Winter 2023
Well, winter is pretty much over for the season, and suffice it to say that for me, it wasn’t that great of a year photographically. Given the incredible year I had last year, I supposed I was due for a dud year. Although it wasn’t all bad, the lack of strong winter scenery and the lack of motivation to get out gave me some opportunities to prepare for upcoming art fairs. Since last year was a bit of a dud year for me in that arena, here’s hoping to having a great year in 2023.
To start the year, although it isn’t official yet, I imagine you’ll find me again at the Art in the Garden event in Allegan. I’ve been there the past few years, so I’d be surprised if I’m not invited back this year. On top of that, I’ve received confirmation that I’ll be selling at the Tulip Time market in May, and in Saugatuck in September. I’m on a waitlist for South Haven in July (fingers crossed), and very likely to be at Holland Art in the Park in August again. I try to keep full details of all the events you’ll find me at on my events page, so be sure to check that out from time to time to see where to find me.
With that update taken care of, here are the photography highlights of this past winter!
Some Time in the Studio
With a slow start to winter and gaps of less than desirable landscapes throughout the season, I found myself playing around with macro photography in my home studio from time to time. Some of my subjects included flowers, rocks from my collection, and a little critter captured in my basement one day.
A Day with the Birds
As winter continued to not be so exciting, I needed a day out of the studio for some photography. Without the snow to work with, I took a trip out to the beach to seek out birds in the water to satisfy my photographic cravings. That day did not disappoint.
Finally, a Chance at Winter
Later on, as we were approaching February, I made plans for some lighthouse photography since there still wasn’t much snow. I always have it in the back of my mind to work on my Michigan mosaic project, so if the winter wasn’t there to put into the project, I could at least check off a few of the lighthouses on my to do list. I made the plans to go to the lighthouses in Pentwater and Muskegon, not knowing that before that planned day trip arrived that we would finally get some descent winter weather. This added more of the Michigan elements to my photos and these lighthouses were a perfect entry into the mosaic.
Not long after that day though, the snow started to melt again. So I made sure to try to get some more winter photos in before it was completely gone. Not the prettiest scenes I’ll admit, but I had to get out there regardless.
Gazing into the Night Sky
As the snow left us once again, I found myself in a photographic rut again. Fortunately, on the night where the Starlink satellite was visible in the night sky, we had a cloudless night. This offered me a chance at some unique shots for my portfolio, and I took some time to make a star trail photo as well.
Starlink Rising
One Last Blast of Winter
For my photography efforts, I took advantage of one more good snowfall for my winter portfolio. I returned to one of my favorite trails to get some landscapes.
Then, we had the big ice storm at the end of February. I didn’t spend too much time photographing the aftermath in my yard, as all around me the world started to melt and rain on me in the form of ice chucks and biting cold rain, both from the melting trees and the skies as the weather kicked up again. I may be a glutton for punishment sometimes to get the shot, but that was hard to keep up for long.
We could have more chances for snow yet this year. We had one great overnight snowfall this week that left us with gorgeous scenery, but I was at work and it all melted and fell off the trees before I could get a chance to photograph them. Who knows, I could get another shot at some good winter scenes, but I’m not holding my breath for this year. Maybe I’ll get a good start again next December.
Bible Verse Images for the Season
