My photographic journey 2022

The last day of 2022 is upon us. With all that happened, it was a difficult year for the world. And for sure it was a busy and special year for us as a family. But as every year, new years eve is the time to look back and reflect on my photographic journey 2022. Did I grow as a photographer? No, not really. It felt like „more of the same“. Due to various reasons, photography (as well as this blog) took the back seat of life in the past 12 months. My own perception was that I didn’t even made half as many images as usual. But as I looked at my Lightroom archive of 2022, I discovered that I took just as many photographs this year as I did in 2021. Noteworthy was the shift of the used tools, from mirrorless camera to my iPhone. I just didn’t have as much time to venture out with my camera as in the years before. But seemingly I compensated with many snapshots I took with my ever present iPhone 12 Pro Max and its truly good camera. Contributing to this shift was also the fact that during our only real vacation this year, our trip to Israel, my then new Leica SL2-S broke on the second day, so I had to shoot the whole trip on my iPhone.

So it was, photographically, a difficult year. But going through this years archives, I still found 15 photographs that triggered remembrances about places, moments and emotions that made my 2022. And that I’m truly happy about. Spoiler: My photograph of the year isn’t among them. For my „POTY“ and the story behind check back on January 2nd ;-). My second favorite image of 2022 is the one above of the Dome of the Rocks in Jerusalem. For me, this is as close as I probably will ever get to emulating a shot of Steve McCurry, one of my photographic heroes. For the rest of the gallery, continue after the jump….

These two monochrome images where among the first shots I took with the Leica SL2-S, that I did acquire at the beginning of the year. I fell instantly in love with this camera. This love lasted until it broke down on me with a failure of the electronic shutter on day 2 of our trip to Israel. But shooting on the nightly streets of Nuremberg (with Covid restrictions still in full swing), I was awed by its low light capability and monochrome rendering.

Another photograph of the year was this iPhone shot of Big Girl at her window. She was the first of the family that came down with Covid and needed to quarantine. For me it was emotionally hard, not being able to hug her and having to talk to her from the cold and wet streets. Thankfully, she fully recovered, and later in the year we all eventually came down with our own Covid cases. But as Big Girl, we all got through it all right.

In spring, Covid restrictions finally eased up. Finally, we were able to resume our frequent short trips down to Italy, seeing a memorable exhibition of French impressionist Claude Monet in Genoa, with everyone still wearing masks. A few weeks later, Nuremberg had its first post-covid fun fair, a good opportunity to enjoy the new Leica’s low light capabilities.

In June, The Significant Other and I were finally vacationing again, with a memorable two week trip to Israel. And with all we saw and experienced, it was an awesome trip. Apart from my Leica disaster (no, I won’t mention it again – promised).

Israel was full of iconic places, with so many different aspects and perspectives to experience. From looking back at the horrors of the holocaust at Yad Vashem to visiting the site of the holy sepulchre in Jerusalem.

Israel was great for shooting some street photography. I got the hang of using my iPhone instead of my big camera, allowing me to blend in and get those inconspicuous images.

At the beach of Tel-Aviv / Jaffa I took my own personal version of the immaculate reception (the improbable pass that Steelers Runningback Franco Harris caught from Terry Bradshaw on Dec 23, 1972). Only this time it was a dog catching a frisbee down below at the beach, and that I managed to capture that shot with my iPhone!

One of my favs of 2022 was also this simple shot of Nuremberg’s main square, showing the freshly installed trees and herb beds the city installed the day before to counter the summers heat. It was also heavily favored on my social media, and even was featured on the official instagram account of the city.

Also in 2022 I did a couple of commissioned portrait sessions, like this one of Big Girl and her best friend. This was my fave from the session on a beautiful summer evening out on the Dillberg southeast of Nuremberg. The girls for sure had fun, as did the photographer….

Summer and Autumn brought us many trips to Italy (you’ll find out about the reason on January 2nd). We enjoyed a couple nights in Viggiona above the Lago Maggiore were we enjoyed the local two night – summer festival, were I put the Leica and my “China Noctilux” the TTArtisans 50mm f/0.95 to a good use.

The last image of my 2022 gallery is from the Halloween tour in Genoa’s medieval old town. Also here, it was the Leica SL2-S and the TTArtisans 50mm that allowed my to shoot street photography in near darkness.

This was it, my photographic journey 2022. Wish you all a peaceful last day of 2022, a joyful New Years Eve and a splendid start in a happy and healthy 2023. May the new year be a memorable for all of us! And may it bring more peace to the world!

See you “on the other side” in 2023

Marcus

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