2020 was definitely a less than positive year for all of us. However, it did give us all a chance to slow down and do new things. I had quite a bit of extra time for one of my favorite hobbies, photography! I decided to take a look back at some of the positive things that happened to me during 2020, both personally and as a photographer.
January
The year started out as any other. Thankfully I slept during NYE instead of seeing the year in. 😆 I had a busy schedule of work, church, socializing and visiting my grandfather who was in an assisted living facility about 50 minutes from my house. I'm not sure I took one single photo with my DSLR.
February
I had my 32nd birthday in February, and celebrated by taking the day off from work and going out to eat at a local Mexican restaurant with my mom. Some friends also surprised me with a special dessert that weekend. Afterwards I went to a nursing home to sing with these same friends, not realizing that would be the last time we would do that before a pandemic hit. February also brought lots of other socializing, including a Super Bowl party. We had some mild weather one weekend, and I took a few pictures on a walk in the woods.
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| Creeping phlox |
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| Random dead weed in the woods |
March
March started out like normal, though we were hearing reports of the virus getting closer. I was even organizing for a church talent show that would take place in April. March 7 was the last day of completely normal socializing. I went to church where we had potluck, and I walked with a group of friends afterwards. That evening we even played games at some church members' home. It seemed like such a normal time, we didn't realize that in just a few days everything would shut down and change completely. At the end of March the doctors office I work for quit seeing patients in office, which meant I went to working only three days a week. All the time off meant I had more chances for photography. Plus all the spring flowers started blooming.
April
More staying in and social distancing in April. The reports of so many getting seriously ill and dying was giving me a lot of anxiety. I really didn't sleep very well during this time. I remember wishing my little sister a happy 17th birthday via video chat, and wondering how long it would be before I could see her in person again. All of this did lead to me having to put my trust in God, and strengthened my faith. I also started walking quite a bit, and wasn't eating foods from restaurants at all, so I was physically feeling much better. This ended up being one of the great benefits of the quarantine for me. I had a lot more time for photography in April as well, with the weather gradually getting nicer. I even joined in on the Getty Museum's art recreation challenge and recreated Jean-Honore Fragonard's Young Girl Reading.
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| Dogwood blossom |
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| Honey bee |
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| Creeping phlox in full bloom |
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| More dogwood blossoms |
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| My version of Young Girl Reading |
Things began to open up a little in May. Towards the middle of the month I was back to working full time. I also joined in on a social distancing walk with our former pastor and wife before they moved to Florida. It was really nice to see people other than my coworkers and mom (though I love them all 😊), but it definitely felt strange to leave without hugging or holding hands for prayer or anything. During this month, my grandfather had to move to a nursing home and took a turn for the worse and died. The nursing home let us in to see him once he was unresponsive. 😞 I took a Macro Photography breakout through Click Photo School, and started manually focusing my macro photos. It took a bit to get used to, but I'm getting the hang of it more and more!
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| Siberian Iris |
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| Leaf of a Tulip Poplar |
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| Kousa dogwood |
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Dandelion
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| Jumping spider |
June
In June things were beginning to open up even more. We started seeing patients in the office again a couple days a week. We had my grandfather's memorial service outside at our family farm. It was nice to have several people come and share their memories of him and how his life had blessed them. I got to see a couple close friends from church for the first time since March at his memorial as well, and that was nice. Photography-wise I continued learning more about macro, and was able to get out and shoot quite a bit more. I also started taking quite a few more photos of insects.
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| Spider on a balloon flower |
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| Corn fly enjoying a flower |
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| Corn fly enjoying the astilbe |
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| Trashline spider in his web |
July
July brought even more normalcy back to life. I got to walk with my normal walking group from church, in 90 degree heat. It was definitely worth the hot and humid weather to be able to see them again, including getting to see my friends' new baby for the first time. 😊 My sister got baptized, and I was able to take a week vacation and go visit her, my dad, step-mom and other sister and brother. I was so happy to see them!! I also got to use a few flowers from my sister's bouquet she received at her baptism for some still life photos, utilizing the inverse square law.
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| Rosepink |
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| Small spider |
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| At my sister's baptism |
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| About to be baptized |
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| After the baptism with our parents |
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| Daisy |
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| Rose |
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| Another shot of the daisy |
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| My brother helped me out by holding some of the flowers for me |
August
Not much to mention in August. I came back from my dad's on August 2nd, and life continued at home about the same as it had in July. I did go back to church for the first time since March to play the piano when our organist was out. Our church wasn't fully open yet, but I enjoyed getting to see and socially distance visit with the people who were there. I started taking even more pictures of spiders, butterflies and other insects. I also started challenging myself to shoot in full sun more.
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| False potato bug |
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| Praying Mantis |
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| Praying Mantis |
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| Spider plant flower |
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| Lantana in the morning sun |
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| Skipper |
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| Skipper enjoying the butterfly bush |
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| Arrowhead orbweaver |
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| Tiny garden spider |
September
I got to go visit at my dad's again in September, this time for my brother's 16th birthday. I still can't believe he is that old! We took several pictures after church. The midday lighting in my dad's backyard is not the greatest, but we still had a lot of fun with these!
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| Family photo |
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| Parents |
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| Siblings |
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| Prepared to fight crime 😆 |
October
Nothing much happened in October. I was still working full time. Covid cases began to rise, so we started to stay in a bit more. I took a ton of pictures in October, which I have not gotten to edit yet. I did take some self portraits in front of a very old barn that is on our family's property. Last week the barn was pretty much dismantled as it was unstable. But I'm glad I got these pictures with it while it was still standing! Even if people driving by on the road did look at me like I was crazy. 😆
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| The leaves were barely left on the trees |
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| The barn is over 100 years old, from our estimations |
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| The weather was fairly nice that day |
I took a week off in November, and just did things around the house. It was a nice, productive and relaxing week. It was the first week I've had off from work at home since I began working full time. I took several photos this month, but not as many as the nice weather was winding down. I haven't gotten to edit any of those photos either. Hopefully soon!
December
Getting ready for Christmas this year was a lot less stressful than normal. Normally there are so many events to go to and plan for. This year was so much different. I definitely miss the busyness, but have also been glad to have a break from it this year. I was also able to go to my dad's again to celebrate Christmas. I took some Christmas pictures for one of my coworkers at her house. Her house was beautiful and very Christmasy and her family was lovely, so it was a fun experience! I also took a holiday themed self portrait in my bathroom. 😄
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| My coworker's family |
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| In front of their Christmas tree |
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| My bathroom self portrait |
All in all, for me 2020 was a year of growth. Through all the challenges, I learned to put more trust in God. I learned more fully that trust in yourself will get you nowhere. I also learned to enjoy the simpler things in life, and that it's okay to relax more. I also learned that the more time you put into a hobby, the more your skills will grow with it. I'm looking forward to bringing these new lessons and skills with me into 2021, where we are hopefully able to transition back into life more as it was before the pandemic.
Beautiful diary of your year that incudes your gift of artistic photography. So glad you have seen the blessings through the trials!
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