2023 Photography Year in Review

General,

Photography has been a burgeoning hobby since I purchased a used Canon EOS 350D in 2014 while living in Lesotho. The spectacular mountain vistas, unique culture, and incredibly vivid night skies were all the motivation I needed at the time. The model itself was released in 2006 so by 2022 it was certainly time for an upgrade. With so many options and form factors it wasn’t an easy decision. A full-frame, mirrorless sensor seemed like the way to go. And with that, the consumer level Canon EOS RP became mine. This nifty little powerhouse packs quite a punch and I’ve been more than satisfied with the purchase. Adding a 400mm telephoto and 35mm STM (f1.7) lens to the inventory only enhanced what could be done with the night sky or to observe the stunning macro qualities of nature, such as small wildlife and vegetation.

“Fix it in post”

Probably the biggest revelation came when I began to appreciate the value of shooting images in RAW format as opposed to the compressed alternative, JPEG. To sum it up, RAW images store all the information the sensor is able to capture when snapping a photo. The file sizes are much larger and with good reason. When developing a digital photo, the more data you have to work with, the more flexibility you have to adjust the levels that comprise the image. Exposure, temperature, color balance, saturation, and much more can be fine tuned to give you the artistic expression you desire for any particular snap. I mainly use Lightroom Classic/Mobile for such purposes. As cameras have evolved so has this software. Masking, healing, even motion/lens blur can be adjusted to fix any aberrations. Here’s an example:

Comparison image: unedited version of a leaf-cutter bee on a flowering azalea bush.
Original
Comparison image: edited version of a leaf-cutter bee on a flowering azalea bush.
Levels adjusted

Now for my favorite shots of 2023, broken into 6 categories:

Nature

Foggy morning on a river in a forest.
Came across this serene, foggy landscape on the Whiteoak Canyon Falls Upper Trail. Taken on April 29, 2023 at Shenandoah National Park, Virginia.

Macrophotography

Common grape vine illuminated at sunset.
Sometimes the best photos are scenes you come across. This leaf of the common grape vine was illuminated at sunset while its neighboring plants were in the shadows. Right place, right time. Taken on July 4, 2023 at Waters School Community Garden. Chicago, Illinois.

Astrophotography

Filtered image of the Sun showing numerous sunspots.
In preparation for the total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024, I purchased a solar filter that can be attached to a lens. Using a 400mm telephoto, this shot was my first attempt to capture visible sunspots during this period of near-solar maximum. Taken on July 25, 2023.

Landscape

Silhouette of a seagull flying over a river at sunset.
Silhouette of a seagull flying over a river at dusk in Delaware. Taken on August 9, 2023.

Architecture

Autumn scene at a garden with one a wooden pavilion over a pond in the foreground.
This autumn scene was captured at Brookside Gardens in Maryland with one of their wooden pavilions over a pond. Taken on October 25, 2023.

Composite

In November 2022, I photographed this tree amidst some fog while traveling in Shenandoah National Park. I captured the same image without fog in October 2023. Here you can see them side-by-side.

Thanks for reading and happy new year! Cheers to a safe and prosperous 2024.

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