I was cautious going in to 2021, and rightly so. But I was also hopeful, rightly so. 2021, in retrospect, was a year dominated by hopeful caution. Hopeful for a vaccine, hopeful for protection from the vaccine, but cautious enough to not jump into our old, pre-pandemic lives. It’s so hard to wrap your head around all of the probabilities (getting COVID and spreading COVID and everything in-between), and I didn’t want to be responsible for anyone but me. So…caution was and is my middle name.
Going through my photos, it struck me how much nostalgia played a role in my happiest moments and that the nostalgia was balanced by some really incredible firsts. So, it’s been a ride. Feeling the warmth of good memories along with the sadness of time passed, things and people we’ve lost along the way and the flipside of feeling the exhilaration and joy, and I admit, a tad bit of fear as I tried some very new things and adventures, all against the backdrop of a pandemic.
As 2021 was coming to a close, I found I was reflecting less and looking forward more. That’s also part of the ride. Healing from the devastation a pandemic has wrought. Experiencing a year that overall was good. Allowing myself to look forward with more hope and bigger dreams for the next year.
Photography in Phlux
It’s also interesting that my photography has been on quite a ride as well. I use my phone more. I’m experimenting more, trying more new things and trying to learn more (via Creative Live and 52 Frames, check them out!) In a previous post I talked about a seismic shift and some revelations in finding my photographic voice. I finally gave myself permission to quit being something I’m not, and I’m still on a path to discovery. In looking through a year’s worth of photos, so many are snapshots, and I don’t care! I didn’t use a ton of photography gear to create every photo, but I recorded the moment and it’s just as important to me as my attempts at being an artist. Now, there’s a revelation for you! Freedom from my very own, self-imposed-for-no-good-reason constraints is a very good thing.
Without further ado…
2021 – My Year in Photos
Note: Click on the first image to see full sized images and captions.
JAN – Oh looky there! We did get some snow. Regardless, overall, it was a dry year.
JAN – A lot of power outages, we purchased a bigger generator.
JAN -I am married to McGyverski – when the power is out, there’s a way to stay connected.
FEB – We experienced our first Mono Wind event. Very few trees down on our property, but near us, there was a lot of damage.
FEB – took advantage of our relatively dry weather to drive up to Mammoth Pool. Over a year after the Creek Fire, this car remains. So representative of the devastation from that fire.
FEB – we road tripped to Dana’s house. It was a beautiful winter in Utah.
FEB – Went to Ice Castles with Dana an artsy ice installation with neat LED lights.
MAR – first ever Blossom Trail tour!
MAR – Death Valley, wild weather, including snow (another first!)
MAR – Death Valley, who could resist a prancing, baby, wild burro?! Another first – hadn’t seen them before.
MAR – A visit to Calla Lily Valley with my friend Joani. Another first!
APR – Road trip to Missouri via Route 66. We stood on the old road…
APR -… and we stood on a retaining wall at the train history museum on Rt 66 in Kingman, Arizona…
APR – …then we stood on a corner in Winslow, Arizona…
APR – and we stood on the midpoint line of Rt 66.
APR – A deviation from Rt 66, we stood under the arches of the Oklahoma City National Memorial
May – Of course we took some bike rides! But 2021 was frought with road construction on Hwy 49. Soooooo many stops.
MAY – First bike ride through Yosemite. The gates were opened, then closed, then opened by appointment only this year.
MAY – The Flower Supermoon Blood Moon Lunar Eclipse – with Joani
MAY – Hike to Chilkoot Lake, aka Mosquito Central. A first for the hike, sadly not the mosquitoes.
JUN – A project from Merced Camera Club got me experimenting. Definitely a first.
JUN – A return to tent camping! First foray was to Tioga Lake. Nostalgia and a first rolled into one.
JUN – Olmstead Point on the way to camping at Tioga Lake. Nostalgic!
JUN – Camping at Tioga Lake, I kept hearing noises. This little guy made multiple meals out of this fence post.
JUN – General’s Highway from Moro Rock. So very nostalgic.
JUN – Camping in Sequoia; nostalgic and new! First drive up to Mineral King.
