Wind-Driven
105mm, ISO 100, f/5.6, 1/400, 2 images stitched
Now that the festivities of Christmas and New Years have wound down once more, many reading this are back to their normal lives. I hope everyone out there had a great time with friends and family the past couple weeks and didn’t do anything too crazy (but hey, I can’t tell you how to celebrate!). Especially with it being a great time for gifts and resolutions, I’m sure many are finding themselves learning a new camera or lens to shoot with. As long as you are mindful of Gear Acquisition Syndrome (G.A.S.), you should be fine. 
Oddly, WordPress didn’t put together an end-of-year analysis like it usually does for this site. A few clicks into my analytics still show great numbers despite my decline in post frequency (which, if you’ve been following previous updates, are due to a myriad causes). Over 110,000 views from 71,000 visitors, with the top three countries being U.S.A. (no surprise), the U.K., and Germany (Hallo!). I can’t thank you all enough for still supporting the site through my many life changes. Speaking of those life changes, 2018 definitely had its fair share. I moved from Japan back to the States in Chicago, got married, bought a car, and even managed a promotion at work. Keen readers may know what Mrs. Matthew Durr Photography looks like from a previous post or two, but just in case…
Photograph by Marc Sullivan
A common companion on my photo walks, Olivia Durr is learning the ins and outs of photography on her own with my trusty old NEX-7. So far she’s keen to macro, and is learning at every chance she gets! In the future we may work together for weddings and whatnot, so her photos will still be watermarked under Matthew Durr Photography, but I’ll always make sure to credit her images whenever they appear here. Such as:
Vivid
105mm, ISO 800, f/4, 1/4000
Olivia Durr
Sunburst
105mm, ISO 400, f/5.6, 1/1250
Olivia Durr
Rays
32mm, ISO 100, f/7.1, 1/160
Olivia Durr
Table for Two
32mm, ISO 100, f/2.2, 1/2000
Olivia Durr
When the snow sets in, and after a trip or two downtown for architecture shots with me, I’m sure she’ll pick up even more skills along the way. In this upcoming Chicago winter, it will greatly help just to have company for a bit more warmth out there.
I haven’t really kept up with photography/camera news the past few months, though I’m sure there have been a couple cool announcements out there. I have, however, noticed the Nikon Z6/Z7 cameras are shaping up pretty nicely for many photographers in the wild. The Z system is not without its faults, being Nikon’s first pro-mirrorless endeavor and all, but I’m just glad more people can jump in to the world of mirrorless photography regardless of their brand preference. It made a world of difference for me transitioning from a DSLR, I can only hope it has had the same effect on others.
Lastly, I do have a few straggler photographs from earlier in the season that didn’t quite fit with my last Fall post here.
Poised
105mm, ISO 100, f/4, 1/400, 7 images stitched
Almost Arranged
105mm, ISO 640, f/8, 1/125
Otter Fountain
105mm, ISO 640, f/4, 1/160, 6 images stitched
Mighty Prickly
105mm, ISO 640, f/4, 1/100
That’s all for this yearly recap, guys and gals. Thanks for dropping by! I look forward to 2019–in spite of the cold here–and all the opportunities it can bring.
