My Favorite Photos Of Greater Lafayette In 2023

This was a fun year making photos of the area that I live in. I used to think that you had to travel to make good photos. I have learned that sometimes the things that you see everyday also can make for great photos. I still want to get out and make photos in other places, but when I am at home I have found a greater appreciation for my area. This list is all over the place kind of like me. I don’t really specialize in any one type of photography. I kind of like to do it all. I think that is what keeps photography fresh for me. Below are some of my favorite photos of this past year in no particular order.

This is by no means a knock on the city, but they made a major upgrade this year at the depot with the addition of this large Lafayette sign. It looks great, and during blue hour looks even better. It is a great way to start off this list.

The best sunsets always happen at the hardware store. When I am taking the kids to school I always have my camera with me. On this day I forgot mine and I had some errands to run. Of course the sky lit up right when I was heading into the hardware store. My phone did a pretty good job of capturing the sunrise though.

This is a one second exposure taken long after dark of the resident screech owl of the bog Ruby. This year I was really inspired by Matt Zuro and his long exposures of owls. I was in a rut thinking that I was making the same photo over and over again. The long exposure aspect got me back out there making photos. This is a concept that I would love to keep working on this year. I made this photo on my first trip out which was the definition of beginners luck. I never came close to anything like it again, but that is what makes photography so much fun. Chasing that next great photo.

This year my focus was on scenes a little more. I wanted to find photos that showed a little bit about the area that I live in. Here things worked out just before Christmas near the Lafayette theater. I really like the light here all around.

The barn at Prophetstown always looks good. Here it still looks good even on a foggy day. This is a simple scene, but a nice one.

On my birthday I took a photowalk on campus in the morning. I had wanted to photograph this old apartment complex for a while now. I love those doors leading into it. It was a great time to give it a try. The doors were even closed for once.

This little strip mall is one that I have driven by many times over the years. Here at blue hour it really looks great. I spent some time this year having some fun with these buildings that I would never have photographed in the past.

Another fun scene photo this time in front of Von’s. After getting some bubble tea we stopped so that I could make a photo here. I thought that it needed something more, and the long boarder gave me just that.

This photo represents two of my projects this year. I have started to post photos of churches on Sundays. This photo will show up later this year. It also represents my desire to find more small scenes with interesting light.

This photo is of the International Space Station flying over the campus of Purdue. A Boilermaker had just joined the crew up there so I thought that a photo with the Boilermaker state was appropriate. I am not the best at planning these things out, but here things worked out for a photo that I really liked.

This photo is proof that you don’t have to go too far to make a good bird photo. I made this in my front yard this past summer. I had my chair out there waiting for the goldfinches and hummingbirds to show up. I saw both of them, but this hummingbird stole the show. I had an audience watching me out there too which is pretty funny. I bet that I do look a little out of place sitting in a camping chair with my 200-600mm lens pointed back at the house. If I am making photos like this though it is worth it.

This photo of Triple XXX was made with Ilford HP5 400 film. I love the way that it captured this night scene. I am still on the fence about black and white film. I convert a lot of my photos to black and white. I actually like the look. I also like color images at times, and if I can convert them to black and white it does not take much. Here though it was the right film at the right time.

This year I saw one of the best football comebacks that I have ever seen. Down 21 at the half things looked bleak for West Side. Their sectional title chances were looking bleak. The stormed back in the fourth quarter to win the game in overtime. I love these two photos from that game. The first photo was made in pregame. It was the product of working that idea for a while. The second photo was made after the game was over and the players were celebrating with their reward.

On this morning I was out looking for snokeh. The snow never really came down, but I was able to make this photo on Main Street. I like the cool looking bike and the background.

This summer when the temperatures were at a ridiculous level I would wait to go out until it was nearly dark out. I would make my photos at night when it was at least a little cooler. One subject that I really worked was the Dog n Suds down the road. I kept trying but there was always a car in the way or the sky wasn’t quite right. On this night everything came together for a photo that I really like. There is a sweet spot in the summer when they are closed and the light is good with all of the lights on. This year I would love to catch a sunset in this conditions.

I only got to get out to the eagles a few times last year. They did not show up in the numbers that they have in the past. Here though one gave me a good enough flyby to make this photo. I love the detail on it.

This is a simple photo, but soon to be a historical photo. Just after I left campus they really redid the Wabash Landing area. This Campus Inn was spared, but Brunos was torn down and a new one put up. This year the area will go through another transformation, and the old Campus Inn will not be so lucky.

Another small scene that I was trying to find this last year. I made this photo while sitting at the light. The snow was really coming down, and I parked around the corner after making this to try and find a better composition. Of course in the couple of minutes that it took me to park the snow had quit.

Here comes an old man story. When I was younger every neighborhood had their own grocery store. This one on 15th in Lafayette reminded me of the small stores that we would go to when I was younger.

These train cars have always intrigued me. I never stopped to make a photo of them though. This year I finally did that. I just like the way that they look. There has to be a story about them that I would like to figure out this coming year.

The courthouse in downtown Lafayette is a frequent subject of mine. Here it looks great with the snow coming down. This year I did not photograph this iconic building as much as in previous years. I think that I was focused on smaller subjects. I still have to plan a moon photo with the courthouse one of these days.

