Originally published January 1, 2018
Happy new year! One of my new year’s resolutions is to restart this blog and update it regularly. But first, I would like to reflect on the past year.
While I have been photographing for many years, this was the year when I have started treating it more seriously, both from artistic and business perspectives. It has been a challenging endeavor, but it was also an amazing learning experience. And there is still a lot more to learn in the coming year. One of the more unusual lessons is how the business and artistic side of photography are intertwined: while I have initally joined Instagram largely to promote my prints store, it ended up being a great way to explore the field. I am now addicted to my daily dose of inspiration.
I have been incredibly blessed this year to have the time, resources, and company to explore the world like never before. When I just try to think of all the places I have visited this year, I end up pinching myself. It would probably be a long while before I match the travel level of 2017. Photographically, it was definitely a year of nature and landscape photography, so if the next year will turn out to be more low-key, I hope to catch up on another subject that fascinates me: architecture.
Of all the places I have visited and photographed this year, one destination stands out, and that is Hawaii, specifically the Big Island. On my first day there, driving along the Kohala Coast, I thought I would have to de-staurate my photos, because nobody would believe those vivid colors are real. The natural diversity of the island is unbelievable, and I would say that if you can only visit one place in your lifetime, make it be the Big Island. You will not be disappointed. And Kauai, by the way, is close behind.
I was also lucky to see several unique natural phenomena, and all in the space of less than six months. It was glowing caldera and active lava flows of the Kilauea volcano on the Big Island in Hawaii, aurora borealis over Iceland, and the total solar eclipse in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina. Witnessing each was a unique, stunning experience, and while I feel I did an OK job capturing them on camera, a lot was left outside of the frame. If I get a chance to witness such events again, I will try focus on capturing them in context. For example, I wish I had thought in advance of the setup to take a photo of my family all wearing the eclipse glasses and pointing excitedly at the sky.
And even though many photos I took this year convey a joyous, festive mood, many of them are also a reminder of the fleeting nature of all things on Earth. Only a couple of minutes would separate the peaceful, snow-capped Hekla volcano in Iceland from turning into the active inferno like Kilauea. Likewise, only a few days separated the tropical Caribbean paradise on St. Martin and Anguilla, which I have visited earlier this year, from total destruction by hurricane Irma.
