Reflections on 2022

My golden doodle contributed to the inspiration of this post with her reflection in my entryway, which was taken with my new RF 50mm 1.2 lens. You may wonder why someone focused on wildlife photography needs a 50mm lens.  Well, I’ve read that it makes a good portrait lens, more on that later.

2022 ended up being a great year from a personal, professional and photography perspective. 

On of the highlights from this year included taking the dive into mirrorless photography in March with getting a Canon R3.  I’m loving the features in mirrorless cameras and haven’t touched my 1DX III since picking up my R3. I’m really glad that I didn’t wait for the R1 to come out.

Took a couple of amazing trips to Yellowstone in January and Alaska in June.  This was my 4^th trip to Yellowstone in winter and it likely won’t be my last as it’s such an amazing place.  Got my dream shot on this trip of a black wolf staring at me with his yellow eyes.

Made my second trip to Alaska for coastal brown bear photography, which is my latest obsession.  The bears were amazing, although we didn’t see the cubs like last year.  However, made up for that with my first attempts at taking video with my new camera.  Got some amazing slow-motion video of bears opening clams with their claws.  Video adds another dimension to the storytelling of my wildlife photography, and it has been very exciting to add it to my portfolio.

After returning from Alaska in June, spent some quality time taking photos and videos at Bolivar Flats, on the Texas gulf coast.  Quickly found that it was a little more challenging to take video of fast-moving birds than the slower moving bears.  However, I’m very pleased with the results.  Have been collecting some of my favorite bird videos to enter into the 2023 Audubon photo contest, so be on the lookout for them.

In total, made 50 trips to local areas around Houston for wildlife photography. Can’t wait to see what photo ops 2023 will bring.

The major highlight for 2022, and the reason to get a 50mm lens, is that my daughter is pregnant!!  We are thrilled for Heather and Jack with their baby due in May.  Next year will involve lots of baby photo shoots with some outfits already being purchased for Christmas gifts this year.

Happy New Year everyone!! 2023 is going to be amazing! Hopefully will have time for some wildlife photography. Already have two major trips planned with hopefully a third one as well. More on those later.