2023 Year in Review
2023 Year in Review
For the first time since I can remember, 2023 was a year where I really took photos for myself and for what I really wanted to do, rather than prioritizing photos for publications, clients, or other businesses. While it definitely felt like a bit of a relief, at the same time it definitely affected the types of subjects that I captured. You’ll notice right away that I really didn’t take any automotive photos this year, which is strange but at the same time, a bit of a relief. While car photography is still my bread and butter for photography, it was refreshing to do some different things. On top of that, going through this year’s photos chronologically doesn’t really make much sense since I just simply didn’t take as many photos this year in general, so instead for a change I’ll divide this up by subject.
Philippines and Singapore
The big trip of the year was to The Philippines for my cousin’s wedding vow renewal ceremony. Since I was the Best Man, I didn’t really take any photos of the wedding but instead took some really gorgeous photos of the landscapes and sunsets. We started in Club Paradise in Coron, Palawan, then spent a couple nights in Boracay, and then ended up with one night in Singapore on the way home. It was a fantastic trip with a ton of great friends and family that I will cherish for years to come.
Las Vegas
I spent a few days in Las Vegas in January for a sales meeting at my company and took all of these photos from my hotel room. I purposely booked a room with a view of the strip, hoping that I would be able to get a good view when I wasn’t in meetings. Turns out I got lucky and I was quite happy with how these turned out, even while shooting from a tripod through the hotel glass inside the room.
Skies and Places
Whenever there was an opportunity for a nice quick photo, I tried to capture something even if I was just at home. The two sunsets were taken from my living room and the two moon photos were taken on my backyard deck. On the other hand, the late Seattle sunset was taken from Salty’s on Alki and the early fall colors photo was taken with my iPhone 15 Pro hanging out the passenger window of my cousin’s car in Cle Elum, Washington.
Portraits
Portraits were few and far between this year, but I did take some maternity photos for Rachel and Dan and a couple photos of my parents. My parents are celebrating their 60th Wedding Anniversary at the end of December, so a huge loving congratulations to them!
Animals
Similar to skies and places, my animal photos were subjects of opportunity. The spider in my backyard was the closest I’ll ever get to one of these (thank you, long zoom lens) and the hummingbird is just a frequent visitor to my backyard deck. We also took a weekend trip to Vancouver and checked out the aquarium there where I took the “underwater” shots.
Watch Collection
Strangely enough, the one subject I really enjoyed taking photos of this year was my budding watch collection. Watches are just very photogenic, don’t take a ton of setup to photograph, and have some many small details to keep your attention. My collection expanded even more this year, which you can see from my “State of the Collection” photo of all of them in my watch box. I might have to add a macro lens to my gear list in 2024 and I’d like to do a bit more of a variety instead of wrist and desk shots.
That's a wrap for 2023
Not going to lie, 2023 was a challenging year for me, which is reflected in how photography took a backseat to other things going on in my life. Hopefully, 2024 will be a little different, but at least I was still able to find a creative outlet with my photography, even if it wasn’t for my usual/normal subjects. Happy holidays to you all and we’ll see you in the new year!
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