2023 in review

As another year draws to a close, it’s time for an annual tradition: a review of my work from the past 12 months.

Observing the December solstice

Today is the December solstice and how you view it is a matter of perspective.

Swimming with green sea turtles

I really needed just one picture of a green sea turtle for an upcoming project, but pictures are often better when I get the chance to know my subject on a deeper level. And I’m very thankful for the hours I got to spend with the turtles off Rarotonga in the Cook Islands.

An annular solar eclipse

October is a month for all things spooky, so in some ways it’s only fitting that earlier this month I got to witness an annular solar eclipse, a celestial event that for a fair amount of it the sun resembles a sickle.

Playing favorites

We all have favorite things. A favorite color. Perhaps a favorite flower. Or maybe a favorite bird.

The flip side of that is that we also have things we hate. Or at least strongly dislike. One of the things I have been working through is whether the things that have made it on my dislike list really deserve to be there.

An hour with a fogbow

This is a fogbow, informally known as a white rainbow. I got to spend about an hour working with it last week, which was phenomenal. When I’ve worked with fogbows before, I’ve had to work much faster.

The evolution of Ruby Portal

When I’m working in the field, even when I have a very good idea of how exactly I want my picture to turn out, I may go through a dozen or so takes to ensure the image I captured expresses exactly what I’m after. If I’ve become captivated by something unexpected, I may go through a hundred or more.

The image that I’m calling Ruby Portal, shown above, was the product of the latter approach. I was on the Pacific coast in the Olympic Wilderness of Washington state where wildfire haze was giving the setting sun a striking color. I wasn’t sure how everything would turn out.

For a while, it appeared the sun might quickly sink behind a layer of clouds, so as I took each photo, I thought there was a chance it might be my last of the day. The final image is the product of about an hour of exploration and revision. I thought it might be of interest to share that process with you.