Newsletter #16: January 2024
Some notes from the field:
Hello, it’s me! Reporting live from the new year, and from my new newsletter format.
As it was happening, 2023 felt like a very quiet year. The war in Ukraine resulted in smaller photojournalism budgets and fewer photo assignments for myself and my other US based colleagues. I had to buy a new car in 2022 (cold take: cars are very expensive), so I didn’t get to do much traveling in 2023. It was a year of grounding, both literally and figuratively.
If I had to write out a 2023 Wrapped (à la Spotify) for my year, I’d include the following stats:
I got COVID once (on the first day of the year).
I attended 1 proposal, 2 bachelorettes, 4 weddings, and 1 wedding dress fitting for dear childhood friends.
I brought 7 homemade desserts to parties (the biggest crowd pleasers being this strawberry snacking cake and this cranberry lime ginger pie).
I turned twenty nine years old (and crammed thirty people into my one bedroom apartment to celebrate).
I read 50 books (my favorite of which was “How Far The Light Reaches” by Sabrina Imbler). (If you’re a reader as well, connect with me on GoodReads!)
I wore 3 different Halloween costumes (and less than 5 people knew who I was dressed as).
I saw 13 bands in concert (including Yo La Tengo, The Marcus King Band, and Darlingside), and saw 7 movies in theaters (my favorites being: Killers of The Flower Moon, Past Lives, and Bottoms).
I photographed 56 articles, wrote 6 articles, and worked with 13 different publications (3 of whom I’d never worked with before).
I had photos selected for publication in 2 different books.
And, in what feel like my biggest accomplishments of the year, I had my short film screened on a 9’ x 19’ movie theater screen, and I had 10 photos from my camp project acquired into the Library of Congress archives.
As I look forward to 2024, I’m excited to continue being curious about myself and the world around me, celebrating the milestones of my friends, and confusing people with my niche pop culture references at costume parties. Thank you to everyone who was a part of my year, and I am so glad if I got to be a part of yours!
Since my last newsletter, I worked on some of the following articles:
“Cherelle Parker will be Philadelphia’s 100th mayor. Here’s what she wants to change about education” (for ChalkBeat/VoteBeat)
“A Small Fish and an Uncollected Fee Add Up to Big-Government Challenge at the Supreme Court” (for Bloomberg)
“How to become an air marshal, the most secretive job in the sky” (for Washington Post/By The Way)
“Federal Law Requires a Choice: Marijuana or a Gun?” (for New York Times)
“We’re Keeping a Seat Reserved for Evan” (for Wall Street Journal)
“The Miracle of Light, One Spark at a Time” (for New York Times)
“How One Jewish American Family Wrestles Over Israel” (for Wall Street Journal)
It’s been a learning curve figuring out how to use Substack’s newsletter builder this week, so I apologize for the clunkiness of this newsletter compared to some of my past ones (and thank you for being patient with me as I figure it out)!
I will be in California from January 10th-20th and will be spending much of that time eating, hiking, swimming, and reading. I look forward to connecting with you all when I return!
Happy New Year!
Yay 4 substack ;)