I love this old barn. Early on in the life of this blog it was a frequent subject. Now I try and pick nice days to photograph it. I happened to be in the area on a nice winter blue sky day so I stopped to make some photos of it. This might be stretching the limits of greater Lafayette as it is out past Otterbein and near Pine Village, but it still has a place here.

On this night I had gone up to campus with reflection photos in might. It was really raining until I started driving to campus. It pretty much quit except for a light drizzle. My puddles would not be around, but the ground was still wet enough to reflect a little. I had some fun blurring the students walking by this location. My goal last year and into this year is to show more scenes around campus. Every campus photo does not have to be a wide, large landscape. They can be little scenes like this one.

Another iPhone photo makes the list. It is the camera that I have with me the most. On this day we were getting a snack after hitting some at the batting cages. The sky was perfect to make some photos of this cool sign.

This year they put a lot of work into Ross Ade Stadium. One of my goals was to make as many wide photos of the stadium as I could. This was my favorite of those efforts. I love how everything came together here. Next year it would be cool to have a better team playing more late night games with sunsets.

I drove by this Dollar General for the last few years after Aviator games thinking about how good it looked in the blue hour light. I knew that I might be the only one that thought that this was a good subject though so I never stopped to make the photo. This year I planned ahead to make this photo, and I am glad that I did.

I did a mini photowalk with my friend Tom one Saturday afternoon. I had my infrared camera with me with the idea of practicing seeing the light with it. This year I learned a fun way to edit those infrared photos to infuse a little color into them. I really like how this one turned out.

This year I had some fun with my infrared images. By swapping the color channels I could make some surreal images of familiar places. This basketball court in a nearby park suddenly transforms into something much different.

I liked the idea behind this photo. In a couple of places on the post to the left are the words relax. I did just that and waited for the cars to come through the scene with a clear front of Harry’s.

This old bank was designed by Louis Sullivan who was the mentor of Frank Lloyd Wright. It is one of his jewel box banks that people come from all over to visit. We are lucky to have it in our backyard, and this year I made a point to photograph it more.

I love the cotton candy sunsets. Over the years I have made a few images of campus with these skies. They don’t happen often so I am always glad when I am up there on a night when they do occur.

This year I learned a bit more about this old theatre and even saw a great comedy show inside of it. This is a classic building that I need to highlight more than I do.

We had a fun, foggy night walking around campus. I made this photo without my daughter in it, and it seemed to be missing something. My little one suggested that maybe she should skip through the photo. She was right. This was what was missing, and it was my favorite photo from that night.

There is a new entrance on campus. This area has gone through quite the transformation over the course of the last few years. At one point it was my go to spot to try and make lightning photos around the bell tower. Now though it sets up for a nice view through the gates to the bell tower. I need to spend some more time around here finding new ways to show it off.

I love this little section of Main Street. With a little snokeh it looks even better. This just has an old time feel to it that I really liked.

We saw a couple of plays inside of the Civic Theatre in 2023. When this post goes live it will not be long until we see another in there. I made this on the night that we were to see A Christmas Story inside. I was walking down to dinner before the show, and the light was perfect for this photo.

This year I saw an amazing soccer match that saw no scoring until there were a couple of seconds on the clock. That is when Abby Titlow decided to put one into the back of the net. That goal gave Harrison the win and the sectional championship. In the celebration that ensued the player came off the championship trophy leading to another of my favorite images from this past year.

These last two photos are my favorites on the year. The first one is of the International Space Station flying over the campus of Purdue. A Boilermaker had just joined the crew up there so I thought that a photo with the Boilermaker state was appropriate. I am not the best at planning these things out, but here things worked out for a photo that I really liked.

This is a fun example of working a photo idea. Early in the year I made the top photo. I liked how it turned out, but the moon was a bit small for me. I then planned a photo down the road with the moon a little larger in the frame. I had to use a little more glass and be much further away to pull this off. I have one other option that can get me 1200mm of lens that I may try if I can get it to line up next year. It will be hard to top this photo though. If I can get far enough back to have the moon over the entire bell tower I will have done that. We will have to see what next year brings to see if I can pull that off.

 

The courthouse looking pretty good here in black and white. This was a perfect night for making photos, and I made this one while walking to meet my family after parking the car. It was a quick moment, but one that I really liked.

My last photo of the year also happens to be one of my favorites. If you follow this blog then you know that I love making snokeh photos. Snokeh works best with a dark sky. It is amazing during blue hour. Here everything came together for a photo that I really liked. I started my little walk at the theater. I really didn’t have the snow then. When I came back the snow was perfect. After I made this photo I went home knowing that I had made one last good photo this year. That is always a great feeling.

Saul Leiter once said that “Everything is suitable to be photographed. Everything is a photograph.” This year I have tried to do just that. I want to photograph everything. The little things around us are what makes the day to day what it is. I spent quite a bit of time in the past trying to figure out what others wanted me to photograph. This year I found the things that were interesting to me. I really like what I was able to do, and I cannot wait to see what I come up with this year.