My Plans for the Year

I’m not one to make huge new year resolutions or even make huge pronouncements about massive life changing events. However, I do think that a little structure and planning to my photography has paid dividends in 2021 and I think a little outline plan might not be a bad thing. This isn’t meant to be a month on month plan, or anything that I’ll monitor myself against, but it is a skeleton of the sports of things I want to try to do over the coming year with my photography. This is in no way meant to be in any order, this is just the sum of thinking I’ve been doing over the past few weeks. So here goes.

1. Projects

I really do think that there is real merit in undertaking a photography project. I have done several of them over the past year or so and it does provide a focus and structure to photography. You will know that I have one project thats still to be complete and this is the 12 Significant Photos Project. The actual, photography will end at the end of March then I need to select the images and do the final edits. One this has been completed I need to build a build an Adobe Spark site to show them off as well as produce a zine. These are all part of the agreement with the other photographers taking part in the project. I also need to present them on my own website as well as do a blog post.

I now need to think about what my next 12 month project needs to be and the following sections are some thoughts on what it might be.

1.1 Lighthouses

I have had a bit of a think about lighthouses from an early age, I’m really not sure why. Maybe its because I visited a few as a child on holiday with my parents. Whatever the reason I have worked out that there are around 20 lighthouses within about a 90 minute drive from my house. From South Stack on Anglesey, to Lees Scar at Silloth on the Cumbrian Coastline, I’m thinking that I should try to visit one a month, and create a project around the lighthouses of the North West, and try to show case them in different weather conditions and seasons of the year. Unlike the 12 Significant Photos project I wouldn’t visit each one more than once. That could be part of the challenge. The other good thing about this challenge is that it might give me the opportunity to have a trip away each month.

1.2 The Lake District

I have spent quite a fair amount of my photography in The Lake District, but this has tended to focus on the same spots. This includes Keswick, Glenriding, Grasmere and that particular area of the Lakes. There are so many places that I have not managed to visit and photograph that I need to focus on other parts of the Lakes. I’ve not been to Buttermere, Elterwater, Wast water, Bassenthwaite the list is quite large.

Having quoted the places I’ve not been to they are all quite well known places photographically, and maybe I should look to try to find places that are not on the beaten track. I think some research through the wainwright Fell guides might prove fruitful.

One thing that is for certain is that I will definitely have a weekend with Chris Sale, and book Chris to help me find some of those less well known spots that can make for some great images. Along the way I will always pick up some tips and tricks from Chris who is an excellent tutor.

1.3 My Home Town

I’m from Oldham originally and lived there for 28 years of my life. However, I’ve lived in Stockport for 31 years of my life, so I guess I should call Stockport my hometown. There is a good mix of town and country here in Stockport and there is a goodly amount of history to and I need to focus my thinking down to what would make a good and interesting project that could showcase my home town. I don’t want to just take some photographs of the major landmarks that wouldn’t be very challenging or unique. There are quite a few nice suburbs of Stockport that something interesting about them, but also there are plenty of places that could make interesting landscape type images. There definitely will be a project on my home town.

2. Holidays

I’m really unhopeful that I can get back to some meaningful overseas travel in 2022. There are so many places to visit both ones I’ve been to before and also new places to see. I’m hoping that these can be both short and longer trips, as I have missed my two weeks in the sun this last 2 years. I think this has had an impact on my well-being, as I think the two week break really gives you the chance to properly unwind and recharge the batteries. In amongst the reading and sightseeing there will be plenty of opportunities for photography. I have to say I really enjoyed the photo essay I did on the weeks holiday I had in Corfu last September. I shot that on various different cameras both actual cameras and also my iPhone. There will definitely be a few photo essay’s of the holidays this year.

3. Street Photography

This needs to be differentiated from the shoot of My Home Town. I live quite close to some major cities and when I’ve done some street photography previously I have enjoyed it. There are plenty of Street Photographers on Youtube and there are some sub genre’s that can be studied. I have to say I’m a little uncomfortable taking street shots that have people in them, mainly because I’m not sure what sort of reaction I might get. I am quite a social person in real life so maybe I should just “gird my loins” and have a good, what is the worst that could happen?

4. Post Processing

I do enjoy the post processing that I have undertaken so far and this has been helped hugely by the tips and tricks I’ve picked up. These have mainly been from Chris Sale but I also have done plenty of research on Youtube. I think I’ve mastered the basics of Lightroom now and can get the raw files to look like I want them to. However, I do need to make an effort to understand and use Adobe Photoshop more than I do. I thin k there are some real, benefits to be had by having Photoshop skills, as long as the images are true to what I saw on location and not changing wholesale what I shot at the scene.

There are lots of benefits to post processing and I need to practise things like “bracketing” and merging images. Focus stacking is something I haven’t done any of yet, largely due to ignorance, but there is merits in being able to focus stack in the right circumstances. This also includes doing panoramas in camera rather than using my iPhone. There’s lots to go at here and I will make a concerted effort to try to develop my post processing skills in the coming 12 months.

5. Image Printing and Competitions

I’ve had a small image printer right from day one. However, this only allows me to print snapshot size images. I think there is a time and place for that and I do have an album where I keep some of those images. What I’m thinking of doing more this year is printing and framing some of my own images. They will be professionally printed and framed in decent frames and will probably be presents for friends and relatives. Who knows I might even try to assemble an online gallery and display my images through one of the online gallery websites. I’m not sure who would look at the images but its all part of learning different aspects of photography.

I never thought I’d submit any images to a competition but I have submitted an image to LPOTY. I’m making it an ambition to do this as often as I can, when I get an image that I’m proud of and I think would be worthy of entry. At least one this year.

6. Documenting my Hiking

I walk a lot these days. I try to get to new walks as often as I can, but what will happen again this year is that a camera will come with me on ever walk that I take. This might somedays be my iPhone 13 Pro Max, or my main Sony Camera. My blog posts will document the hikes that I have and they may prove fruitful as ideas for future projects later in the year or for subsequent years.

When I started writing this post I had some vague notions about what I might do this next year. having got through to the end of the post I now think I have an exciting year of photography ahead of me. Some of you will want more detail in your plans but this is a great outline plan for me to build on in the coming months.