2023 was a wonderful year for me, and I have many things to be grateful for! This year was full of magical photography moments and achievements. It was all, indeed, picture-perfect!
Sweet Memories
At the start of this year, I had the privilege of co-authoring the book The Faith of Fire, a collaborative project started on Next Chapters. Our book was the first crowdsourced project to be published on the site!
The Faith of Fire is a religious drama involving questions about faith and multiple characters struggling with their traumas. I’m forever grateful that I could contribute chapters to this book. It feels so odd but cool to say that as of 2023, I’m a published co-author!
Visiting the Bestie in Chicago
I got to visit my best friend Bre in Chicago for a weekend visit in April! We saw many places together, including the Garfield Park Conservatory!
Bre and I loved watching the koi fish swimming and flipping across the water. They allowed us to experiment with our phones’ slow-motion video tricks!
Returning to Kent
On a Saturday in June, I briefly visited Kent thanks to my little brother having a football day camp there! I spent the afternoon with my Kent UMC choir grandparents, Roger and Donna, walking around the beautiful park in downtown Kent and catching up.
This grey catbird hopped down to watch us walk away when we left. Usually, they hide away in the foliage, so this was a wonderfully lucky moment!
We also drove around Kent State’s campus, looking at all the new buildings being created. It was so surreal seeing how much had changed since I graduated in 2017.
I hope to have another chance soon to return to Kent and see my choir family again!
Wise Counsel
2023 was the year I first started therapy with my fantastic counselor, Elyse! She’s helped me work through many things that had been weighing heavily on my mind and heart.
Prior to talking with her, I had trouble letting go of past work trauma and certain interpersonal issues. Elyse has given me amazing direction on all of these, and so many weights have been removed from my shoulders thanks to her.
This is one of her most profoundly powerful quotes:
“Boundaries are acts of love.”
Elyse
To explain the above quote, Elyse pointed out to me that if we set boundaries with another person, we do so because we still want a relationship with them, but with respect as a guarantee. If the other person has no intention of giving us the respect we deserve, we have every right to let them go without feeling a false sense of guilt.
Elyse also helped me seek an adult autism diagnosis. She and I researched a place in my city and confirmed that it was a good, reputtable place to go for getting a possible diagnosis. Thank you, Elyse, for helping me achieve this personal resolution!
Adult Autism Diagnosis
One of the biggest personal developments I had in 2023 was receiving an adult autism diagnosis. After finally acting on my hunches and finding a great, in-network place that does adult testing, I was officially diagnosed with a “mild” case of ASD-1, with “low external support needs.”
I’m so relieved to have this diagnosis because it’s helped me understand myself in a much clearer light than before. I’ve learned about “masking,” a subconscious (or possibly fully conscious) choice we autistic folk make to align ourselves with neurotypical environments.
Did you know that playing with one’s hair is a masked, “acceptable” form of stimming (behaviors we use to regulate stress, especially when overstimulated)? The more you know!
According to Reddit discussions, putting things in parentheses all the time is also an autistic thing (boy, that explains a lot)!
It also explains where my love of animals comes from. Having hyper-empathy for both wild and domestic animals is a lesser-known symptom of autism.
First Ever Self-Published Book
It took a painfully long week (plus another day or so of touching up after going over my proof copy), but I managed to self-publish my first book!
Favorite Shots…
By Connor Brennan
A downside of using Blurb for this project is that my updated, published version has a limited amount of allotted days before theite autodeletes it. For some reason, if I don’t spend another 100+ dollars on this new copy, it’ll disappear within a couple of weeks (though I can always re-upload the file if interested).
While that’s incredibly irritating, I’m grateful for the editing and formatting experience this gave me! And it’s still really cool that I made this happen.
A Year of Photography
2023 has been a huge year of photography successes for me.
I thank the American robins in our neighborhood for helping me get where I am now. They made many adorable appearances in February when the trees in our area had a ton of delicious red berries to offer. They generously tolerated me getting close to them for pictures with my previous smartphone, my Motorola moto g stylus, which unfortunately lacked zoom capabilities.
Bonding with the Robins
This robin, in particular, was extremely patient with me. Even after the other robins understandably flew away when I approached, he remained on this tree, letting me get some great shots.
Of course, the robins have warned me when I’ve gotten too close, which I appreciate. Oddly enough, at least one moment in 2023, they verbally reprimanded me when it looked like I was too close to another group of birds, the red-winged blackbirds in our neighborhood. I was most likely near the red-wings’ nest, and a robin flew to the nearby tree to scold me.
Sometimes, it felt like the robins “babysat” me during my many birding adventures. I remember one sunny evening when a robin more or less joined me in the backyard to enjoy the view. He was chill as he scooted across the grass, looking for food.
There’s a good chance that they told the other birds about me, hopefully vouching for me as somebody who is merely curious and not a threat. Most of the neighborhood songbirds now know who I am, for better or worse.
Experimenting with the S23
Around the start of April, I splurged and upgraded my phone to a Samsung S23 (the base version, not the Ultra one). It was a bit costly, but it’s been worth it!
The S23 has a superb camera system, featuring a regular, zoom, and ultra-wide camera (the one used for panoramic shots). Recently, Samsung updated the software to make the camera app easier to use than before!
