Best Photos of 2023

LAST YEAR TEXT: Reviewing a year's worth of photos can be a daunting but rewarding task. This year was made less daunting because there were fewer pickings than usual, owing to the fact that I can count the number of days out with my camera on two hands. The sparsity of photo outings however was made up for by the richness of experiences, both familiar (returning to Svalbard for the first time since 2019) and brand new (visiting the gannet breeding colony at Bempton in Yorkshire).

From one year's review to the next, some things don't change, whilst others do. On making this selection, I've noticed a recurring theme which has long been central to my photography - a single creature, small in its environment. But the way that this theme is handled varies from month to month, year to year, through composition and lighting choices. The big lesson that I take from this is that, no matter how many times you photograph one animal or place, you can never run out of ways to tell its story. Keep turning the stone over and there's always more ground to uncover.

Here are my Top 10 Photos Of 2022, and I hope they inspire you to keep looking at the familiar in new ways.

Dalmatian Pelicans - Lake Kerkini, Greece

I began the year with a bird I've wanted to see for several years - the Dalmatian Pelican. Every winter they congregate on Lake Kerkini, where they've formed a close relationship with the fishermen. A wonderfully expressive bird with huge wings and a notoriously big bill, there were many opportunities to explore a wide range of portrait styles. Whilst I usually favour my subjects small in the frame and in low-light conditions, it would have been a crime not to have embraced the pelicans' bold colours and personalities. I therefore shot a lot with my 10-20mm wide-angle lens, often getting below the birds for a dramatic and fun perspective.

Dalmatian Pelicans & Great White Pelican - Lake Kerkini, Greece

Fast-forward four months and I hadn't taken a single photograph, so it was time for drastic action! I spontaneously booked two days off work to visit the seabird colony at RSPB Bempton Cliffs in Yorkshire. To think that one can leave the busyness of London behind and, just a few hours later, be thrown into one of Britain's greatest natural wonders is inspiring. The sight, sound and smell of thousands of gannets, puffins and other seabirds (not to forget a long-staying albatross) was nevertheless quite overwhelming, so I focussed on a visually interesting "window" of rock and green water, catching this gannet as it flew in to its mate and chick, and a puffin as it headed out to sea.

Common Kingfisher - Thessaloniki, Greece

Further along the cliffs, there was a section where the gannets rode the thermal currents. As some birds spread their wings and tail feathers to brace for landing, this presented ample opportunities to freeze them in flight. Having often seen them way out at sea, this was the first time I'd observed gannets close up and at their breeding colony. I over-exposed a little to whiten the background and to bring out the striking colours of the gannet's plumage.

Eurasian Otter - Lincolnshire, UK

A puffin peers out from its burrow, perhaps thinking about whether to go find some fish for lunch. I'm glad I couldn't get any closer than this with my 400mm lens, because for me there's something whimsical about this big open framing, with the puffin looking over the sloping grass and across the sky-blue water.

Grey Heron - Lincolnshire, UK

A puffin peers out from its burrow, perhaps thinking about whether to go find some fish for lunch. I'm glad I couldn't get any closer than this with my 400mm lens, because for me there's something whimsical about this big open framing, with the puffin looking over the sloping grass and across the sky-blue water.

Boneli's Eagle - Lleida, Spain

After 3 long years of absence, I was back in Svalbard to show a new group of photographers its special wildlife. Arctic foxes are often the first mammal we spot, as they appear as a stark white against the melting tundra grass. But on this visit, which coincided with the end of the bird breeding season, many of the foxes were a chocolatey brown and hunting closer to town. It was a mesmerising experience watching them scavenge and play around the town houses, and we'd lie in position waiting for the best foxes and scenes to come together.

Egyptian Goose gosling - London, UK

As a tour leader, rarely do I have a moment to stop and quietly focus on my own images. On our final night, with guests in bed, I made a last midnight sun excursion, eager to photograph the cottongrass on the tundra. The clump of grass and clouded pool, surrounded by cottongrass and mountains, seemed to quietly breathe harmony and balance.

Alpine Newt - Normandy, France

Each time I visit the walrus colony at Borebukta, I try to focus on something different. In 2019, the wrinkled, warty textures and battle scars of the large cow walruses made for some interesting 'landscape' photographs. This year, after a bit of unsuccessful experimenting from the rib boat, it was this arctic tern, and the curious expressions of the walruses watching on, which got my attention.

Kittiwake - Svalbard, Arctic Circle

As foxes scavenge around the edge of town, it is irresistible to show them within the human landscape. This bold female fox passed by this house like clockwork in the early mornings, expecting chicken bones from the homeowner. A couple of times she sat right below the window, looking like a pet cat. I could have taken a tighter shot, but I loved the building's shapes and colours, and the window's drawn curtains which tell a story of their own.

Ptarmigan - Svalbard, Arctic Circle

One damp afternoon in late November, we come full circle back to my local park in London. I had a mushroom mission - to photograph a fungus in the undergrowth, lit in an ethereal way. Very quickly I found a tiny specimen, no taller than my fingernail, springing out of a mossy tree trunk. I moved around a lot, playing with focus and background bokeh to get a bit of the mossy textures and shadowy tree bark. I used the torch on my phone to light up the mushroom and create a fairytale scene.

Mandarin Duck - London, UK

One damp afternoon in late November, we come full circle back to my local park in London. I had a mushroom mission - to photograph a fungus in the undergrowth, lit in an ethereal way. Very quickly I found a tiny specimen, no taller than my fingernail, springing out of a mossy tree trunk. I moved around a lot, playing with focus and background bokeh to get a bit of the mossy textures and shadowy tree bark. I used the torch on my phone to light up the mushroom and create a fairytale scene.

Mandarin Duck - London, UK

One damp afternoon in late November, we come full circle back to my local park in London. I had a mushroom mission - to photograph a fungus in the undergrowth, lit in an ethereal way. Very quickly I found a tiny specimen, no taller than my fingernail, springing out of a mossy tree trunk. I moved around a lot, playing with focus and background bokeh to get a bit of the mossy textures and shadowy tree bark. I used the torch on my phone to light up the mushroom and create a fairytale scene.

Mushroom species - London, UK

One damp afternoon in late November, we come full circle back to my local park in London. I had a mushroom mission - to photograph a fungus in the undergrowth, lit in an ethereal way. Very quickly I found a tiny specimen, no taller than my fingernail, springing out of a mossy tree trunk. I moved around a lot, playing with focus and background bokeh to get a bit of the mossy textures and shadowy tree bark. I used the torch on my phone to light up the mushroom and create a fairytale scene.