New Year's Day Sunshine in a deserted Marley Park
So, 2013 is here then. Well, that was quick. It's hard to believe that the new year is here once again. I was planning to do a whole "year in review" type post before the end of 2012 but I was to busy to get around to it, so instead I'm going to look forward to the new year instead of just looking back.
Not that 2012 was bad or anything. My photography took a huge leap foreword in 2012. I had my first exhibition, sold some prints and got this blog off the starting line. I had some great trips and took some great photographs. My work was picked up on by some influential people and I even got great kudos for my first Blurb book from the folks at blurb. I had some success with adopting mirrorless cameras into my workflow in 2012, and some failures. I even got to go to fulfil one of my childhood dreams and visit the wonderful country of Norway and the beautiful city of Oslo.
One of my Favourite Photos of 2012
Looking back I can't believe how much actually did happen in 2012. But enough looking back, what's the plan for 2013?
For a start I want to blog more. I have been doing well with this photo blog for some time now, but I still don't get to do it enough. But I also want to change the focus a bit. I'm not sure quite what to do yet. I love writing about gear and the technical side of Photography but I also love posting pictures and there's something to be said for a pure photoblog. So I may switch this to being a pure photo blog and write about the gear side of things elsewhere. I do sort of already do that with my tumblr blog, but I'm not sure because tumblr has some limitations. I'm really not sure what way to go about it, but I know I need to address it. Much of my traffic comes for lens reviews and the like so it's something I'll have to put some thought into. What do you think?
I want to focus my photography a bit more in 2013 too. I've been enjoying taking lifestyle shots more lately and I want to explore that more. I also want to keep up the travel and city photography as I really like that. I also plan to improve my composition with a more artistic and strong graphic aesthetic. I've been doing this more and more lately and I like how my shots are turning out. Another thing this makes me do, and it's something that I think everyone should do, is to slow down and think about shots more. It's one thing I'm pretty bad at, andI have to get that urge to move on under control.
Lines and Symmetry
I'm also going to be writing a book in 2013. It's a big secret at the moment so I can't give any details, but it's a real bona fide book, proper publisher and everything. I'm pretty excited about it. I also have plans for self publishing my own quarterly journal / magazine. Ambitious? Absolutely. It will be digital only (probably iPad only too) mind you, but I've been doing some tests and I think you'll be excited about it when it launches. It takes a unique approach to photography magazine / journals and it's something that I'm surprised hasn't been done before now. Intrigued? I hope so!
Gear wise, my main plan for 2013 is to sell off some of my old gear. I've a rather large collection of cameras growing and many I don't use that much any more. The aim is to finally make the decision to stick with Canon or Nikon which I've been sitting on the fence on for quite some time. I also have some holes in my basic kit setup that needs to be filled, the most important of which is a descent tripod. I actually have a pretty good tripod head, but the legs are rubbish and the locks are starting to fail on them, which is never a good thing for a tripod.
Anyway, that's just my thoughts for the year ahead. What about you? What are your goals for 2013, photographically speaking?
