Behind the Scenes - 2023 Calendars

Today I want to share some fun facts/behind the scenes from the first 6 months of the calendar. Take a look and let me know which shot is your favorite!

January 2023

The first photograph from the 2023 calendar is of the Brooklyn Bridge. This shot was taken over the summer using a long exposure during sunset.

Using a long exposure smooths out the water and gives it a misty effect while also giving the clouds a cool ethereal effect.

February 2023

This photograph is from the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. I love the way the layers of mountains give depth to the shot.

I have always wanted to take a shot like this, so adding this shot to the calendar this year was and easy decision.

March 2023

This photograph is from the English countryside. I was exploring the Jurassic Coast (more on that in the next email) and turned around and saw this composition.

I am constantly impressed by landscape photography, and this shot embodies some of my favorite elements. I knew it had to be included.

April 2023

We have to go international as we talk about April! This shot was a long time coming. I found this place years ago, but the pandemic (and an 8-hour flight/3-hour drive) kept me away... until now!

Standing on these cliffs, flying my drone, and watching the sunset was an experience I will never forget. I hope you like it as much as I do.

May 2023

Upstate New York holds a special place in my heart, and I hope that just by looking at this photo you can see why!

This is from a river upstate last summer. I love the texture of the water and the colors in this photograph. It was an easy choice to include in the calendars this year.

June 2023

We hop back across the pond for this photograph. This was taken at the Durdle Door on the Jurassic Coast of England. These natural cliffs create breathtaking views that are complemented by the sky and the water.

This was another bucket list spot while I was traveling in England. I hope you can see why I chose to include it!

July 2023

Photographing New York City is a double-edged sword. There are so many iconic views, but the sprawl of the city makes it hard to get a clean composition. This often leads to photos that are ~almost~ perfect, except for one or two small details.

In this photo, though, it just works. I chose this photo because even though there are some distracting elements, they come together perfectly. I’m excited that I got to include it.

August 2023

This might be my favorite photograph in the calendar. I took this over Labor Day on a beach in Connecticut at sunset. Originally, the composition caught my eye, but as I set up my tripod, the sky started to pop with soft pinks and blues that really brought the photography together.

I like to rotate my phone screen background image often, but it has been this photo for 3 months and I don’t plan to change it anytime soon.

September 2023

For September, we head back to the Jurassic Coast for some chalk cliffs off the southern coast of England. I tried a few different compositions on this photo, and I ended choosing this one because of the movement in the foreground.

I am so grateful for the opportunity to travel, and I loved spending a day on the coast with my camera. I will never forget this day, and I can’t wait to do it again.

October 2023

I have loved this photo for over 2 years, but I could never include it in an Aerochase calendar because it didn’t work as a landscape photo. This year, changing the calendar from landscape to portrait allowed me to include it.

This photo is from a fall trip to Maine two years ago. At the time, I only had a drone, so we drove around Maine to find spots to fly and take photos. I look back on that trip fondly, and I hope to be able to go back soon!

November 2023

This photo is another one of my favorites. This photo was taken last summer in upstate New York. My brother-in-law was out sailing, and I decided to see what the view looked like using my drone.

There is something amazing about minimalist photography. The absence of something to look at really draws the eye to the subject in a simple yet powerful way. I am happy that I got to include a shot like this in the calendar this year.

December 2023

We end the calendar with a famous London landmark: St. Paul’s Cathedral. I wanted to spice the photo up a bit, and the light trails allowed me to do that. I stood outside the cathedral for an hour trying to snap the perfect shot, and as soon as I snapped this I knew I got it.

Light trails and other long exposure photography are so visually interesting to me that I knew I wanted to include one in the calendar.