Favorite Images of 2023

At the start of a new year, I always like to look back through my images from the past year and identify my favorite photographs.  I wasn’t able to get out nearly as much in 2023 as I normally would have liked, but I was still able to create some nice images.  Here are five of my favorite photographs made in 2023.

Winters in Arkansas are always. . .unpredictable.  Will we get any snow this year?  When will we get it?  Where will it be?  How much of it will we get?  All questions with usually no answers until the winter weather actually arrives.  Well, 2023 had barely started before Winter arrived bringing with it the usual sleet and freezing rain that coated everything in a layer of ice creating a winter wonderland.

After creating the previous image, I was able to get out and do photography only very, very sporadically for many months.  On those rare occasions when I was able to get out, my mind wasn’t really on photography.  Then, one late September evening as I was sitting on my front porch enjoying the pre-autumnal weather, I noticed an elephant ear plant at the edge of the porch swaying gently in the light evening breeze.  What really caught my eye were the patterns created by the veins in the leaf.  A couple of days later as the leaf was backlit by the setting sun, I grabbed my camera and created this abstract closeup image of the Elephant Ear leaf.

Autumn finally arrived and was probably one of the best Autumns we’ve had in Arkansas in a long time.  The color was everywhere and seemed to last for weeks rather than the typical couple of days.  In mid-October, I made an early morning trip to the Tyler Bend area of the Buffalo National River to see what I might find, and I discovered this old twisty tree against a background of colorful Autumn leaves.

A few weeks later, my wife, dog, and I spent a few days at Crowley’s Ridge State Park in Northeast Arkansas.  We had never been there before, so I had no idea what to expect.  Taking an evening walk our first night there, I came upon this charming Autumn scene.  I didn’t have my gear with me, so we walked quickly back to our cabin so I could grab my equipment.  By this point, it was getting dark, and the light was fading rapidly.  Returning to the location, I was able to frame this composition. This is probably my favorite image of 2023.

Thinking Autumn was coming to an end, I made a quick trip one evening to Dagmar Wildlife Management Area.  As I had expected, most of the leaves had dropped from their branches, and there was little color to be found.  As I made my way slowly down the road that winds through the area, I saw some leaves being backlit by the sun and quickly pulled over to investigate.  That particular subject didn’t pan out as I had hoped it would but, as I was about to leave, I happened to notice all the leaves that were lying on the ground.  After about five minutes of searching for a composition, I found this small scene and was struck by the contrast between three brighter leaves lying atop the darker leaves below as well as the monochromatic brown tones.

So, there you have it – my favorite photographs for 2023.  I hope you enjoyed them.  I can’t wait to see what I come up with during 2024.