January

January. A whole new year! 2023. Let’s do this. I started the year down in Austin, TX doing a Superbowl Watch Party shoot for my friends at Yeti. We got to ring in the new year on South Congress and eat all of the BBQ and Mexican food we could ask for. I then did a two and a half week stint on the road where I traveled to Arkansas, Missouri, and Mississippi to shoot more waterfowl imagery for First Lite. Finally, I came home for a day and then flew south to Southern California for a bass fishing shoot to kick off a busy year with Grundéns!

February

February 2023 meant New Zealand for us. We traveled to the Southern Hemisphere this month to escape the winter, to watch two of our closest friends get married and join a jolly group of 30+ friends on a hut-to-hut backpacking trip along the Routeburn Track, one of New Zealand’s great walks. We fell in love with this country, the people and the incredible landscapes that Lord of the Rings land holds. Can’t wait to go back sometime. While we were there, I did some work for Benchmade Knives to showcase their kitchen cutlery and some of their folding knives on the backpacking trip!

March

March is typically a slower work month for me, which I don’t mind at all. The winter chill is still in full effect and it allows for some nice down time. However, I still got out on a few shoots this month. The first was with my wife, Whitney, for Hotel Ändra in Seattle, WA to showcase their cozy rooms and Scandinavian themed interior design. Such a great hotel and in a great location. I’d highly recommend it to anyone visiting Seattle! And later in the month I drove down to central Oregon to meet up with my friend Josh to do a photoshoot for Vortex Optics to showcase some of their new products for 2023.

April

April was a fun one. Whit and I flew down to Yosemite for a quick trip to meet with the good people at Benchmade Knives, along with a handful of other very talented creators that they work with to explore the Valley, sleep in Airstreams and learn all about the new Benchmade products for the year. And after returning from this trip, my brother flew into town for our annual turkey hunt in the Mountains of NE Washington. I did some photo work for Benchmade and First Lite throughout the spring Turkey season. Finally, I started my new side hustle called, “BenTomBrews” where I create videos and imagery for coffee companies! It’s been a fun way to showcase one of my passions while also giving me a way to stay creative while being at home. You can see my recent work in this realm HERE.

May

May was another busy one, as usual! I continued the pursuit of turkeys in Washington with friends while shooting for First Lite. Then I took my first trip to Alaska this year to visit Rob Endsley and crew again. This year we hopped aboard a 41 foot Lindell Yacht and searched for wild steelhead up unnamed creeks around Prince of Whales Island, used traditional Tlingit handmade halibut hooks called Náxw to catch a 100lb halibut, and grilled cedar plank salmon in a remote cove where we slept for the night… and that was just the first trip! On my second trip up there we spent time with Heather and her father to showcase the traditional way of cutting up and cold smoking salmon, did some trolling with Rob and crew to catch our salmon for the year and had a beach bonfire dinner complete with more fresh caught cedar plank salmon! All the while, shooting for several clients, including, Yeti, Cannon Downriggers, Magma Grills, and Lindell Yachts. Hard to beat summer in Alaska!

June

June was a busy month! Started out the month with a trip down to Florida to shoot a wide array of fishing imagery for Grundéns. We chased tarpon on the flats, grouper and snapper in the blue water 50 miles offshore, and found sea trout close to shore! Florida isn’t so bad when you’re on the water! After Florida, we went to the mountains of Washington to do a cooking shoot for Solo Stove to showcase their stoves and grill accessories. Then did a little shoot for the Landmark Project close to home to showcase some new products that benefit the National Forests and Grasslands of our country. Finally, I ended the month on another shoot for Grundéns on the Yakima River. Washington’s only Blue Ribbon trout river.

