Community Corner

23 Incredible Reader Images From 2023: California In Photos

Thanks to talented Patch readers across the Golden State, we bring you these 23 extraordinary photos.

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Maggie Fusek, Patch StaffVerified Patch Staff Badge
A sampling of the 23 incredible reader images contributed to Patch in 2023.
A sampling of the 23 incredible reader images contributed to Patch in 2023. (Collage by Maggie Fusek)

ACROSS CALIFORNIA — As we prepare to turn the page to 2024, we take a look back at the stunning photos submitted by Patch readers throughout the past year.

Although it was hard to pare it down to just these, here are 23 incredible images from Patch readers in 2023.

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1. Alameda Resident's Death Valley Photos

A vacation to Death Valley resulted in this beautiful image. (Photo by Tom Brody)

2. Napa Lighted Art Festival Delights Crowds

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The annual outdoor experience in Downtown Napa features lighted art sculptures and artwork projected onto iconic buildings. (Photo by Al Francis/Napasonomaphotos.com)

3. Surreal Sunset On Doheny State Beach

An Orange County photographer shot this dreamy photo of Doheny State Beach during sunset on Friday, Jan. 13, 2023. (Gail Lukowicz Photography)

4. Dublin Wildflowers Blanket Field

A field near Camino Tassajara in Dublin, California is blanketed with beautiful wildflowers in this photo from March 2023. (Photo by Manjunath Gangadhar)

5. Vargas Plateau In A Crystal Ball

Vargas Plateau Regional Park in Fremont, Calif. (Vanmeeganathan Balakrishnan)

6. Wildflowers Adorn Carrizo Plain National Park

Nature painted wildflowers everywhere in 2023 — even on the face of cliffs.(Photo by Dan Radecki)

7. Rejoicing In A Field Of Poppies

Saul Cepeda assures us that "no poppies were harmed in the making of this photo" in Fremont, California. (Photo by Olivia Cepeda)

8. Sacramento Public Art

This piece is not a mural, it is public art on a public recycling bin at the corner of L and 17th streets in Sacramento. (Photo by Claus Weisemann)

9. Pearl On The Beach

A cat named Pearl on the beach in Carlsbad, California. (Photo by Joshua Armstrong)

10. Roaring Yosemite Falls

Yosemite Falls in Yosemite National Park, Calif. on May 7, 2023. (Adriane Lee)

11. Infrared View Of Alameda Street

Gibbons Drive in Alameda, California. The trick is that Pons Maar used an infrared filter which affected the colors. (Photo by Pons Maar)

12. Cormorant Drying Its Wings

A cormorant is pictured on the Alameda shoreline drying its waterlogged wings by holding them up, like laundry drying on a clothesline. (Photo by Nick Stellato)

13. Watchful Deer Near The Trail

Deer pictured on the Fifield-Cahill Ridge Trail to the west of Crystal Springs Reservoir in San Mateo County. (Photo by Mike Pagano)

14. Whales Feeding In Monterey Bay

Humpback whales are pictured lunge-feeding in the photo taken on a whale-watching trip. (Photo by Judy Zobrosky)

15. Great Horned Owl Caught On Camera

A great horned owl is pictured on Village Park Way in Encinitas, California in April 2023. (Photo by Craig Callender)

16. Horseback Riders Admire Sunset View Atop 5 Canyons

Silhouettes of horseback riders at sunset atop Five Canyons in Castro Valley, California. (Photo by Mark Tanaka)

17. California Condors Visit Mount Diablo

California condors 692 and 726 were part of a group that flew north from San Benito County to the northern Diablo Range in early September 2023. Condor 692 flew the closest to Mount Diablo—he passed a mile or two west of the summit. (Photo by Gavin Emmons/NPS via Save Mount Diablo)

18. Elephant's Trunk Nebula From Danville Is 2,400 Light Years Away

Patch’s resident astronomer Bob Schiff shared a mind-boggling image of the Elephant’s Trunk Nebula, so-named because it resembles an elephant’s trunk. (Photo by Bob Schiff)

19. Solar Eclipse From Pleasanton

Talk about a "ring of fire:" This fiery image shows a solar eclipse on Oct. 14, 2023. ({Photo by Mike Bettencourt)

20. Rainbow Of A Lifetime

South Orange County photographer Scott Plummer was visiting Altisima Park in Rancho Santa Margarita to photograph the moon rising at sunset when he witnessed the rare monsoonal weather give way to a breathtaking rainbow in August 2023. (Scott Plummer Photography)

21. American White Pelican Prepares For Take-Off

An American White Pelican on a dock at Central Park in Fremont, California. (Photo by Sundar Amartur)

22. Sun Plunges Behind The Pacific Ocean At Davenport

This beautifully composed photo shows the perfect beachfront sunset. (Photo by Nithin Dev)

23. Fall In Pleasanton

In the final days of October 2023, the trees around the Tri-Valley were a festival of colors. (Photo by Sanjay Vazirani )

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