2023 Lincoln Daily News Photo of the Year

Choosing the 2023 picture of the year at Lincoln Daily News is not nearly as easy as it may sound. The four staff who were assigned to choose only ten pictures from their assigned three-month period will attest to that, as will I as the one who now has to try and choose just one to be named the photo of the year.

I struggled with my decision, but finally decided on a photo submitted to Lincoln Daily News by local attorney Steve Miller. Miller has access to the roof of the building at the corner of Kickapoo and Broadway and one night made his way up there to grab a shot of the Logan County Courthouse in its holiday dress with Winter Wonderland Christmas trees glowing brightly and skirting the parameter of the courthouse lawn. It is a remarkable picture, and a remarkable statement to how far this community has come in the last few years to collaborate and work toward the one end goal of showing the world our community in its very best light. Thanks Steve for submitting this photo which is now our official LOCAL Photo of the Year – 2023.

I qualified Miller’s photo as the top LOCAL picture, because there is one more shot that I want to share as an Honorable Mention Photo of the Year that came from Reuters, LDN’s syndicated news source. This photo ran in our Health and Leisure section on June 9, 2023, and is not digital art. The super-sized rubber duckies were an art installation by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman and appeared in the Hong Kong seaport. The photo was taken for Reuters by Tyrone Siu.

I chose this photo because it just makes me smile every time I gaze upon it. It brings to mind the lighter side of life, the smile that we all need, that chuckle that stays with us as we enter into another tough day at work, and that memory of when we were kids and the rubber duckie in the bathtub was the most important thing in our young and inexperienced lives.

Here at Lincoln Daily News, this is our gift to you and our wish for you for 2024, that no matter how hard the going may get, you find time to smile, carry something in your mind that will lighten your load just for a moment or two, and if it is something as simple as a rubber duckie so be it!

Love, peace, and wishes for a very happy, healthy, and prosperous 2024 to all of you from all of us at LDN!  -  Nila Smith

Photos from LDN archives           [Click on image for larger version]