JUL – A first, but not mine. Mountain biking at Mammoth;, Grandpa and Grandson
JUL – More firsts! Rented e-bikes in Mammoth and rode a loop past Twin Lakes, Lake Mamie, around Horseshoe Lake, to Lake Mary and back.
JUL – After a harrowing (because it was packed with people and the windows were closed) shuttle ride down to Devil’s Postpile, I give you Devil’s Postpile. Nostalgic for sure, but smaller than I remembered!
JUL – camping with granddaughter in Sequoia NP – soooo nostalgic watching her swim in the Kaweah River just like I did as a kidlet.
AUG – Anything he can do, I can do…too! First ever mountain biking at a ski resort! China Peak
AUG – First ever pack trip to the high country. Fab trip with 7 amazing women artists – the mules carried our stuff and we hiked to 1000 Island Lake.
AUG – More firsts – I had never been on these trails and was thrilled to walk on the PCT for a short distance.
AUG – Banner Peak at sunrise, another first!
AUG – First light at Emerald Lake on the JMT. Another first!
SEP – A few tense hours as a fire broke out on the other side of our little valley. Sadly not a first, and definitely not nostalgic.
SEP – another camping trip (with Joani) to the east side for fall color. Both a first (camping with Joani) and nostalgic (spent a lot of time on the east side as a kid).
SEP – East Side fall color, Sagehen Summit. First! I’ve never seen black leaves before.
SEP – East Side Fall Color, Sagehen Summit
OCT – Tent camping in Yosemite Valley – a first! Woke up to a storm rolling through.
OCT – Tent camping in Yosemite Valley – a first, because I have only ever camped up on Tioga Road.
Papa reading to granddaughters
OCT – took the long route home from a SoCal visit, saw this determined angry bird from inside the La Purisima Mission Visitor Center.
OCT – Another first; camped at Jalama Beach. Pretty sunset, beautiful ocean, and oil drilling platforms (Hidalgo and Harvest).
NOV – All Soul’s Day in Hornitos; not a first, maybe a tad bit nostalgic.
NOV – Photographed my friend Faith, painting en plein air in Yosemite Valley
NOV – RV camping at Shaver Lake and a drive through the Creek Fire burn area.
NOV – A drive through the Creek Fire burn area, looking out over the Tule Fog and Coast Range.
DEC – working on some minimalism; loved this mid-century sign and a little nostalgia
DEC – Headed to SoCal for the holidays on a scenic route, a first for Hwy 155. Lovely winter light skimming the tops of trees.
DEC -Scenic route to SoCal on Hwy 155, a first.
DEC – arrived home to the storm of the decade?! Lots of snow!
My 2021 Photo of the Year
This one is tough. 2021 was a year marked by a pandemic AND wonderful adventures, so it’s hard to pick THE quintessential image from the year. I was tempted to choose a pandemic-related photo. But I did that last year, and we all desperately want to move on.
So, this is the one. It’s nostalgic for sure; an old enter sign, from a bygone era. It’s late in the day, or it’s late in the year. The sign is pointing to the lower left while being in the lower left and it points to nothing. Or…everything. The moon adds visual weight to the left instead of balancing out the image, but that’s okay. The moon has always pulled at us from afar. This photo is a compositional no-no. It’s edgy, uncomfortable maybe. A real rule breaker, this one. And that’s why I like it. This image is not only representative of my 2021, but it is also a reminder to me, don’t go or look back. Go forward. Enter. And make it a grand, rule-breaking, edgy and off-balance entrance. Life is short. Make it exciting!
Enter! Boldly go where you have not gone before.
Happy New Year!
This is where I’m supposed to get sappy and wish you all health, happiness, prosperity, blah blah blah. And I do! But I think Neil Gaiman has the right of it:
“I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes. Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things, trying new things, learning, living, pushing yourself, changing yourself, changing your world. You’re doing things you’ve never done before, and more importantly, you’re doing something.”
Thx
Oh, I just love this! You go girl, being daring is what we have to give – to 2022! Enter……….
Thank you Faith! I’m really looking forward to an adventurous year.
Wow another incredible post, reminds me of all the fun things we did and the places we saw. Looking forward to another year of exciting adventures.
Thank you, and me too! We’re a couple of vagabonds. 🙂