2024 - new year, new me?
The days around New Year’s Eve are usually a time for me to review the past year and reflect on things. Last year, I tried something different - an experiment, really - where I journaled everything I did for a whole year. To my surprise, I was astonished to see that I reached more goals than I thought (though, of course, there were plenty I missed as well). Journaling helped me focus on new goals and resolutions, and also to re-evaluate some things along the way.
Re-evaluating my life has become an ongoing theme, especially since I lost my grandma last year. I want to write more about this, but there are still some things I need to clarify first, as it’s affected both my mood and my photography. Winter isn’t usually an active photography time for me anyway, but lately I’ve also felt a lack of inspiration.
Not everything is gloom, though1 - I met new people, saw new places, and I’m curious what this year will bring. There are exciting new developments on the horizon: cool projects, and (hopefully) more time for photography. I still have some cameras and film to test.
Speaking of which, here are some fireworks I captured on Polaroids with my SX-70 at midnight:
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Although, i am not so optimistic about the recent political developments. It seems to me that even a “progressive government” continues to set a far-right and authoritarian course - be it with the expansion of mass surveillance, with repression against climate activists or with further resentments towards poor people and refugees. While the Left is still primarily preoccupied with themselves, the right continues to grow stronger due to the hypocrisy and incompetence of others. And the EU is giving them all the tools for more control. Surveillance disguised as digitalization projects for example in health, postal and mobility services or directly with data retention or chat control (which at least is postponed for now). The climate catastrophe is still raging on with really creepy phenomenons and the political change is still a farce. I hope in 2024 there will be still positive changes, ideas and projects for a better world… ↩︎