Personal | 2023 in Review: a year of vitality, vision, and finding a fairy portal

Twenty twenty-three was bookended by two major personal events, one of which hasn’t even happened yet. The first was my grandmother’s death in November of 2022 which cast a dark veil over the start of 2023. I’ve done a lot of traveling and have partaken in lot of creative projects over the years, but for some reason her death and the circumstances surrounding it, really tired me out. I felt stuck in a funk for a lot of the year and really buckled down and focused on simplifying my life and business. I didn’t travel nearly as much as I typically do, choosing to fly in and out for my destination shoots without exploration. I stayed home more and even briefly begin offering painting commissions. Michael and I did take one major trip to Scotland in the fall, and a shorter trip to Disneyland to celebrate my birthday in December. Both trips were utterly fabulous, and Disneyland may become a yearly thing if I have my say. (It’s literally twenty minutes from his LA office.)

The second major event was that my mom made the decision to finally move to Kansas City, a decision which completely dominated the year. Her home buying experience took a less than stellar turn midyear when she had to sell the original property she purchased. All in all she ended up with a much more suitable home in a better area. She calls the new house her fairy portal, and it really does look like a fairytale cottage. However, the final move into her fairy portal has yet to happen, and has been delayed numerous times due to various unforeseen obstacles, including but not limited to: storm damage, three pet deaths, and most recently a terrible fall. The final date is set for next week. Let’s just hope we get there unscathed. Outside of the aforementioned events, this year for me personally was for the most part a quiet and steady one. As a household, Michael and I both met some large career and financial goals this year. These goals in turn allowed us to begin focusing on what we want in the long term. By early 2024 we seem to have a really clear direction, and I’m very excited to see what all is to come.

Business wise 2023 was my most productive year yet! I was mildly blindsided by how busy I was after three years dealing with the pandemic. I exceeded my booking and income goals, as well as shot my first traditional Indian wedding and my first oversees wedding in Scotland! I continued traveling throughout the states for the rest of the year, most notably to Hoboken, Tucson, and even Guthrie, OK for one of my best friend’s weddings. I also managed to get one of my photographs in Junebug Wedding’s Best of the Best of Weddings, 2023. This is a major international competition for wedding photographers, and it’s an absolute honor to be included! Stylistically I feel like I’ve really come into my own. I’ve always wanted my images to feel both effortless, but very architectural and compositionally dramatic. I think I’m finally getting there.

Many many thanks to all the clients, friends, and collaborators that made 2023 extra special!!