July

July was another busy one, but thankfully Washington is beautiful this time of year and got to do all of my work pretty close to home. I am continually inspired by this state. Every time we go somewhere new, I always appreciate it just a little bit more. To start the month, Whit and I did a project for Teva while out on a canoe camping trip to a new spot we found. It was a great little overnight trip that felt like the perfect thing to do in summer. Finley got to come too… Next I did another shoot for Solo Stove, this time to feature their new Pi Prime pizza oven! We brought the oven and all the pizza fixins down to the river and had the best picnic you could ask for. Complete with hot honey for topping. And finally, I did a few different shoots for Yeti. The first was at one of our favorite spots in the Cascades to show off the new cocktail shaker and wine chiller. Then the next morning, I shot their new coffee cups, specifically designed for espresso or just smaller caffeinated drinks! (Shoutout to @bentombrews). Finally I did another Yeti shoot up at one of the Fire Towers in the mountains to feature the new Yonder water bottles and 8oz stackable coffee cups.

August

August was a fun one with lots of time spent outside on the river close to home and a few trips away from home, as well. We went back home to Missouri for a quick trip to celebrate my mom’s retirement and 65th birthday. Got to do a little fishing while I was down there too. More backyard pizza parties to showoff some accessories from Solo Stove. My coffee work started to expand by creating some imagery and videos for clients like Clive Coffee and La Marzocco. And I ended the month with a trip to Michigan with Jonathon VanDam to shoot some bass fishing for Grundéns.

September

September is always a good month. This one was no exception. We started the month with a trip to Iceland with my wife and her family. I did a project for Teva while I was over there to showcase some of our favorite hot springs near Reykjavik. This wasn’t our first time to this country, but I always love it when I’m there. I could see us spending a lot of time there throughout our lives… After Iceland, Whit and I flew to Copenhagen to celebrate our 5th anniversary and to explore the city with our tastebuds. The food scene in that city is unmatched. If you know, you know. And after a few days at home, I hopped back on a plane and headed north to Alaska again. This time to a remote town that is only accessible by boat or plane. Unfortunately for us, the planes couldn’t fly when we got there, so a 12 hour boat ride from Juneau it was… While we were out there I shot some new imagery for some of Grundéns commercial fishing gear. And then another 12 hour boat ride to get back to Juneau before flying home! What a time!

October

October marks the start of a lot of hunting seasons. This year, I was able to mainly hunt for myself. But I did do a little shoot to feature one of the new scopes that Vortex is putting out in a range setting while on a mule deer hunt in Wyoming. All three of us were able to fill our tags on this hunt too. It’s a cool story. Ask me about it sometime and I’ll tell ya! Later that month, we took a personal trip down to Oregon to visit friends in Portland and explore the quaint town of Astoria, as well. Then headed north to North Bend, WA where I did a few shoots for Solo Stove to show off their new colored fire pits, as well as their cast iron products for the Pi Prime Pizza Oven. Turns out you can cook tasty roasted potatoes and a char broiled steak in the pizza oven too! Tastyyy! And I ended the month shooting a little holiday campaign for Velotric E-Bikes around Spokane.

November

November started with a trip down to Central Oregon to shoot an elk hunt with some of the guys from First Lite. No success this time around, but we saw some good bulls and some incredible country along the way. Maybe next year! After that, I flew back to Missouri for the annual family deer camp where this year I just focused on spending time there with my dad and brother and didn’t do any work while I was there, which was kind of nice! And after returning home from Missouri I got out on a goose hunt with some friends here in Eastern Washington.

December

In December, I was able to stay home more than usual, which was a welcomed change! I was able to create more coffee work for the good people at La Marzocco, Clive Coffee, Onyx Coffee Labs, and Ladder Coffee. December is the perfect time to cozy up with a warm drink anyways! I also was able to get out and do a shoot for Nomatic while we had a quick window of nice weather in town to feature one of their incredible travel bags and some other accessories.

2023 was another wild year. Lots of new experiences, lots of new work opportunities and lots of good people in my life. It was a year of fun client work, fun personal work and just fun down time and hobbies as well. It’s all about balance, really! I can’t thank the people and clients in my lives enough for the support that you all have given me this year. I can’t wait to see what 2024 holds. It’s going to be a good one, I’m sure of it. Cheers to 2024, friends!