Happy New Year to you too.
As for summing up my photography in 2024 that's a tricky one. The first word that springs to mind is frustrating. I'm rarely happy with my photography, which in itself is frustrating
I wish I was one of those people who could see merit and big up their own work. I constantly see photos on FB and Instagram where someone says "I took this awesome photo at....." or "I'm really happy with this photo I took......" etc. I read these and think I'd never say anything like that. But why not, why am I so critical, why do I feel that every photo I take should be up there with the best and then get disappointed it's not, why can't I just be happy that it's a nice photo? Seems a bit crazy when I 'say' it out loud
I also get frustrated that even after all these years I still cannot create a preset I am happy with despite endless hours of trying. I think I've created one, but then apply it to a different set of photos and it looks pants, I can't tell you how many times this has happened and how many presets I have created. I tend to just revert back to my 'true to life' preset, which is always a good place I guess as it's not something that will age like other styles may, however I do like subtle film like processing but haven't created on yet that works 'across the board'.
All this being said, there was actually a photo I was happy with this year, I think mostly due to the fact is that I had an idea of what I wanted beforehand and it turned out as I wanted. It's rare that I have an exact idea in mind and execute it, normally I 'roll with it' at the time and 'wing it'
A1_9538 Re-Edit by
Toby Gunnee, on Flickr
And then a real boost was my recent Photographer of the Year award via Session Days. I don't do photography for anyone else by myself, but I'm not going to lie winning that gave me a real boost and it is nice when others pass compliments. Clearly I must be doing something right, which brings me back to the above, being able to see merit in my work. I'm going to really work on this in 2025 and try to stop being hyper critical.