2019 | A Photographic Year in Review
Well, that’s it. Another year passes and as I sit here preparing to write this post, having just celebrated Christmas with my family and friends, I now embark on the quest to quietly reflect on 2019 and contemplate where I want to take my photography and what I want to achieve in 2020.
2019 was, as usual, a busy year for me both in my personal and photographic life. I kicked off 2019 with a focus on getting myself in shape which apart from the obvious health benefits of shifting a few pounds, can really help when heading out and lugging around a big, heavy camera bag for hours on end. There was, however, one downside. As we all know, there are only so many hours in the day so I had to take the decision to prioritise work, family and health over photography. This didn’t mean my photography stopped, not at all, but the number of opportunities to get out with my camera would inevitably be impacted.
It wasn’t all bad, I still made over 40 photography related trips into London during 2019 and still managed to shift a few pounds! Not too shabby.
Below are a few of the photographic highlights of mine that took place during the past year.
Printing my own photos
Previous to 2019, I would occasionally print photos via a professional photo lab but with the desire to print my work more and knowing the benefits it may bring to my photography, in March 2019, at the Photography Show in Birmingham, I brought my first professional printer so I could try my hand at printing my own photos at home.
It was a bit of learning curve but once I got to grips with proofing and printer profiles I cannot emphasise enough how important printing images has become for me. Not only am I able to appreciate my images in a larger, more tactile form but it provided me with the ability to better critique my work.
Whether you use a professional print lab or decide to do what I did and print at home, I cannot recommend enough that you print out some of your best work!
In 2019, I wrote an article about my simplified home printing process which you can read more about here.
Mental Health and Why Photography Matters
The hidden role photography can play in our lives is something I have only just started to explore in 2019 and it has really opened my eyes to the subject. After diving a bit deeper into the positive effects having a creative outlet can have on people that fight various degrees of inner darkness, I decided that this is something I want to continue to pursue and help raise awareness where I can. You can read more in my first post on this topic here.
On-Location Photographing Ghent
One of the photographic highlights for me in 2019 was visiting the charming city of Ghent. I spent an enjoyable few days exploring the city and managed to grab a cracking sunrise along the river. Two of the photos I took during that sunrise shoot can be found further down, towards the end of this post.
Over the last couple of years, I have visited various cities in Europe including Paris, Venice and Bruges and 2020 will be no different with a trip to Amsterdam already booked in for May! If you wanted a recap on this trip to Ghent, pop over to my On Location travel post I wrote a few months ago: On Location | Photographing Ghent.
Weekly Photo Project
This was arguably the most significant photographic decision I made in 2019. I decided to start a new project which would combine my photography with an increasing desire to explore the storytelling side of the craft. I decided that I would post a new photo each week in the form of a blog post that would be accompanied by some kind of short story which I called Weekly Photo (I know, clever, right?) I’m reluctant to call this a project (such as a 365 or 52) as its not something I plan to complete. It has no end date. It is just a change of approach as to how I would be presenting my work going forward.
I embarked on this Weekly Photo journey because I was getting a bit fed up with feeding the social media machine, hunting for a new image each day was quite frankly, boring and I wanted to release photos on my own terms. Don’t get me wrong, I fully understand the important role social media plays for photographers but with this new approach, my website would now be the priority and social media became the supporting act.
There were, however, some unforeseen benefits that after only 30 posts (to date) I have already discovered. The most significant is how the need to curate and select the images to publish makes me think more carefully about what I like or dislike about my photos. Essentially, I now self-critique my photos more than I have ever done which helps me work out what does or doesn’t work and over time will help me become a better photographer.
Another, somewhat related plus side of this process and one that links to the first point above is that as I process and publish my weekly photos, I also print them. Printing my photos is a whole different ball game when it comes to inspecting my work as the physical print will show off any issues such as missed dust spots or distracting elements that I may have missed when viewing the photo on the screen.
Looking forward to 2020
So, what plans do I have for 2020? Well first off is to continue to build upon my Weekly Photos and refine my storytelling ability whilst sharpening my photographic skill set. Taking it even further, I plan to finally give my print store a serious go and offer limited edition, signed prints of a selection of my Weekly Photos and who knows, I may even create a calendar later in the year. I’ve had half-hearted attempts to offer prints in the past but never really promoted my store and this is something I have to learn to do more of if I really want a print store to work. I know it won’t allow me to give up my day job but it may help fund some of the expenditure photography requires and to have more of my work on other people’s walls would mean a lot to me. Anyone that parts with their hard-earned cash to buy my work is paying me the biggest compliment I can receive as a photographer.
Travel wise, I don’t have a great deal planned yet except a trip to Amsterdam in May where I will no doubt capture some travel shots and a sunrise shoot around the canals.
Now, I want to share a few of my favourite images from 2019, starting with some cityscapes of London, my sunrise shoot in Ghent and finishing up with my favourite city by the sea, Brighton.
Fujifilm XT2 | XF18-55mm | 20mm | 131 seconds | f/10 | ISO200
The photo above was featured in the third Weekly Photo post found here: THE SHARD AT SUNSET | WEEKLY PHOTO #3
Fujifilm XT2 | XF10-24mm | 17mm | 1/60th second | f/4.5 | ISO800
Fujifilm X-T30 | XF18-55mm | 18mm | 1/5th Second | f/5 | ISO160
The photo above was featured in the nineteenth Weekly Photo post found here: THE VIEW FROM ST PAUL'S | WEEKLY PHOTO #19
Fujifilm X-T30 | XF10-24mm | 10mm | 1/8 Second | f/8 | ISO160
The photo above was featured in the twenty-fourth Weekly Photo post found here: WESTERN TOWERS | WEEKLY PHOTO #24
Fujifilm X-T30 | XF10-24mm | 17mm | 28 seconds | f/9 | ISO160
The photo above was featured in the ninth Weekly Photo post found here: ST KATHARINE DOCKS | WEEKLY PHOTO #9
Fujifilm XT2 | XF18-55mm | 18mm | 2.6 Seconds | f/11 | ISO200
The photo above was featured in the twenty-second Weekly Photo post found here: A BLUE HOUR IN GHENT | WEEKLY PHOTO #22
Fujifilm XT2 | XF10-24mm | 10mm | 1/6th second | f/7.1 | ISO200
Fujifilm XT2 | XF18-55mm | 18mm | 1/5th Second | f/9 | ISO200
The photo above was featured in the twenty-fifth Weekly Photo post found here: SKELETAL REMAINS | WEEKLY PHOTO #25
Fujifilm XT2 | XF18-55mm | 28mm | 181 seconds | f/9 | ISO200
The photo above was featured in the twelfth Weekly Photo post found here: 3 MINUTES IN BRIGHTON | WEEKLY PHOTO #12
Thanks to all that supported me in 2019 and I urge you to stick around throughout 2020 by bookmarking my site or by signing up to my newsletter so I can continue to share my work with you in the future. I wish you a happy and prosperous New Year.
I’ll talk to you again next month, next year, next decade!
Trevor