2022: In Review
2022 was the beginning of opening up. It’s a bit of a weird time – the virus is still with us, yet all mitigations are gone. The government approach appears to be “you’re going to get it, so don’t worry about it” yet the scientists are saying there is a detrimental affect of catching it. Given the choice, I’m siding with the scientists whilst still moving slightly back towards normal.
We’re still both working from home, and neither of us have yet been into the office. We have gone back to band rehearsals though (towards the end of 2022) and back to some camera club meetings. We’re still avoiding indoor dining, and pubs for now though we have done some shopping in person again.
January
2022 started with the camera club still running mostly on Zoom, though with some planned in person events. At the end of the month we gave a Zoom presentation to the club, looking at what creativity is.
February
This image was developed from some diagrams in a 100 year old electrical theory text book that was owned by Sharon’s grandfather.
This month saw the first camera club in person meeting since the pandemic started, with a club member presentation taking place. We decided to avoid it for now, given the high prevalence of Covid. We did manage to get out for some walks with my mum. We also had a variety of online RPS events to attend.
We also did an online family escape room with relatives in Wiltshire and Australia.
March
In March we managed to get some days out, and attended our first in person camera club meeting for some time. The camera club exhibition also finally got hung in Cliffe Castle museum – only about 12 months later than planned!
March also marks 10 years since our photography journey really began with a visit to John Gravett in the lake district, it’s been a fun journey since then.
April
We’ve had a Creative group at our camera club for a while now, and we’ve managed to meet about every six weeks on Zoom. We also have an informal bi-weekly Tuesday Chat where members show up and share images.
May
In May we ventured out to see the band play, and assured them we’d back back at some point. We also ventured out to our first event indoors – the Yorkshire Photographic Union exhibition assembly in Hull. We were masked throughout apart from when we picked up our prize certificates.
We also bought a 3D Printer and used it to make this vase.
June
We were supposed to be on an Arctic Cruise in 2020, which was delayed a couple of times. It was due to take place in 2022 but was cancelled earlier in the year. Our Australian relatives already had flights booked so we agreed to all meet up at a cottage in Wales, suitably Covid tested.
I was also awarded EFIAP/silver during June
July
Given the significant price increase in energy, we took the plunge and had solar panels installed during July. They made an immediate difference to our electricity usage, and combined with batteries had just run most of the time off the power from the panels. Definitely a good investment.
August
We ventured out into Leeds city centre in early August to meet up with various people who attend Camversation talks for a photo walk. We had a good day.
This month I managed to get enough acceptances to apply for EFIAP/gold at the end of the year. My plan is to give salons a bit of a rest for now, and build up some more images before gradually doing EFIAP/platinum over a few years.
We finally returned back to band rehearsals too – it was good to be back and we weren’t too out of practice.
September
At the start of the month we once again judged the local show’s photography competition – the kids were much better than the adult categories!
We managed to get a week away, staying in an apartment at a stately home in Northumberland. We had a good week – we think we might even have been the last people to stay there as it was for sale and the owners were moving out during our week there.
We also took part in a Yorkshire Photographic Union competition to quality for the camera club to represent Yorkshire at a national competition in October. We managed to come in first for the second time in a row, the last being in February 2020.
October
We were back with our favourite zombies at the Leeds Scare trail in late October. We made a point of photographing as many of the character actors as we could before it got dark – the trail itself is always a nightmare in the dark.
We also drove over to Blackburn to take part in the PAGB Interclub Print competition, representing Yorkshire. We didn’t trouble the top of the results, but enjoyed the day out. We also stayed over in a Premier Inn – breakfast we had in the restaurant, but for evening dinner we grabbed a takeaway and ate in our room.
November
I managed to get a Covid booster jab in November, being as I’m now over 50. Sharon will have to wait a while before she can get one. We called at Kirkstall Abbey for a walk on the way back.
We finally managed to call into our local florist and buy a couple of individual flowers to photograph – it seemed to work well, so we’ll keep trying it.
December
December I almost had to go into the office to meet a customer, but they’ve put it off until January next year. We travelled down to Sharon’s parents for Christmas, returning just before New Year.
So at the turn of the year, I’ve applied for EFIAP/gold but haven’t done any further salons as yet. The Covid world looks as treacherous as always, but without much in terms of mitigations happening. We’ll continue to protect ourselves as best we can, while not being complete recluses.