Peter’s Favorite Photos from 2023

In 2023, we made eight long trips, including five different states, six national parks, and an epic month in Italy. We made over 40,000 images and kept 3,900. Here are my thirteen most memorable photos of the year.

We started the year off right with a few weeks in Hawaii. We just happen to be on the Big Island when the Kilauea crater started to erupt. It was very cold, very windy, and very crowded. To keep our luggage light, I did not bring my 400 mm lens, so had to settle for a 200 mm lens and a bit of a crop. 

For those of you who follow me, you know I love photographing the full moon rise and set. I try to do it every month, but sometimes weather or schedule can get in the way. I especially like winter moonsets here in Tucson as they are not too early, the angle of sunrise and moonset work well compositionally, and one morning a month, I can usually get a good moonset over the Tortolita Mountains from our front yard.

On our first trip to Lake Havasu, I enjoyed seeing all of the miniature lighthouses. After dinner one night, I somehow got a tired and cold Mary to go out again to try sunset. It was spectacular. This is a 1/3 size replica of the Point Gratiot Lighthouse in Dunkirk, NY.

On our second visit to Canyon de Chelly, we were able to spend about 30 minutes at the White House Ruin, which can only be seen on a Jeep Tour or Hiking Tour with a Navajo guide. There are several challenges here. I believe it is best to be here in the morning to get indirect light and no shadows. The ruin is also surrounded by a 6 foot high fence which is higher than my tripod. I finally perched my camera on a fence post and hoped it would be steady enough to make a longish exposure.

Half of my favorite photos this year come from our Italy trip: Venice, The Dolomites, Tuscany, Salerno, and Rome. This moon set was made on my birthday, September 1 at the Friedrich August Rifugio in the Dolomites. I was the only one up as it was early. It was also very very cold, and all I had to wear was warmish women’s wear as I did not pack the right clothes for the mountains. After a photo or two I tried to get back into the warm hut and found myself locked out. After 20 minutes the hotel staff started coming to work and they let me back in. I asked for a cup of coffee, but was told that I had to wait until they were open, another 30 minutes. The wait person must have taken pity on me as she watched me photograph the moon with not enough clothing on. She brought me a piping hot cup of coffee. It was my first birthday gift of the day.

While researching locations for Italy, I came across this composition many times and I knew I wanted to make my own photo. This is the Santa Maddalena Church in the Dolomites. It was about an hour from the hotel and I knew I only had one open day to get it. After the drive and an hour hike straight up a hill which was supposed to be a 15 minute hike on level ground, we made it to our desired location and view. I made photos in color and monochrome. I like the monochrome a lot more with the shadows and the mountains peeking out from the clouds.

I could have filled this entire post with photos from Venice. There are so many great locations and subjects. I chose this one as it is quintessential Venice: a bridge, water, a church, and a gondola. The church is San Giorgio Maggiore photographed from the Ponte della Paglia (bridge).

This is my favorite photograph from the Italy trip. I think of myself as a pretty good photographer in that I can capture what is in front of me accurately, and sometimes even with a bit of flair. However, I rarely make art. This photo is art to me and I am quite proud of it. One, I saw the composition. I made several images but this one was the best. Two, I got the exposure the way I wanted it with the reflection bright and crisp, the boat hooks bright, but not glary, and the second boat hooks in dark shadow. Was there some luck in this photo? Of course, most of the time, the best photos are “preparation meets opportunity.”

This is another one of those locations that I dreamed about and prepared for it AND I almost missed it. As you enter the Vatican, there is a bookstore and restrooms. Our guide had our group stop and use the restrooms before the tour inside began. I was one of the first ones out and he said off-handedly, “there’s a stairwell over there that some people like to take pictures of.” I was like, holy shit. I ran over and had the wrong lens on, but made three shots and then he yelled at me to rejoin the group. It would be impossible to get this photo without all the crowds a few minutes later.

We took a night photography tour of Rome that began at 7 PM and did not end until 1 AM. This was the last stop. It was around midnight and there was still a big crowd out. Our guide knew the best spot to make this photo, but there were about ten teenagers just hanging out there chit chatting. He asked them nicely to move and they did. Obviously, a long exposure as it was very dark, but the long exposure also ghosted most of the people and I was able to clean up the others in Photoshop without much work.

Did you see the total solar eclipse on October 14th? Mary took an art class in Santa Fe and Santa Fe was in the zone of totality. I got about 4 minutes of totality and made some photos with about 20 other people in downtown Santa Fe across from the Cathedral.

I have been to Taos at least four times while the Pueblo was closed. This time, the Pueblo was open and I made the three hour round trip from Santa Fe, mostly to photograph the church. It was hot and busy, so I needed to be patient to get this shot. I used my super-wide 10-24 mm and had the camera about an inch off the ground.

Finally, we went to Death Valley to see the historic flooding and the emergence of Manly Lake in Badwater Basin. Badwater Basin is 282 feet below sea level and is the lowest point in North America. It is an endorheic basin which is basically a giant drainage ditch that retains water and allows no outflow of water. This one is a salt basin where very little water seeps into the ground. For two days, it was too windy to capture reflections, but on our last night and last morning we had ideal conditions and the sky popped. What you don’t see is the mass of humanity around us doing horrible tourist behavior.

Next week, Mary’s favorite photos from 2023.

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