for four days. The sound of sparring juvenile male elephant seals were the constant soundtrack (fortunately, our camp was removed enough from them that we couldn’t smell them, cuz boy do they stink). I was absolutely outside of my element, (I suck at sleeping in tents), but it was a fantastic way to reconnect with each other without the distractions of our ever-connected society.
Bonus
These two images don’t fit anywhere, but they’re calming to me, and I like how they look juxtaposed with each other. I shot these from the window of a flight to Copenhagen (which was an amazing city, and I’d love to go back again).