What I love the most about my phone is its Pro Mode. In Pro Mode, I can use my S23 like a DSLR (digital single-lens reflex) camera. I get to play around with multiple lighting settings, letting me create fun shots like this one.
Highbanks in Springtime
I visited Highbanks Metro Park, my favorite public park in Columbus, on May 6. It was a beautiful spring afternoon! Many of the footpaths winding through the forest had streaks of sunlight running across them, creating serene scenes that were great for nature photography.
One of my favorite shots from this trip was this odd trunk throne found near the start of the Overlook trail. I’m unsure who shaped this, nature or somebody from the park, but it was cool to look at! It makes you wonder, who exactly would claim this as their throne?
Hilton Head Island ’23
Our family returned to Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, for another wonderful summer family vacation.
Oh, Randall
I’ve had many heartwarming, funny, unique bird interactions this year. But the bizarre “bond” I had with Randall, a male red-winged blackbird who was oddly obsessed with keeping an eye on me, takes the cake.
I gave this fellow his name in passing; somehow, the name made perfect sense. Oh, Randall.
Randall was determined to perch himself on the wires outside our backyard to observe me when I left for my daily walks. He frequently scolded me with the red-wings’ “check-check!” sound, something I was bound to hear when I got close to him for some pictures and footage. I’m way too easily amused by the antics of the neighborhood songbirds, and Randall was quite scornfully entertaining.
If you’d like to read it, I did a blog post celebrating the bond Randall and I shared. His scolding me almost every day of July shouldn’t be so heartwarming to me, but here we are!
Conversations with the Grey Catbirds
Another fun and funky bird bond I had was with the grey catbirds, delightfully coy mimickers. At first, it started with me copying their famous “meow” call, but I stopped doing that after it looked like I was confusing them. To identify myself to them, I started making a unique “two-note” call in the back of my throat.
Oh, boy. The catbirds quickly realized what I was doing, and soon afterward, we started carrying on hilarious “conversations” that acted much like a game of “Marco Polo.”
To be frank, the other birds weren’t amused by our antics. In fact, we annoyed a male cardinal once to the point that he let out an irritated *SQUAWK!* and zoomed across the trees. As one can imagine, the catbird and I took that as a sign to cease communications for the night.
Fun with Black and White Photography
Thanks to my phone’s spot metering setting, I took some great high-contrast shots this year, which I promptly edited into black-and-white versions! I’m especially fond of these two shots:
On top of these fun shots, one of my favorite black-and-white shots this year was this motion blur one:
Fall ’23
I took many fall shots, bound and determined to not let my favorite season go to waste. One of my favorites is this one from a trip to Highbanks with a former teacher and classmate in late September.
Highbanks in October
I’m thankful I could visit Highbanks twice in October, at the beginning and end of the month. It was amazing, getting to see how the forest park transformed in a matter of weeks!
I don’t think this was the same spot for each panorama, but it certainly was beautiful!
Here are some other highlights from these two trips:
10/6/23
10/22/23
Highbanks in November
I returned to Highbanks in November to see the last traces of autumn. This time, I took the trail to the Olentangy River, and it didn’t disappoint!
11/16/23
A Wish from 2022
I recently skimmed through my 2022 end-of-year blog post and came across this quote from it:
“My hope for 2023 (and onward) is that I get the chance to take even more fun, lucky shots of the natural wonders I’ll encounter every day. I want to make sure that I give myself the chance to take no moment for granted, no matter how small it might seem at first glance.”
End of 2022 Reflections (Personal)
Without a doubt, I held true to this wish of mine.
It’s hard to think of a particular photography wish for 2024. If anything, I wish that I’d continue to let myself not feel guilty about prioritizing certain photography things above others.
That is to say, no more wasting time stressing out about getting my photos accepted for stock licensing. Both literally and figuratively, I’ve been pining after pennies in a bid for my photos to be validated.
They’ve been validated in far more profound ways this year, especially in photography competitions.
Photography Competition Successes
I took several leaps of faith at the end of 2023 and submitted some of my favorite shots to various photography competitions. I’m grateful to share that the following photos were either finalists/honorable mentions or were part of the accepted collection!
It’s super gratifying that these photos, all of which were taken on a smartphone, were given a special kind of validation! Grateful that these pics of mine made it this far.
2023 Favorite Things
I’ve taken so many photos in 2023 (well over 10,000 if I include the outtakes) that picking favorites is quite difficult. However, I can certainly pick out my #1 and other beloved ones!
Favorite Photo from 2023:
This was taken during my 10/22 visit to Highbanks! The weather was perfect, and this downward-sloping trunk helped me aim my camera at the creek. This shot looks almost holographic, thanks to the rippling water, the funky layers between the tree reflections, and patches showing the stones underneath.
Favorite Photos from 2023:
Wildlife:
Nature:
Favorite Song of 2023:
My favorite song this year is definitely “Everywhere” by Fleetwood Mac. It’s so soothing, and I love putting it on repeat!
2023 was an incredible year, and I look forward to what 2024 has to offer!
All Photos (besides the Blurb icon) by Connor Brennan
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Quis ut Deus? 