A Year in Review & Reflection Plus My 10 Favorite Photos from 2023

Before I get into my Top 10 Favorite Photos from 2023 I felt it would be good to do a little behind-the-scenes reflection on my year to provide context to the images.

As a photographer and artist, there is much more than just camera gear & skill that goes into the creation of exciting photographs. We bring our heart and soul into what we do to not only give the viewer a look into what we saw but also what we felt and wanted to express.

But you might not be aware that everything that is happening to us outside of work can and does impact what we see and feel when we are out there photographing, and all of that ultimately determines the quality of those photos, for good and for bad.

2023 was quite the year for me personally and professionally with some real exciting highs professionally and some huge unexpected lows personally that challenged me in ways I never thought possible at this stage in my life.

Throughout it all I still took photos, although to be honest even that was difficult at times as I soon discovered I needed to rediscover an inner passion for myself first and foremost before a passion could be brought back into my photography.

I needed to relearn how I see the world, but first I needed to relearn how I saw myself.

The deepest lows came in the spring following the unexpected end of an 8.5yr relationship that at the time I thought would last forever. Rather than have that ruin me, I made a deliberate move to instead learn more about myself and seek support and guidance from those who could help me.

I instantly saw the benefits of working on self improvement both mentally and physically, and I've been running eagerly down that path ever since. Literally too, as I got back into running - this time seriously - and have made some incredible friends along the way that I am grateful for.

I now find myself in the best shape of my life, with even more room for improvement!

In 2024 in fact I'll be competing in not only my first ever half-marathon but I’ll be doing two of them - on back-to-back weekends!!

Professionally 2023 was a great year!

More and more of my photo workshops are selling out, and so many of my clients have become repeat attendees which I am so grateful for.

2023 also saw my first two International workshops, and I'm expanding that number to at least 5 for 2024!

I’ve also started partnering with some other amazing photographers such as Jason Odell, Isabella Tabacchi, Jim Nix, Thomas Vikre, and of course my good friend and business partner who literally opened up the entire world to me, Kah-Wai Lin.

One of the biggest professional highlights of the year for me was spending 5 days in Idaho while being filmed for a short documentary about me on behalf of PetaPixel and OM SYSTEM.

It was such an honor to be chosen for that project, and Michael Bonocore from PetaPixel and the team from Silverline Films were all so amazing to work with.

Conclusion

I'll be honest, the self improvement path I'm on has been painful at times both mentally and physically, but the more I work on both the stronger I appear to get.

During my deepest lows throughout the summer, it was difficult to photograph and sometimes just so hard see and be in the moment. There was so much on my mind, so many things changing and seeming so unstable. All of this effected my creativity in a negative way.

Come fall and especially into winter things started changing for me. Time was slowing down, life was becoming a little more clear, I began to rekindle that passion for creating photos, I started seeing & feeling again, and I think it’s shown in my latest photos.