2009 in pictures
There are various reasons why I haven't been around much on LJ for the last half-year, but the most important reason is that I have been terribly busy at work. A three-year project had its deadline in December, and I had some tough months trying to meet that deadline, and I am very relieved now that I did.
Finishing this project so late in the previous year lets me clean the slate a bit and start over somewhat in 2010. I don't have any specific resolutions as such, but I aim to spend time doing things I like - including blogging - instead of thinking about what I ought to be doing, and to be less nervous and have more faith in my own abilities and knowledge.
As an aid to moving forward - here is a post looking backwards on some of the things I have enjoyed in 2009, specifically travelling and photography.
January
In January, we had lots of snow, which obviously had to be documented, here with a properly Narnia-like lamppost:
January was also a time when I began to experiment with photography. Here is an example of narrow depth of field, where I wanted to get the blurry, circular light.
February
February was still very much a winter month. I visited the new opera house in Oslo, as well as Flå in Hallingdal (2-3 hours north and west of Oslo).
Concerning photography, I was very taken with visible editing, not least framing all my images. This changed quite a lot throughtout the year.
March
In March - and early April - I visited the US, first Tucson in Arizona and then Chicago. Some of my favourite-ever shots were taken on this trip; the freshness of landscapes quite unlike I had ever seen was very inspiring.
April
In April spring finally came. I visited Hallingdal again.
May
I spent the whole of May in Oslo, taking photos of my home town - including on May 17th, our constitution day - and experimenting with putting several shots together to make a new image.
June
June was extremely hot. I loved it, but it made me extremely sluggish and unable to get much work done.
One weekend I took my camera to the city centre and 'shot from the hip' without looking what I was taking photos of. It resulted in this collage:
In June I also began taking photos with a Diana+, a remake of a plastic toy camera from the 60s, which uses medium format film. Other than the cost of developing and scanning the film, I had and continue to have great fun with this camera.
July
In July I made another collage, this time with a set of carefully composed photos from the Vigeland Park.
I edited a number of the shots from the collage in black and white.
I also went to England this month, to Cambridge...
...and Whitby. Whitby was truly one of the most fascinating and beautiful places I have ever visited, and I think my enthusiasm for the place shows in the shots I took there.
August
In August I began to be very, very busy, gearing up for the great Deadline in December. Fortunately, I had the sense to know that I needed to do other things than work as well, so I signed up for a jazz dance class. I enjoyed it so much and kept at it until it finished in December, and I will certainly be signing up for a new class in January.
In spite of the stress I also kept taking photos, spotting small details and making editing experiments that turned out quite well.
September
My birthday is in September, and in 2009 I got a macro lense from my Dad. This present changed things for me, not least because it makes it a lot easier to achieve that narrow depth of field effect that I like so much.
We also visited Helsinki to see Nightwish's huge end-of-tour show at Hartwall Arena. A beautiful city and a beautiful concert!
October
In October I was really beginning to feel the stress...
I didn't take a lot of photos this month, but I did modify my Diana+ to take 35mm film.
The results were interesting, if not always entirely successful - notice the lightleaks! - and I enjoyed the experiment a lot.
November
November was not the most productive month, photography-wise, either, but I did start training my eye to see interesting shapes and compositions in my own home:
My Dad lent me a Yashica, a medium-format camera from the sixties. So far I haven't been able to take a lot of photos with it; I want to use it outside, but I have mostly been at work during the few hours when the light has been good enough. Yeah for living in a city where there is so much more dark than light during winter...
December
Then, finally, December came. I finished in time for the Deadline and could relax properly during the holiday.
To congratulate me, my Dad gave me his tripod, and for Christmas I got a proper flash, so now everything is set for an interesting year in 2010.
Happy new year to everyone - may it be a good one!
Finishing this project so late in the previous year lets me clean the slate a bit and start over somewhat in 2010. I don't have any specific resolutions as such, but I aim to spend time doing things I like - including blogging - instead of thinking about what I ought to be doing, and to be less nervous and have more faith in my own abilities and knowledge.
As an aid to moving forward - here is a post looking backwards on some of the things I have enjoyed in 2009, specifically travelling and photography.
January
In January, we had lots of snow, which obviously had to be documented, here with a properly Narnia-like lamppost:
January was also a time when I began to experiment with photography. Here is an example of narrow depth of field, where I wanted to get the blurry, circular light.
February
February was still very much a winter month. I visited the new opera house in Oslo, as well as Flå in Hallingdal (2-3 hours north and west of Oslo).
Concerning photography, I was very taken with visible editing, not least framing all my images. This changed quite a lot throughtout the year.
March
In March - and early April - I visited the US, first Tucson in Arizona and then Chicago. Some of my favourite-ever shots were taken on this trip; the freshness of landscapes quite unlike I had ever seen was very inspiring.
April
In April spring finally came. I visited Hallingdal again.
May
I spent the whole of May in Oslo, taking photos of my home town - including on May 17th, our constitution day - and experimenting with putting several shots together to make a new image.
June
June was extremely hot. I loved it, but it made me extremely sluggish and unable to get much work done.
One weekend I took my camera to the city centre and 'shot from the hip' without looking what I was taking photos of. It resulted in this collage:
In June I also began taking photos with a Diana+, a remake of a plastic toy camera from the 60s, which uses medium format film. Other than the cost of developing and scanning the film, I had and continue to have great fun with this camera.
July
In July I made another collage, this time with a set of carefully composed photos from the Vigeland Park.
I edited a number of the shots from the collage in black and white.
I also went to England this month, to Cambridge...
...and Whitby. Whitby was truly one of the most fascinating and beautiful places I have ever visited, and I think my enthusiasm for the place shows in the shots I took there.
August
In August I began to be very, very busy, gearing up for the great Deadline in December. Fortunately, I had the sense to know that I needed to do other things than work as well, so I signed up for a jazz dance class. I enjoyed it so much and kept at it until it finished in December, and I will certainly be signing up for a new class in January.
In spite of the stress I also kept taking photos, spotting small details and making editing experiments that turned out quite well.
September
My birthday is in September, and in 2009 I got a macro lense from my Dad. This present changed things for me, not least because it makes it a lot easier to achieve that narrow depth of field effect that I like so much.
We also visited Helsinki to see Nightwish's huge end-of-tour show at Hartwall Arena. A beautiful city and a beautiful concert!
October
In October I was really beginning to feel the stress...
I didn't take a lot of photos this month, but I did modify my Diana+ to take 35mm film.
The results were interesting, if not always entirely successful - notice the lightleaks! - and I enjoyed the experiment a lot.
November
November was not the most productive month, photography-wise, either, but I did start training my eye to see interesting shapes and compositions in my own home:
My Dad lent me a Yashica, a medium-format camera from the sixties. So far I haven't been able to take a lot of photos with it; I want to use it outside, but I have mostly been at work during the few hours when the light has been good enough. Yeah for living in a city where there is so much more dark than light during winter...
December
Then, finally, December came. I finished in time for the Deadline and could relax properly during the holiday.
To congratulate me, my Dad gave me his tripod, and for Christmas I got a proper flash, so now everything is set for an interesting year in 2010.
Happy new year to everyone - may it be a good one!