“So here I am once more…”

Those are the first words from a song by my long time favorites Marillion and they seem pretty apt (although the actual song is about something entirely different) to use for the first summary of the year’s 365 project. I didn’t do any summaries last year, unlike previous 365 years and I found that missed doing them. They provided a nice end to one part of the project and a chance to think about the progress so far.

What is clear to me already is that this month was a continuation of the 2020 theme of almost exclusively nature and landscape images. That is of course not by choice, but due to to the current situation. There have been days when that has felt limiting and I’ve struggled to come up with a post. More than previous years I’ve definitely used up all possible images from outings I’ve done (and probably a few I wouldn’t have picked had this been a normal year. However, that is the nature of the beast right now, so I will just “adapt and overcome” as the cliche goes. We’re all having to deal with the pandemic, and in the grand scheme of things my photography limitations are extremely minor!

The cover image of this post was taken from one of the piers at Lomma, a small coast community outside Malmö, Sweden and it’s a place I’ve gone to so many times through the years that I don’t know how often I’ve been there (I live about 15 minutes away by car). I have written about this before, but there just is something about going out to the coast to see that open horizon that makes me relax and feel rejuvenated somehow. When I get a lovely afternoon setting sun like I did that day, it’s even better!

*January 1 - New year, new start, old trash*

The first image of the year was taken at the beach at Bjärred in Sweden on New Year’s Day. Apparently people had had quite a fireworks show going at midnight, because I saw several of these “launch platforms” littering the beach. While somewhat of an eye sore I think I prefer these to the individual fireworks pieces, because it must be a lot easier to discard one of these, rather than having to pick up fifty (or however many shots this one had).

An image taken at the Billebjer nature preserve outside Lund, Sweden. While fairly easy to get to by car this place is some distance away from a village or town if you’re on foot, so I couldn’t help wondering where she was heading. Also, her bright red coat made for a nice contrast with the green fields in the background.

We don’t often get snow down here in the far south of Sweden these days, unlike when I was a kid. When it does fall it usually doesn’t stick around for long, so families tend to make the most of it! This was taken at Torup, a recreational area outside of Malmö where the car park was pretty packed with people. The paths, however were mercifully not so crowded, at least not where I walked.

I am by nature not a morning person, so I am glad I was able to get this picture of the frost covered grass in the slanted morning sunshine. I like how my camera was able to capture the details of the grass so well, as well as the different colors from the warm yellow at the top to the almost bluish hues at the bottom. The image was taken near Ringsjön in central Skåne, Sweden.

In all the isolation and separation that Covid-19 has brought on I am very glad I am able to share my photographic interest/passion/obsession (depending on how you want to describe it) with my father. Grabbing our cameras and heading out there in the landscape is also a good way to get away from the feelings of isolation that naturally comes on when you’re supposed to stay away from other people. The portrait of him was taken at the Skrylle recreational area outside Lund, Sweden, where the car park was PACKED. It seems just about EVERYONE wanted to go there to hang out with family and friends at the grill areas. I guess that’s to be expected on a Covid-19 weekend with half-decent weather! Fortunately the various paths still provided some space for those of us who wanted to get fresh air, safely away from other people.