2022 Photography Year In Review
2022 – Frankly, I think we all want to see the back of it. What a mess of a year.
I’m sure i’m not alone in saying that the general tone of the year, the political drama, the cost-of-living crisis, really hampered my mood artistically. Socially it was quite a struggle too, as a generally introverted individual, the photographic community on Twitter had been a great source of inspiration and friendship.
Then the takeover happened and from my own standpoint the community just seemed to fall apart, mostly through the changes in the platform and the mass exodus to other platforms such as Mastodon. It’s been a slow an arduous task trying to reconnect with everyone, and I’m just not quite there yet.
So let’s see how the photography progressed…
January
A new year with Rastrick Photography Group and we decided to get away from the library, and into Halifax to do a bit of street photography. It was cold, it was wet, but the low January sun works wonders for Black and White.
February
Still in the habit of not really travelling far, a lot of time was spent on local walks. This drove me towards a more urban, nature focused genre of photography. I tried to take the time to look closer, notice the small subjects rather than the grand landscape vistas.
March
A late evening visit to Manchester allowed for my first exploration of the city after sunset. Certainly some interesting photographic opportunities to be had, especially reflections of the high rise buildings along the many canals.
April
Back in the North East for a visit was pretty much a Tale of Two Cities. Early morning visits to both Sunderland and Newcastle. Photographing my favourite Pier at Roker and a wander along Newcastle Quayside to capture the modernist architecture of The Sage.
May
Out and about for a photowalk with Rastrick Photography Group. This time, a visit into Huddersfield on an architecture focused walk. Plenty of architectural gems to be found, and a few photographs that I was more than happy to have in the portfolio. Also a bonus from the walk, a friendly pigeon who decided to land on a wall right beside me. Probably my only decent wildlife photograph, got to love that pearlescence!
June
The small details in nature, I took so many pictures of grass in June!
July
All architecture, an afternoon wandering through the metal and glass of Manchester. Sharp angles, and reflections. Perfect monochrome subjects.
August
It was all about the coast oin August. A trip to the North East again so an opportunity to visit Roker. The weather is different every visit, this time I was gifted some wonderful low mist and fog for sunrise. This was a perfect combination for some monochrome work.
In complete contrast the visit to Scarborough and it’s world famous beach huts, colour, colour, colour!
September
A early start in September, and a coincidental clear sky, allowed me the opportunity to visit Harold Park in Bradford. The location has been on my todo list for many, many years. I was gifted with the most beautiful sunrise, and calm pond for the perfect reflections. The swan was kind enough to sit centre frame for me too.
October
Autumn: there’s only place to go, Judy Woods. The low autumn sun simply glowed through the canopy on this morning. I always struggle with woodland photography, chromatic aberration abounds normally, but on this day I think I managed to grab something good.
November
A very, very slow month. I didn’t really get a chance to click the shutter at all. I forced myself to step out into the garden and capture our wonderful Acer as it always turns a gorgeous red.
December
For the last ditch effort for the year, I always go down to Roker on Boxing Day with the hope of capturing a decent sunrise. For many years I’ve been scuppered by snow, rain, mist and fog. 2022 finally gave something back!
Clear, crisp air, and few wisps of low cloud to provide some interest in the sky along with a wonderful warm sun.
So after a year of ups and downs, I at least managed to finish the end of 2022 with something decent in the portfolio.
I hope you all managed to achieve something with your photography in 2022, and that 2023 works for us all!