I have so many photographic successes to be grateful for this year! I’ve made some sales on my Etsy store, I had multiple photos recognized in various competitions, and I made a fun “nature notebook” out of my favorite pictures!

Sam the Song Sparrow

It would be incredibly uncouth of me not to open this blog post with a section dedicated to my favorite avian friend.

Throughout 2024, I bonded with a song sparrow whom I affectionately named “Sam” in honor of Samwise Gamgee from The Lord of the Rings. Like Samwise, Sam the Song Sparrow is unusually steadfast, loyal, and caring.

For better or worse, all of the neighborhood birds know me well after constantly seeing me walk around with either my smartphone or Canon DSLR camera. I’ve attempted to (respectfully) get close to many of them, seeking their friendship and familiarity. Out of all the birdies, Sam reciprocated that affection the most.

Sam perched on one of his favorite spots outside our backyard

Sam knows that he’s my favorite photo subject in the neighborhood. I’ve lost count of the times he’s posed for me when he sees me walking with my camera. He’ll frequently perch on a nearby phone wire or twig and sing in my presence.

I have reason to believe that Sam relaxing around me led to other birds doing the same. This includes the numerous house sparrows constantly chatting in the bushes lining the sidewalk. In fact, the house sparrows have been openly jealous of the attention I give Sam!

Sam’s persistent patience has helped me improve my photography skills throughout 2024. Thank you, Sam!

Sam “saying hello”

Top 10 Best Photos

Boy, this was difficult to compile! I’ve taken so many photos throughout 2024. Here are the 10 pictures I consider my best ones from this year!

A picture of a song sparrow named Sam enjoying a quiet evening perched on a sunlit, leafy twig.
Sam the Song Sparrow, Evening Portrait
A picture of a male American goldfinch boldly posing on a thistle flower.
Boldly Posing Male American Goldfinch
A picture of a male red-winged blackbird looking calmly at the camera.
Unusually Calm Male Red-Winged Blackbird
A picture of a male Eastern bluebird calmly posing on a thorny twig.
Calm Male Bluebird Posing for the Camera
A picture of a sunlit autumn tree "corridor" at Highbanks Metro Park.
Autumn Tree “Corridor” at Highbanks Metro Park
A picture of a sunlit, uncurling Queen Anne's Lace flower.
Radiant Queen Anne’s Lace Flower
A portrait shot of a young Cooper's hawk perched on a sunlit branch.
“Teenage” Cooper’s Hawk Portrait
A picture of a cute young male Eastern bluebird looking at the camera.
Endearing Male Bluebird
A picture of a sunlit cluster of spring beauty wildflowers.
Sunlit Spring Beauty Wildflowers
A picture of a radiant song sparrow named Sam basking in sunlight while perched on a twig.
Sam the Song Sparrow, Sunlit Portrait

Adventures in Highbanks

I visited Highbanks Metro Park, my favorite park where I live, multiple times in 2024! Highbanks is most beautiful in autumn. I loved watching the forest gradually transform into a vivid array of fall colors!

Here are some of my favorite shots from my various trips to Highbanks in 2024:

Female Cardinal on Branch
Female Cardinal Looking Sternly at Me

This female cardinal from my first trip in April was oddly approachable. When she saw me starting my walk, she perched on this tree next to the Nature Center (the main entrance to the park). She looked graceful but stern, especially in this 2nd shot!

Calm chipmunk

This oddly bold chipmunk decided to pose for me while crawling out of the boardwalk near the Nature Center. She seemed to trust me on sight, even when I had to get close with my camera for the best picture possible.

Sunlit patches of clover flowers

My coworkers and I visited Highbanks in June. We had access to one of the reservable shelters and explored the area. Toward the end of our time there, I saw some beautiful patches of wild clover flowers basking in the sunlight.

Autumn tree “corridor”

Out of all the autumn pictures I took at Highbanks, this one is my absolute favorite! This tree “corridor” is next to the Nature Center and becomes radiant when fall returns to the forest. When I took this picture, I felt like I was walking through an enchanted woodland!

Upside-down rippling autumn river reflection

Something I experimented with this year is flipping photos upside-down to see how that changes the image’s realism. I took this picture by the river winding through the park. Oddly, only the trees’ reflections were rippling on the surface, leaving the sky and stones smooth.

Competition Accomplishments

While having your work be acknowledged in a photography competition doesn’t guarantee anything, it’s still immensely validating! I’m grateful that nine pictures were recognized in competitions this year.

Hazy Half Moon
Calm Male Bluebird Posing for the Camera
Sunlit Spring Beauty Flowers
“Teenage” Cooper’s Hawk Portrait
Radiant Queen Anne’s Lace Flower
Autumn Tree “Corridor” at Highbanks Metro Park
A picture of a song sparrow named Sam enjoying a quiet evening perched on a sunlit, leafy twig.
Sam the Song Sparrow, Evening Portrait
Smiling Male House Finch
Sam the Song Sparrow, Sunlit Portrait

Thanks to these competition successes, Sam became more world-famous! One of his recognized photos was promoted by Shoot the Frame on their social media accounts. Well done, Sam!

It feels so good to have professionals review and approve your work. As somebody who still considers himself a novice photographer, getting feedback like this means a lot.

Etsy Successes

I uploaded several different digital photo listings to my Etsy store throughout 2024. I’m grateful to share that, at the time of this writing, I made 11 sales this year!

Three of my listings sold twice (to different buyers), which was a very happy surprise!

Here are the photos that people purchased as digital downloads in 2024 (with how many times they sold):

2
2
2
1
1
1
1
1

I think Etsy did something to promote some of my images! Somebody was guided to my clover flower listing through Etsy marketing, possibly through Pinterest. Fascinating!

If you’d like to check out my Etsy store, feel free to click the link below:

https://cmbdigitalphotos.etsy.com

I’m so close to having 100 photo listings available on my Etsy shop. I’m so excited!

Photo Book Fun

I used several (just over 150!) of my photos to create this fun “Nature Notebook”. It’s been a great way of showing my family what I’ve been up to this year! It’s also been an excellent tool for cherishing my shots while considering how to take even better ones.

Blurb (the company I used to create the notebook) sets the prices of all items made through their software. My notebook is priced at $42.11 before shipping and tax. While it is over 150 pages with photos on every other page, I 100% understand that the price (which, unfortunately, I can’t reduce) might be a turnoff.

If you’re interested in buying yourself a copy, feel free to click on this link:

https://www.blurb.com/b/12218042-nature-notebook

2025 Hopes

2024 was a year of continual growth and discovery as I continually tinkered with my Canon Rebel T3i. I learned a lot about how shutter speed, aperture, and ISO affect shots. I look forward to applying that knowledge to all the photos I’ll take from here on out!

If I could name one thing as my biggest hope for 2025, it would be to let myself continue to adapt to new photographic opportunities. I love that I dabbled in portrait photography this year, but I regret not being previously flexible with my camera settings, especially ISO.

Now that I understand that a higher ISO is a photographer’s friend, not a hindrance, I want to encourage myself to use whatever level I need for the best picture. I despise preventable photo noise, but that’s what Lightroom’s denoise tool is for!

Social Media Links

Thank you for reading this photography post! If you’d like to see more of my work, feel free to visit me at any of the sites below:

Instagram: cbrennan_photography

SmugMug Photography Portfolio: Connor Brennan

(Finalist) Sam the Song Sparrow, Evening Portrait

For some reason, the embed tool will only let me display individual photos instead of galleries or my whole site. Alas! But at least I can share this glorious (and thanks to Shoot the Frame, famous!) picture of Sam the Song Sparrow.