Photo Retrospective i

Aside from sometimes enjoying the Eve, mostly in the distant past, I have never much been fussed by New Years. And I have never bothered to do either New Years retrospectives or resolutions. This year, however, I have decided to choose a few photos from each month to do a kind of retrospective. This won't be a deep, nostalgic dive but just quick hits about why I am choosing each photo. It's not about the excellence of the photos, for with one or two possible exceptions, they are not that. However, as I looked back, I have found that there are some that I would like to say something about.

I must confess that there will be six posts, each covering two months. However, there are only a handful of photos in each post, and my commentaries will be brief. I know . . . promises, promises.

January

I was standing by the river with the water rushing past a clump of ice that was affixed to a branch. I like the general composition  plus the sense of motion. While it would have been great to have the branch and ice in sharper focus, they were been jostled about by the fast-flowing river. It is not my usual type of photo, but I am glad that I saw the possibility here.

I helped Sue in her project of taking a photo in each season, but something about this winter photo appeals to be more that the those of the other seasons. She looks like a snow queen amidst the soft winter ambience. We have some good photo-memories together.

I got a photo of Jonathan in a good hockey moment as he stood poised by the goalie while the puck bulged the twine at the back of the net. He didn’t score this goal, but he was an important part of the play, and he did the right thing by going to the net. This may have been the last hockey photo that I will ever take of him as he has retired from the sport. I'm glad that it's of a special moment.

I like the next understated winter scene from our nearby park. For me, the subdued colour and tone suit winter, and I rather like the row of trees that are well-distanced from each other, each having its own space.

February

I remember taking this photo. We had been shooting at the other end of the park on a bitterly cold evening, but decided to drive over and check out this spot before heading home. There may be a lesson here about sticking with it and giving it one more try. It's probably good advice for both photography and life. Also, you have to be adaptable; whereas I had been setting up tripod photos carefully, I handheld this one as I quickly exited the car and just as quickly hopped back in. For one thing, it was cold, and for another, we were losing the light quickly.

This next photo also has to do with sticking with it, but in a different way. We had stopped at the dam in Appleton during the previous winter, but my normal lens hadn't captured the scene as well as I would have liked. But one frosty February day, I had the idea to return with my telephoto lens and to photograph the remains of the building from various focal lengths. I decided that I like this view best. I am very happy with the angle of the fallen tree in front of the wall. Aside from the texture of the wall, the photo has pristine, white snow and also ice and water. I am also taken with the blue winter tones.

That's is for the first two months of 2023. I hope you will be to tolerate five more posts of this type.