I probably start these yearly posts the same way each time but the reason for me to write them never changes. I enjoy these annual retrospectives as they give me a reason to look back at the last 12 months, enjoy some of the photos and relive some of the adventures I had with my camera in tow.

Have you ever listened to some music and it transported you back to a time and a place where you first heard it? You could have been on a big night out with friends, at home on the sofa with someone special or even in the car driving to work. However momentous or mundane the setting, there is now a connection in your mind between that song and the time or place you heard it. That’s what photography does for me. I look back at these photos and yeah, it’s great to have something nice to look at, but adding the recollection of that time I was stood in the woodland, first thing in the morning with the surrounding mist deadening all sound but the birdsong above me, or standing at the edge of a frozen lake in Snowdonia with distant mountains in front of me and the sun just rising, illuminating the peaks. That is something else altogether. However much I feel that photography is a way to express myself artistically, they are all connections to a time and place where I felt the moment was special enough to capture and keep forever.

So, to sum up, I get as much, if not more joy from writing these yearly posts than anyone might get from reading them.

The Woodland

I think 2023 was the first year since photographing landscapes that I spent more time capturing the woodland than the grand landscape. I really have put a shift in. I’ve made so many early morning trips into my local forest this year and between all that effort, practice and getting to know the woodland properly, I feel my woodland photography has progressed significantly in 2023.

A photo of an autumnal woodland scene taken by Trevor Sherwin — Fujifilm XT5 | XF16-55mm | 23mm | 0.8 Seconds | f/10 | ISO400

This year, I started to think about how so many of my photos never see the light of day and decided that I wanted to release more of these photos in the form of on-location blog posts. They’re not supposed to be too overwhelming, but just enough to feature the handful of photos I might take on a successful photography outing. Here are a couple of blog posts I wrote about my trips into the woodland.

London’s Cityscape

I was quite productive when photographing London in 2023, but not in my usual way. Ordinarily, I seek the wider, epic cityscape with dramatic clouds or vivid colours in the sky. This year was a bit different as I’ve not taken as many of what some might call my traditional style of cityscape photo. So, why was it productive if I didn’t take as many of my usual cityscape photos? Check out the section towards the end of this post featuring my Timeless City project.

I still managed, however, to bag a few keepers on my many outings into the Big Smoke and I’ve shared some of my favourites below.

A photo of the London cityscape on a cloudy day taken by Trevor Sherwin — Fujifilm XT5 | XF16-55mm | 16mm | 1/13th Second | f/8 | ISO125

A photo of HMS Belfast and Tower Bridge taken at sunrise by Trevor Sherwin — Fujifilm XT5 | XF16-55mm | 16mm | 2.5 Seconds | f/13 | ISO125

The Landscape

I always like to share some of the traditional landscape photos I took during the previous 12 months, but this past year, I struggled a little. With the shift to taking more woodland photos and recently feeling a little uninspired by my local landscape, I didn’t make as many trips and subsequently as many landscape photos as I normally do.

I did take a few worth sharing though, often revisiting some of my regular locations in the area to document how they have changed over time or through the different seasons. It’s something I do more and more these days. When I get to a location I like, I will revisit it time and again to try to improve on the photos I’ve taken before, or like I have been doing with the view of the low-lying woodland below, taking photos throughout the year as a mini seasonal project.

A coastal photo taken at Beachy Head on a windy day by Trevor Sherwin — Fujifilm XT5 | XF16-55mm | 16mm | 0.4 Seconds | f/11 | ISO125

A panoramic photo of a distant tree lined landscape at sunrise taken by Trevor Sherwin — Fujifilm XT5 | XF50-140mm | 140mm | 1/80th Second | f/8 | ISO125

The Small Scenes

I thoroughly enjoy photographing small scenes like this and in 2023, I managed to take a handful of photos I like, some I’ve shared below.

I do, however, feel I lost my way a little when photographing the small scenes over the last 12 months. I believe that to photograph the details around me, I need to practice seeing them, looking down more often at what’s around my feet and working harder to notice nature’s textures and patterns that surround me every day. I just don’t think I did enough of that. It’s not about the number of photos I took, more that if I’m tuned in better to the details, I will spot them more often instead of just walking by. Something for me to work on in 2024.

