2020 a year to Forget

Who would have thought that at the beginning of the year what would lie in wait for us all?

After spending a huge amount of time and effort building a new studio and moving from my Beverley studio last year, this year was going to be a fresh start in a new studio and location. How wrong could I have been. 

Still, it hasn’t been all bad, I’ve loved the extra time I’ve had to be with my family. To see my boys during the day instead of just an hour if that before they go to bed. A daily walk to get us out of the house gave us the chance to talk and me to learn more about gaming than I care to know.

To keep myself busy a few gardening projects were planned, this was something I loved. The garden was a little overgrown when we bought this house four years ago and the house has taken priority so far. We now have an allotment with two greenhouses including a potting shed, a new seating area part way down the garden, a pond and a new courtyard area. All of which would’ve got done but not all this year.

Amazingly I also found time to do a little drawing and painting. Many years ago, I went to art college. It was a fantastic experience, something I’ll never forget. It gave me a chance to explore many different areas of the art world, and it’s where I found my love for photography, in particular photographing people. Myself and a great friend Brett Hambling, who went on to be a photojournalist for the music industry in the 80’s, would go out and photograph people in various jobs or at leisure. It gave us both the confidence to approach people and talk to them, something that if you know me, I’ve taken to the extreme.

I have missed my portraits and weddings. I’ve missed meeting people; I’ve missed talking to everyone and I’ve missed the celebrations, the weddings, the family get togethers, the birthdays but most of all the babies and children that come in for their portraits. I miss the baby cuddles and the children laughing when I put a teddy on my head.  

Things are getting back to normal, be it very slowly, I’m now looking forward to the portraits for Christmas presents and weddings that were postponed. We may all feel that this year was a year to forget but I’m sure we can all make 2021 a year to remember.