Hello there! Today, August 19, 2023, happens to be World Photography Day.

According to this article by Digital Camera World, August 19 was chosen in honor of the creation of the Daguerreotype, the first publicly accessible photo-capturing process, by Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre in France. Daguerre sold the technique to the French Academy of Sciences, which made the process known to the world on August 19, 1839.

Reading about the origins of photography is so fascinating! It helps me not take for granted how easily we can take photos in the modern era compared to the harder processes used almost 200 years ago.

I’m grateful for my Samsung S23 and how easy it makes capturing images. It’s jarring and humbling to learn about the earlier forms of cameras, with all of their limitations.

What Photography Means to Me

A couple of years ago, I wrote about how photography has helped me combat my depression. And it still does!

An ongoing lesson for me has been to avoid taking photography so seriously that I lose sight of why it makes me happy. My dream goal is to be a successful nature photographer, with my photos becoming my main source of income. But I can’t let myself be nervously taking random shots, hoping that one of them will suddenly land me thousands of dollars.

That would be incredibly convenient but also highly unrealistic!

My healthier mindset these days is, if it inspires me, slow down and take the shot. So long as I’m not disrupting anything, of course!

Here are some of my favorite photography subjects from 2023 (so far).

Insects on Flowers

I’ve loved taking these close-up shots, but frankly, it’s a blessing that these bees haven’t tried to sting me. I wanted to avoid having to use my phone’s zoom camera, so I got super close for these images.

They came out great! And somehow, the bees and butterflies continue to tolerate me and my photography shenanigans.

Bees Enjoying Pink Milkweed Wildflowers
Bees Enjoying Coneflowers
Male Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly
Male Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly on Cutleaf Teasel Wildflower

I love this shot I got of a male Eastern Tiger Swallowtail lit up with sunlight. Such a pretty sight!

Duke, the Duke of my Heart

Our family’s golden retriever, Duke, is such a good-natured, cheerful photography model. I’ve taken so many photos of him at this point that I have reason to believe that Duke’s willfully posing for them now.

Duke Asleep by Couch
Classic Duke Grin
Duke Looking Out of Bright Back Door
Duke Smiling Next to Japanese Spirea Bush

Such a handsome golden boy. My depression doesn’t stand a chance when Duke comes smiling!

A Year of Birding

I love getting to take photos of the different types of songbirds in our neighborhood! The American Robins and the Red-winged Blackbirds have now recognized my face, for better or worse.

“Peekaboo” Male House Sparrow
Robin Walking on Sunny Grass
Male Red-winged Blackbird on Blossoming Tree
Robin Spreading Wings on Bare Tree

It’s hard choosing my favorite bird pictures. Especially when I’ve taken so many!

I’ll admit, the roughest part about using a smartphone as a camera is not being able to take the best bird photos that I possibly could. This S23’s zoom camera is pretty good, but it can only go so far before the image becomes quite clunky.

But regardless of those limitations, I’m grateful for the birds and the shots I’ve taken of them!

I’m also grateful for this one male Red-winged Blackbird whom I’ve affectionately named “Randall”. He took to posting himself on the wires outside our backyard to keenly observe me. I’m not sure if he was just keeping an eye on me or developed some sort of tsundere (“it’s not like I like you or anything”) avian crush on me.

Randall flying to a higher wire after seeing me come close
Randall perched on a nearby tree, both calling out and scolding me, as per usual
Randall calls out and quickly flies away

Oh Randall, you rascal!

Flowers

I got my S23 this past Spring, which helped me take some great flower photos! And even now, at the end of Summer, the coneflowers in our neighborhood are still blooming strong.

Italian Ice Rose in Mom’s Garden
Pink Peony in Mom’s Garden
Purple Coneflower with “Circle” of Opened Petals
Sunlit Purple Coneflower

Some of these flowers are so hardy that they lasted all the way into November last year. Especially the multicolored roses in Mom’s garden! I’m curious to see if they’ll have that same longevity this year.

Highbanks Metro Park

My favorite location for taking nature photos is Highbanks Metro Park, a beautiful forest park where I live. No matter the season, Highbanks always has natural wonder to offer to everybody who comes.

Sunlit Wooden Bridge Under Branches
Path Behind Wooden Rail
Jagged Tree Trunk “Throne”
Sunlit Forest Footpath and Wooden Bench

I love Highbanks. And I can’t wait to go back this Fall to see all of the color changes!

The More, the Merrier

May we all continue to pursue our photo passions. Happy World Photography Day, all!

A shy but friendly fawn, looking at me during a lucky encounter

Featured Image and all other images in this post by Connor Brennan

Hello, and thank you for reading this blog post! If you’d like to see more of my photography, please feel free to check out my portfolio on SmugMug.