Happy New Year everyone!  Is the New Year a big deal for you or not so much?  For me, it’s never been that big of a deal.  I’ve not been a believer in affirmations or new year goals…I always figured that if I wanted to change something about myself, I should do that any time and not be constrained or forced by a calendar.  And, since there is pressure to make new year goals, oftentimes, we aren’t fully committed to them, instead feeling like we “should” set some, which ultimately means that we won’t follow through with them.

I will say though that the ringing in of the new year is a great time to pause and reflect on the year past and get some ideas about what course corrections you’d like to make in the coming year.  Most of us have busy, hectic lives and don’t take the time to slow down and pause to reflect on what we’ve done and where we’re going.  The downtime between Christmas and New Year is a wonderful time to do that.  For me, it’s a time where I look back on my photographic year and relive some memories, evaluate my work, and use that evaluation to reinforce some course corrections I may want to make in the coming year.

Reviewing your catalog of images from the year can be a wonderful activity to do during this downtime.  Relive some of the adventures you’ve taken, some of the neat places you’ve seen, or just marvel in the wonder of nature.  In 2023, I had an amazing year, starting off in Iceland, then Oregon, Washington, Arizona, California, Wyoming.  Winter, Spring, Fall and Winter again.  As I looked back, I saw everything from grand landscapes to intimate nature to macro photos.  The diversity of landscape I photographed and the diversity of wildlife, was simply one of my best years.  The only thing missing was the grizzly bears in Katmai N.P.  As I reviewed my images, I was transported back to each trip, feeling the sun, wind, snow, or rain, the tiredness of long hours in the field, the joy of helping others “see” the landscape with new eyes, and just the wonder of being on location in each of these amazing locations.  It’s like I was almost there again, getting added “value” for my trip by being able to relive it once again.  As my good friend Jack Graham says, these days it’s more about the experience than the photograph and I can tell you, there is a lot of truth to that.  But I digress.

During this new year pause, as I look back at my body of work over the past year, one of the things I do is study both the technical and creative aspects of my photographs, trying to answer one critical question for me…did I progress as an artist, either technically or creatively?  I sure hope I see progress each and every year, as that is what drives my continual learning desires.  What is progress as an artist?  Well, that is 100% self defined. What I use as my own measuring yardstick won’t work for you and I am also hard pressed to articulate what my self-criteria are.  It’s more of a feeling than anything, based around some core beliefs I have for myself…

  • Did I slow down even more this year and choose my comps more carefully?
  • How many “wasted” pics did I take?
  • Overall, how was my technical proficiency across all of my images?
  • How well and how often did I do at storytelling or creating compelling images?
  • Did my “voice” change at all over the year?

These are arbitrary measurements that apply to me and me alone, though some could be adapted for your use if you feel so inclined. For me, I would like to see progress in all of these areas compared to the prior year, which indicates that I am improving on some of the goals that I set out for myself.  The other part of this that I may, or may not, do, is to look at this year in comparison to the prior year and even years past.  I sure hope that I see progress in myself over the years, growth in technical and creative aspects that I value as an artist.

I used to publish a book every year with my favorite images in it, but for the last few years, I’ve been too busy and the cost of a single book printing has risen to where it’s a bit much for me to have it done to just sit on the bookshelf collecting dust.  So instead I have collected and published a gallery and video of my favorite images from the past year to celebrate the new year.  I’ve gotten away from saying these were my “best” images.  Again, best is a very arbitrary descriptor.  Instead, when I say “favorite”, it indicates that these are photos that I like.  I can like them for a variety of reasons, technical, creative or just the memories of when I captured them.  They might not be the epitome of technical or creative excellence, but that doesn’t matter, they are my favorites.  One note about “favorites” is that my opinion may change over time.  These selected images are my favorites at this time.  As you’ve probably noticed with your own images, you may like an image initially, but it doesn’t stand the test of time as a favorite, or, an image that you didn’t really like “grows” on you and over time becomes a lasting favorite.

 

So in this time approaching the new year, I encourage you to take a bit of time to reflect on your past year of 2023.  Relive some of the memories and experiences and wonders that. you witnessed.  And use that review as a way to look at your work and see if you have made any improvements, or if you are going in a direction creatively that moves you.  Self-reflection is the best tool for us as artists and the one tool, though sometimes tough to use, that will give us the biggest benefits and increases in our photographic journey. The New Year time is a great pause in life to slow down and reflect on what worked, what didn’t and what you’d like to do more of in the coming year.  For me, these aren’t goals per se, merely desires for the coming year.   Where do you want your photography to take you in the new year?  Have you given it any thought yet?  Where would you like to see yourself artistically in 365 days from now?  These are fun questions to ask yourself and you may be surprised by your answers.  I hope that in a years time, I can ask you the same questions and that you have been following your vision for the past year and know where you want to go in the new year.

Thank you for all of your support throughout this past year and I look forward to seeing you in the field or talking with you online very soon.

All my best.

John

The northern lights over a small creek in Iceland