Wow, what a wild ride 2020 has been. I don’t think I’m alone in saying it has been quite a year with a lot of lows and more than a few doses of confusion for just about everyone. Over the past twelve months I have personally been laid off from a job, went through a major breakup, navigated around a pandemic, existed in outside air so toxic it couldn’t be measured for weeks, watch a presidential election in horror, and ultimately spent way more hours at home than at any other point in my life.
With only two weeks or so left in 2020 I think the words “good riddance” come to mind.
All of that being said there were some bright spots throughout the year. I managed to take a long drive out to south eastern Oregon and spent several days isolated in the desert. That is something I’ve wanted to do for years and it took some life altering events to kick me in the rear and to make it happen. On top of that, though photo sessions felt few and far between, the ones that I did manage to pull off felt incredibly special. With all the chaos and uncertainty going on I couldn’t help but feel very grateful I had the opportunity to be creative and to make my photography an outlet of positivity in troubled times.
2020 also taught me not to take anything for granted. I’ve always known that things can change in an instant, and not always for the better. But knowing something and actually experiencing it are two different things. I now have a much greater appreciating of enjoying the good things. Like eating out, watching a movie, or getting out into the world to make photographs without fear or caution.
I feel optimistic about the coming year. I know there is still a long road before the world feels a little more normal again. Heck, maybe it’ll never again be the way that it was, but I do choose to believe there are good things on the horizon.