Analog Forever Magazine’s Top 40 Analog Photographs of 2023
Analog Forever Magazine Top 40 Images of 2023!
Each day, 95+ million photographs are uploaded to Instagram alone. This insane amount of imagery living in the cloud makes it impossible to see all of them, and we know that we miss out on witnessing quite a few spectacular photographs. We are well aware that a small percentage of these are analog-based images; however, even if we assume .01% of these images uploaded every day are film-related, that is 3,467,500 images. With 2023 coming to a close we decided to present to you Analog Forever Magazine’s Top 40 images for your viewing pleasure. These images are curated by our staff and represent the images that made an impact on us throughout the last year. By no means do they represent the “best” images ever created, but are simply our favorites that we felt the need to shed some light on. Please enjoy our “Top 40” picks for 2023!
As you scroll through these images we encourage you to visit every one of these photographers’ websites to learn more about them and their work. We also challenge you to pick your favorite photograph and reach out to the artist who created it, with the goal of offering them encouragement or to simply say hello. I promise you this will be the best part of their day and you will make a profound difference in how we interact as a community. Please make sure to leave your comments at the bottom of this page and discuss which images are your favorites and why!
Michael Behlen’s Top 10
This year my top 10 were EASY! I had saved each of these images the first time I saw them and while I was drawing up the most impactful, these easily rose to the surface. Even though I have seen 1000s of images up close and personal this year, coming back to this selection is always great boost of inspiration to continue looking for the diamonds in the rough. Speaking of, I am proud we publish work from emerging artists, professionals, and hobbyists. Don’t let your dreams be memes, get your work out there! You will be seen and noticed, just like the artists below. Follow each of them, you may learn something valuable!
Michael Kirchoff’s Top 10
Looking through my choices for this year, I have to take notice and realize that color seems to be the theme for me this time around. With one exception, strong, vibrant, saturated color has taken over my top 10! Those who know me best may think this utterly strange and out of character, but honestly, I’m as drawn to color as most for the same reasons. There’s no way I’d ever drop my beloved black-and-white aesthetic, but perhaps this is a sign of growth or maturity on my part. Ha! Doubtful. Upon reflection, though, I honestly think it’s an omen for what’s to come from us moving forward. A blossoming, so to speak. I feel we’ve hit a stride while continuously growing, and now we’ve crossed into a full spectrum of what is possible with our humble endeavor here. I’m honored that you’re all along for the ride!
Niniane Kelley’s Top 10
I never come into our year-end wrap up with an idea or a theme in mind, I’m just looking for images which, in addition to their technical strengths, hit a chord with me for whatever reason. Looking at the images I pulled for my top 10 this year, they’re all a bit quiet, perhaps introspective, inviting one to pause. That seems somewhat fitting for his liminal space in time where we reflect back upon the year which has passed and gaze forward in anticipation of the unknowns to come. As a placeholder for these sentences I initially wrote: “insert thoughts here.” So instead of listening to what I think, as you look through this gallery I invite you to insert your thoughts here.
Lisa Toboz’s Top 10
I am drawn to photos deceivingly simple in composition, yet speak volumes through color or geometry, subject or object –– images that are intermediaries between past and future. Leaning towards soft focus, gentle blues, and glowing light, these 10 images captured my attention in 2023 because they reveal worlds in which I want to be a part. They are memory and imagination, the everyday evolving into the extraordinary –– timeless depictions of hope and illumination.
ABOUT ANALOG FOREVER MAGAZINE
Founded in 2018, Analog Forever Magazine is an online and print publisher of contemporary analog photography. Our mission is simple: we want to provide a global audience to photographers who use analog processes and techniques for their photographic work by giving them a voice via a biannual print photography journal, online features and interviews, book reviews, and online exhibitions. Our goal is to highlight the best of the best from the analog photography industry including artists, projects, galleries, and curators.
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