I have shared an annual review on this blog each year for the last 4 years (since starting this blog back in 2016). Like many people around the world, 2020 has been one rollercoaster of a year. I didn’t quite get my act together to write my review until what is now the end of January 2021. The purpose of this is to reflect on the (crazy) year that was 2020 and discuss what I’m looking forward to in 2021. A word of warning, this ended up being a fairly lengthy post and not all related to photography.
My previous year in reviews can be found here:
Reflection
While 2020 was an unprecedented year with filled with trials and tribulations for many around the world, there was certainly a lot to be grateful for as well. Living in Australia, I know how fortunate we have been with regards to the pandemic that swept the world. We had our share of deaths, lockdowns and border closures, however it was nowhere near as severe as other countries. Nor did we as a nation experience the same high rates of death that other countries have.
As someone who is as a health care professional working in our public healthcare system, I was very much aware of the potential impact COVID-19 would have on our health system and patients. There was a lot of behind-the-scenes planning and management to prepare ourselves for the worse case scenario. At the same time, I’m so grateful for the frontline workers who showed up day in day out, putting themselves at risk to be able to do their jobs. During lockdown in Australia, I still recall how eerie and empty the streets and highways were when I was driving to and front work during what was once peak hour. It was a stark reminder of the impact the virus had on our society.
As 2020 progressed, states were able to gradually flatten the curve and cautiously states slowly began to open up society to relatively normal activity again. Some states unfortunately had to go back in lockdown or partial lockdown at various points of 2020. In WA we were extremely lucky to live a mostly normal life in the second half of 2020. Plenty of social distancing measures are still in place, and the focus has been very much being able to rapidly contact trace should there be an hint of a positive case.
As we kick into 2021, the outlook is a little bit more positive on one hand (with vaccines on its way) but on the other hand there is the threat of mutated strains of the virus. As with many things, whether positive or negative, it will pass.
That being said, lets get into my specific reflections in key areas of life that I normally share on this blog’s annual reviews.
Lets start with the obvious. My 2020 travel plans were thwart by the virus. This included both international and interstate travel. I had originally planned to spend some time in Europe (UK & parts of western Europe), which naturally didn’t happen. I was fortunate in that I didn’t have anything booked so I didn’t have the hassle or stress of changing and/or postponing travel plans.
When lockdown did start lifting in WA midway through 2020, we decided to book a trip up to Broome, partly to celebrate my birthday but also partly to get out of the city after being confined to our homes for several months. July was the perfect weather for travelling to the north of WA. It’s typically the peak tourist season in Broome and the northwest of WA. However due to COVID-19, the crowds were thin and it made for a relaxing trip. We hired a 4WD to get around Broome. Even did a day trip to Cape Leveque. We joined a sunset whalewatching cruise, enjoyed the white sandy beaches of Broome and ate plenty of good food. It was lovely to escape the cold and rainy winter weather in Perth.
In the second half of the year, I did a few more trips within WA. In October I spent 4 days in Albany with friends. We hiked Bluff Knoll, visited wineries, cooked and generally just chilled out in a quiet farm house away from the main towns. In November, we headed down to Pemberton and surrounding areas as well as the southwest Margaret River region for a family trip and birthday celebration. We also made a day trip over Rottnest Island.
I feel fortunate that we were still able to travel and explore within WA. The silverlining is that if not for COVID-19, I’m not sure where whether I would have made my way to Broome, Albany and Pemberton in 2020.
On the photography side I had set myself the project of establishing a photography side hustle and rewarding myself with a camera upgrade if I did achieve my dollar target. The pandemic threw my worklife into overdrive as I work in the healthcare sector. It didn’t give me much time or energy left in my days or weekends to work on my creative hobby or side hustle as I had planned. However in the second half of 2020, with easing of government restrictions within WA. I did end up picking up a few photography assignments which included working as a wedding second shooter on a few occasions, shooting a birthday event and shooting an architectural project.
I learned so much from each assignment and has so much fun in the process! I’m grateful to those who gave me the opportunity to photograph for them. Although I didn’t hit my dollar target, with the income I made from the assignments I did reward myself by upgrading to the Fujifilm X-T4 in December 2020. After 5 years with the little old Fujifilm X-T10, it finally gets to take a break. The difference in speed and processing is worlds apart (definitely a future blog post once I’ve spent more time with the X-T4).
Blogging wise, I only shared 27 blog posts on Travellinglens.co , way off my ambitious goal of 50 posts in 2020. On the flip side though I got the opportunity to guest post and share my photography writing with Instax Australia twice and once with Fuji X Passion magazine. I was a great learning process to get to publish online on someone else’s platform and I felt like I really honed my writing skills by doing those assignments.
Looking to 2021 and beyond
We haven’t made any travel plans in 2021 given the unknown pandemic situation. I think it’s safe to assume that international borders will remain closed for the foreseeable future. Interstate travel will hopefully re-commence without the on-and-off border closures once the vaccines are gradually rolled out. It would be great to make it to Melbourne in May 2021. And maybe somewhere in Tasmania, New South Wales or Queensland in October 2021.
With a few other major life changes in play in my personal life in 2021, I think building my photography side hustle will take a bit of a backseat. I would still love to work on more architectural and interior shoots, and documentary style photography as those are two areas I’m passionate in in photography. So if anything, those would be the areas I would pursue as far as the side hustle goes.
Instead I want to focus my time and energy on going through my backlog of photos (yes this is a constant battle of mine!) and sharing stories and images on this blog. I want to focus more on writing assignments and collaborations (e.g. with Fujifilm Australia). I also want to create meaningful content for this blog and the Fuji X Aus Blog that are relevant to the readers. I would love to get back into being a more active member of the Fuji X Aus community again and reignite my passion in photography.
I’m looking forward to doing more photography and possibly experiment with videography in 2021 with the X-T4. One of my fun goals I have set for myself is to create short 1-3 minute film by the end of 2021.
To able to do what I set out to do in 2021, I need to create boundaries and better habits and routines in my work and personal life that will allow me to have more time and energy to pursue my creative hobby of writing and photography.
Conclusion
If you have read this far, thank you! I’m excited to see how 2021 turns out, I have no doubt there will be challenges ahead, but I’m sure there will be lots to be grateful for and a lot of positive that will come out of 2021 as well.
I’m looking forward to sharing more stories on my blog, organising more Fuji X Aus events in Perth (assuming no lock downs!) and connecting with the photography community. It means a lot to me that you have supported and taken the time out of your busy day to check out my writings and images. I hope you’ve had a great start to the new year and wishing you a safe and well 2021.
I’m keen to hear what you have planned for 2021 in the comments below! Thanks for stopping by today and happy shooting.
J.
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