A photo of a birch leaf frozen on in the ground taken by Trevor Sherwin — Fujifilm XT5 | XF50-140mm | 140mm | 1/8th Second | f/9 | ISO125

The Drone

I have thoroughly enjoyed taking landscape photos with my done this year, but having only owned one since late 2022, it became apparent quickly that taking landscape photos with a drone was going to take a different approach altogether. There was quite a learning curve involved. With so much time spent photographing woodlands, not many of my dedicated landscape photography outings allowed for drone photography, but when they did, I took the opportunity and ended up with a handful of photos I particularly like.

If there’s one thing I want to take more photos with in 2024, it’s my drone, so I’ll be working hard to achieve that over the next 12 months.

A stitched panoramic photo of the Palace Pier in Brighton taken by Trevor Sherwin — DJI Mini 3 Pro | 24mm Pano | 0.4 Seconds | f/1.7 | ISO100

Photographing Wales

With some beautiful woodland, rolling hills and chalk-lined coastlines, the Southeast of England has a lot to offer the landscape photographer, but what we don’t have is mountains and waterfalls and those lucky sods in Wales have ample amounts of both. So, over the last few years, I’ve been making multiple photography trips to both the Brecon Beacons and Snowdonia National Parks to get my fix of a more rugged landscape.

Since these were dedicated photography trips, I also wrote a couple of On Location blog posts that include more of the photos I took and some behind-the-lens stories. Select one of the thumbnails below to jump straight to that blog post.

A Landscape Photography Trip to Snowdonia

In January 2023, I spent a couple of days photographing a very wintry-looking Snowdonia. Barely scratching the surface, it was my first dedicated photography trip to this stunning location, learning lots along the way and getting to know the area as best I could in the short time I had. With any hope, the more times I visit, the better my photos will be, but as I just mentioned, this being my first trip dedicated to landscape photography, I’m still pleased with the photos I took.

A frozen blue hour view of Lynnau Mymbyr and Mount Snowdon with some rocks in the foreground — Fujifilm XT5 | XF16-55mm | 18mm | 2 Seconds | f/8 | ISO125

Photographing Waterfall Country

Along with Snowdonia in January, I also took a trip to the Brecon Beacons National Park in October. Given the time of year, I was hoping for a little more colour on the trees, but the leaves were still predominantly green. Still, I made the best of it, taking some photos I was happy with, and I mentally clocked that to get the best colour, it will have to be an early-mid November trip next time.

A photo of Sgwd Ddwli Uchaf Waterfall with autumn colour along the Elidir trail in the Brecon Beacons — Fujifilm XT5 | XF10-24mm | 14mm | 0.5 Seconds | f/9 | ISO125

Timeless City

I started the Timeless City project this year and was excited about it from the first photo I processed. I’ve been documenting London with my camera for a few years, making countless trips into the city and I feel I have finally found a way that allows me to share the photography as a cohesive body of work.

I deliberately used the word timeless as it represents so much about the project. The years I’ve been and will continue to photograph this great city, the way the old and new architectural styles sit side by side, and the aesthetic of the final image I create with the square crop and monochrome processing. All of it matters and represents something in the project.

I know the project has a way to go yet, not only in terms of the images I take but what it means and how it might develop. For now, I’m just excited to let it flow and see where it takes me.

Looking forward

As I mentioned at the start of this post, I usually spend a little time looking forward and thinking about what I want to achieve in the coming 12 months. Rightly or wrongly, these aspirations are relatively fluid as time is always limited and priorities can change. However, right here, right now, I’ve listed a few things I would like to achieve or make progress on in 2024.

Be it the woodland, cityscapes or small scenes, continue to be curious and inspired by the landscape.
Take more trips and make more memories to look back on in 12 months.
Be more consistent with both my blog and newsletter.
Publish my first book/zine and with hope, sell one or two.
Develop my Timeless City project further. Write about it, give it a dedicated space on my website, promote it and continue to build the work in preparation for something more in the future.
Print my photos more often.
Take photos with my drone more often.
Complete some of my seasonal woodland/landscape series.

There you go. That’s this year’s retrospective done and dusted. All that’s left to do is thank everyone who has supported me and my work this past year and I wish you all a happy and successful 2024.

Until next year.

Trevor

My Favourite Landscape Photos from 2023