2023 was a mixed bag for me. There were a lot of accomplishments, and a few shortcomings.

I’m a “list maker” by nature; writing things down helps me organize, prioritize, and keep me honest.

There’s almost too much to write in a single post, so I’ll hit the major highlights, lowlights, and everything in-between.

THE GOOD

MUSICALS AND THEATRICAL PHOTOGRAPHY

I shot 6 theatrical performances this year - Xanadu Jr, Clybourne Park, Newsies, Pure Imagination, The Crucible, and ACtS the Musical. That’s the most shows I’ve ever shot in a year. These 6 shows added up to over 180 hours spent in research, travel, shooting, editing, and image delivery. I was really happy with the results I had this year and the assets that I delivered. A few of my favorites from the shows are below. <click on the images below to open in a lightbox window to view in full size>

WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY

2023 was the year I made some changes and upped my game in bird/wildlife photography. I was out a lot more this year shooting during Spring Migration and into the Summer months. I also replaced my Tamron 150-600mm G2 lens with a Nikon 500mm PF f5.6 prime lens. Image clarity and focusing were much improved over the Tamron lens. No sooner had I become accustomed to my D500/800mm set-up, my D500 decided it was going to have shutter failure the day before I was leaving for the Biggest Week in American Birding. It was during that trip that I used my D850 with the 500mm lens and realized that I don’t have to have a crop body in order to make good bird images; so much so that since the D500 has returned from its shutter replacement at Nikon, I have not even used it once. The D850 is a fantastic body and gives some really nice out-of-focus background with its full-frame sensor. I added 14 new species to my life count this year as well!!! Below are a few of my favorites. <click on the images below to open in a lightbox window to view in full size>

PUBLICATIONS

Speaking of birds, two of my blog posts regarding bird photography were picked up by DIYphotography.net.

Check them out here:

Article One

Article Two

GALLERY SHOWS

I had artwork in 3 shows in 2023 - Pyramid Hill’s “Here and Now”, Tom Croce’s “Ohio Nature” show at Springboro Performing Arts Center, and DSA’s Member Show that was ran in conjunction with Art in the City 2023.

I was shocked when my image, “57 & 59”, won the People’s Choice Award at the Pyramid Hill show, along with a nice check for my efforts. This image and others will be featured in a show in 2024 - more on that to come in my next post.

FILM PHOTOGRAPHY

Stock image courtesy of “2happy” on Stockvault. Creative Commons License - CCO

I shot 232 rolls of film in 2023. There’s still a few more days left in the year at the time of this post so that may change a bit.

While not as much as my crazy amount (260 rolls) in 2022, that’s still a butt-load of film. Again, does that really mean anything? No. But I will say that now the majority of my personal and project work, with the exception of wildlife and events, is on film now, and probably won’t go back to digital for that any time soon. On the several trips I took to Hocking Hills and Cuyahoga Valley to do landscape photography this year, I didn’t bring a single digital camera with me. My confidence level and experience with the medium means that most of the time I know when I’ve “got the shot”.

Below are a few of my favorite film images from this past year, shot on a variety of cameras and film.
<click on the images below to open in a lightbox window to view in full size>

BLOGPOSTS

Last year I made the commitment to post an average of 2 blogposts per month in 2023. That works out to 24 posts! That’s a lot for me in one year, but with this post I am at 27 for the year so I met my goal. Yay for me!

THE BAD

WORKSHOP(S)

I mentioned at the end of last year I wanted to put on at least one workshop in 2023, and since it is now late December I can easily say that’s not gonna happen.

Why?

Well part of it is poor planning on my part, and part of it is due to the fact I had committed to partnering with another photographer for a Fall workshop and then because of health issues with his family, that didn’t happen. And by the time I came to realize it wasn’t happening it was too late. Shame on me.

VOLUNTEERING MY SERVICES FOR CAUSES

I usually shoot at least two events per year for charity, but this year I fell short. One was the ALS march, which I declined because I was trying to keep my schedule free for the workshop that never happened. The other was the FOA (Families of Addicts) Rally in August. Due to family commitments I couldn’t make it this year.

WHAT’S NEXT FOR 2024?

Well, I have a few things in the hopper - stay tuned for my next post where I talk about what’s in store for 2024!

How did your 2023 go? Did you accomplish everything you set out to do? Drop me a line in the comments section below.

Thanks for reading,

Jeremy