Reflecting on 2020

Also known as the worst year ever.

It’s that time of year where we raise a glass and take a look back at what has in all likelihood been the most crappiest year of all time.

I think it’s safe to say that this year has been, putting it mildly, challenging. I had many hopes for what I thought 2020 was going to be like way back in January and was looking forward to all the great things that this year had in store for me. If I’d have known what was coming and how it was actually going to turn out I’d have probably stayed in bed.

Anyway I thought it’d be good to take a look back at this time last year and what I set out as my goals for the year.

“I want to continue to post regularly to this blog and shoot as often as I possibly can. The former is down to me and the latter is dependent upon circumstances.“

‘Dependent upon circumstances.’ Jeez, I was almost asking for trouble with that wasn’t I. I think I did alright with regular blog posts up until September and then I crashed. I just felt like I had nothing creative to share. Something I hope to rectify in the future.

“Trying to reignite the creative spark after a brief break was a bit more challenging than I expected.”

And just when I thought my creative embers were starting to smoulder they were doused by the global pandemic. Which was a bugger. Whilst I’m hoping that by the time the warmer weather is upon us things will be much better there’s no guarantee of that so I am looking at alternatives to my usual portrait photography.

“Outside of photography and this blog, one of my goals for 2020 is to attend another comic-con,”

Well, I think we all know how that turned out, don’t we.

“Another goal is to try and write more short stories.”

I actually have done a little bit of writing, though not as much as I may have liked. Maybe I’ll take a look back and see if any of it’s worth sharing.

“I want to get a bit more active. Try and drop a bit of that post Christmas weight. And some of the pre-christmas weight as well. It’d also be nice to improve my flexibility, strength and stamina. “

Yeah. This didn’t happen. If anything I’ve piled on more weight. Something that is now particularly beginning to bug me. Time will tell if I actually do anything about it though.

“I also want to share more of my process. Show you more from behind the scenes. I am going to print more of my photos in 2020.”

Due to having naff all shoots, there’s been, unsurprisingly, naff all behind the scenes to share. I also usually forget to shoot anything like that as I’m usually too focused on the shoot itself.

So, how did things go?

Due to the global pandemic I have spent far too much of this year not being able to shoot. Either because of lockdown restrictions, childcare issues or the uncooperative weather. It’s been a struggle and it certainly took a toll on me.

On the positive side, this did push me to send messages out to people asking if they would be interested in a location photoshoot. This is something that I wouldn’t usually do as it scares the absolute crap out of me. While I didn’t get a huge response or get to shoot as as much as I would have liked it feels like a positive experience. This may be something I return to , or some variation of it, in future when things are a bit more relaxed. And when the weather is a tad nicer to be outdoors in as well.

So, what’s next?

The important thing I have to remember is not to be so hard on myself. I’m going to take this time now to relax and plan ahead for the year to come. I’m working on ideas for future shoots and I’m hopeful that I can be back in a studio before too long. However I’m also working on alternative ideas and ways of shooting should that not be the case.

I’ll end simply with a little showcase of the shoots that I did manage to get in this year and by wishing you all a Happy New Year. Hopefully it will at least have a money back guarantee.