2019 was a weird year, from a photography point of view. I broke my wrist in July so I was unable to hold a camera for a while. However, this didn't have as much impact as it could have, since I wasn't really taking a lot of shots in 2019, at least not compared to previous years.
That said, 2019 was a year when a couple of significant things took place.
Travel
Canada, Northern Ireland, France, Spain, Germany, Mexico, Seattle, Las Vegas. It's been quite a busy year in terms of travel, and I had a couple of cameras with me during each trip. The most "productive" period was a trip to Europe in September for a wedding in France, followed by a whistle-stop tour including Barcelona and Berlin. I brought my Fujfiilm XT20 and X100F on that trip, intending to travel light and give the XT20 a fair go, since I'd not been enjoying it that much since picking it up.
God iz love (Berlin)
Street photography in Barcelona and Berlin was somewhat reinvigorating, and the countryside in southern France was amazing. I took photos at the wedding *(unofficially, of course) and I think the XT20 performed very well indeed.
Berlin
Berlin was particularly interesting from a photography point of view. I felt, as usual, that it was difficult to capture something new in Barcelona, though I got some nice shots in the nearby city of Tarragona.
Boy and Dog, Tarragona, Spain
Later in the year, the trip to Seattle gave me a chance to do more street work, but my favorite shot of that journey was one taken at Snoqualmie Falls, well-known to viewers of the TV show Twin Peaks.
The interesting thing about this shot is the camera on which it was taken... a Canon 5D Mark IV.
Realignment
Early in 2019, I traded in the majority of my full-frame Sony gear for a single Fujinon lens (the excellent 18-135mm f/4) and turned my back on full-frame. Or so I thought.
In December, I traded three of my Fujifilm cameras (including the XT20) and about six of my lenses, for a Canon 5D Mark IV and a couple of lenses. This is a big move back into full-frame, and has been very interesting and a bit confusing. It's very easy to choose the Canon over the XH-1 when heading out, and I don't necessarily want to neglect the crop camera. Given the in body stabilization on the XH-1, and the collection of manual lenses I have for X-Mount, I see my main Fuji as one I'll be taking out and about and testing/shooting with manual lenses more than the few Fujinon lenses I've retained.
However, the Canon 5D Mark IV is obviously a solid pro camera, and does an amazing job with portraits and headshots, and it might well inform my 2020 plans.
Maybe it's time to get back into some paid work.
2020
I've avoided professional work in 2019, restricting it to volunteer gigs (usually unpaid) for various organizations. One could always benefit from improved cash low, of course, so I may start looking for more paid work doing corporate headshots, industrial shoots, or other things I know I can do. I'm a bit rusty, I admit, having struggled literally and figuratively with photography in 2019 (and, to be honest, 2018 as well).
I'm still deep in thought around the concept of "photographer" as an identity, but travel has given me opportunities to keep my skills sharp, and I feel like I can still capture a decent image here and there, especially when I'm in the right frame of mind.
