This article was inspired by Justin Espejo’s post on Threads.
I thought it would be nice to write a little about the year that has just ended. 2023 was a year I won’t ever forget. Good thing I had some cameras and lenses to help me preserve wonderful memories. Here’s what happened in 2023 (chronologically):
Proper bird photography
The year started with the 2022 Christmas gift: the Sony 70-350mm G lens. Up until that point, my 18-105 f/4 was the longest telephoto with autofocus. Naturally the 70-350mm is a big improvement. And it balances very well on my a6300. It’s not too big, not too heavy and the image quality has been nothing but superb.
4th time in Rome
It’s hard to say no to Rome. It takes just two hours by plane to get there and every time I’m greeted by the best cuisine in the world and countless landmarks. This time I had only one camera with me – the Fujifilm X100.
Rediscovering the joy of film
I was born in the late ’80s so I grew up with film SLRs and point-and-shoot cameras. Naturally I have a soft spot for this type of photography. So when I got the Kodak Ektar H35 as a birthday present, I knew it would give me a great time. And it can capture double the shots on a roll, which is very nice.
Fixing a broken Sony RX100
It’s nice to learn something. Case and point: the Sony RX100. I paid $30 for a broken one and another $20 for the part needed to make it work again. I learned how to take the camera apart, desolder and solder, then put everything back together. And it works… most of the time. It has a weird behaviour where it completely locks after taking a photo. It does this more often in the cold, so it might be the aftermarket battery that’s the issue.
Becoming a parent
People who said this would be the most important day of my life weren’t wrong. The most wonderful thing about having a child is being there as they discover the world. It fills me up with joy and it makes up for the hard moments nobody prepares you for. So naturally I had a camera with me to create memories that will become more valuable as time goes by.
Preventing trees from being cut down
This one was a bit of a shocker. A new ring road is being built around Bucharest. The first portion was opened just before December and it was supposed to have a long and complicated exit, that would’ve required a lot of trees to be cut down. Three years ago, I uploaded a suggestion that would’ve spared a lot of them. Little did I know the then Transport Minister (an active member of the forum where I uploaded the suggestion) would take my drawing and give it to the builder that won the bid (Romanian text). And there you have it. A few minutes of doodling led to many trees standing tall today.
And that was 2023. It’s been full of great things and it makes me hopeful for the year that’s just started. Happy New Year!
