I shoot lots of both! It’s a fitting way to end this special edition of #YearInReview, giving you a glimpse of my world for the past two years.

December 9, 2022 – The older I get the more I prefer the dead and dying flowers. That’s not at all a morbid thought. Truly, it’s not. I love so much the shapes they take as the petals dry: twisted, crinkled, yet graceful. Their colors reach a peak of intensity. Their age spots dignify them. May I age so beautifully, eloquently.

December 26, 2023 – Goal achieved: An American Kestrel (Falco sparvarius) successfully photographed! There’s a place I visit regularly on a road entering Tensas River NWR where I occasionally see a kestrel, but I have never succeeded in photographing it well. This delightful bird perched on top of a small pine at Pelican Cove on Dauphin Island, just off the coast of Alabama. Our eyes met. Thank you, thank you. You are so beautiful.

Happy New Year, everyone!