My 2021 lightroom catalog informs me that I have taken 5.536 pictures this year, but it doesn't tell me which are my favorite ones and why.
Photography Lovers End of Year Contest. I have told you many times that I am a sucker for contests but especially when it comes to the Photography Lovers Community, where I post around 70% of my work, it is practically a pleasant "obligation" :)That's a rather tricky but mostly interesting question posed by @derangedvisions for the
1/1/21
I'll start with a picture that I took on the first day of the year and have never shared with you. It is a little anemone damaged from the wind and obviously by this snail that is resting on its leaves. I have taken dozens shots of flawless flowers of its kind but this one moves me the most. It is like a declaration that no matter how harsh life is, why can still be beautiful and flourishing.
30/3/21
This is just a snapshot from my mobile. A casual snack, on a casual day, at the farm. Nothing fancy, nothing elaborated but so fulfilling. The moment that I sit on the ground and eat that simple food, surrounded by nature and the results of my labor, is just one of the happiest in my day!
1/4/21
The fire in the wood stove. One more happy moment of the day. I can just sit and watch it for hours. Fire is much more than a heating solution. It is company, it is grounding, it is a strong bond to our prehistoric selves. And I just love it!
1/6/21
I don't have livestock on my own. But when I spent a few days at my grandmother's house in a mountainous part of the island I met this fellow. A neighbor kept a small flock right next to our house and this inquisitive and piquant creature come every day to the fence to greet me. It was a pure form of genuine interaction since I never offered them food or anything to attract them.
1/7/21
This summer I wasn't able to make a vegetable garden but some of last year's plants survived the winter and kept producing for one more season. A great gift that I appreciated a lot. Harvesting the fruits of your labor is wonderful but harvesting without any labor at all is even better!
13/7/21
In July I was invited to take pictures of an art exhibition - installation that took place in an olive grove. Ingrid Pröller from Austria is a great artist and it was just amazing to see my homeland through her art.
18/7/21
That one is from some holidays homes that I was assigned to photograph. I have chosen it because it illustrates my return to the photography business. It wasn't any big commission but it was nice to have some paying customers for a change. I still don't think that I will ever be a full time photographer again but it is cool to have different options.
12/8/21
This white beauty practically hitched her way into our car and our hearts. She was in the middle of the motorway, obviously lost, extremely thirsty and totally dirty. We kept her in our home for a few weeks and it was so hard to let her go afterwards. I'll always remember her with gratitude for barging into our lives and offering much more than she received!
26/9/21
I am very fond of Nafplio. It is my partner's home town but I also have strong relations with it even from my youth. I have spent a big part of my military service there (not so idyllic as it looks but I had a good time), I was often visiting it when I lived in Athens and now it has become a second home for me.
27/10/21
I love macro and this picture is to celebrate my new Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L macro lens that I was longing for years and 2021 brought it to me! I took this at my front yard after a small rain just for the pleasure of having a new lens that rocks!
1/11/21
Living close to nature means that you have to follow its rhythm and respect the season changing and whatever comes with it. And what better picture to illustrate all that than a yellowish leaf from a plane tree under the warm evening light.
25/11/21
The chicken coop has given me more joy than I could ever imagine and has become an essential part of my life in the village. It started like something simple to provide us some fresh eggs but when it comes to living creatures it is never simple. It is complex, full of surprises and in the end just fascinating.
30/11/21
The place that I live the last 8 years is the same place that I used to spend my vacations as a child and Sitia is the town that we used to visit during our holidays with my parents, pretty often. It has changed a lot since then but that picture managed to mix in my mind the old memories with the new constructions that altered the scenery. I guess the "vintage" edit helped a bit but either way I get a sweet nostalgic feeling when I look at it!
3/12/21
It was impossible not to include a picture of Marcos, our loyal dog, the most kind, goodhearted, gentile creature I have ever met. It doesn't matter if he makes my life difficult when I try to take pictures of him! For one thing he doesn't like pictures at all and on the other hand his wonderful shiny black fur is sooo difficult to be captured!
11/12/21
I will close with the most fabulous, the most eerie, the most captivating sunset I have ever seen. How grateful can I be for having a spectacle like that right outside my front door. One more of the many moments that I thought that moving to the island was the best decision of my life :)
Now that I finished this post I realize how grateful I am for every single one of those 15 aspects of my life and how many good things happened to me this year. It turned out that I started a retrospection post and ended up with a Thanksgiving one :)
Thank you for reading and if you want to know more about me you can check out my introduction post.
Commenting, upvoting and rebloging are highly appreciated!
It's nice to see your entry! I remember a few of those images from the curation posts throughout the year. Looking forward to seeing what you bring to the community this next year! Keep up the great work as always brother! =)
Thanks a lot :)
It was fun to go through the archives and remember the whole year!
So many awesome shots.
Thanks man!
I think this is what a perfect post for this contest should look like. To paraphrase what a friend said... For me, you're the winner!
The photos are wonderful and it's hard to pick a favorite, when I think of one and I want to pick it, immediately another one comes along and pulls me by the hand. It was a delight, thank you!
That friend of yours must be a very wise man, haha :)
Thank you very much for the vote of confidence!
He is, indeed, very wise and has a chance to become a philosopher. He is Greek and lives in the middle of nature, on an island, and sees the sea and amazing sunsets every day!
Superb collection! Liked your black dog...
Thank you very much!
I'll tell him that he has an admirer :)
The clouds in your last shot are absolutely amazing! Like something from Mars. It must have been astonishing to witness....
Marcos looks adorable! :)
Oh yes, I don't have words to describe it and even the picture isn't enough!
Marcos says thanks, he loves compliments :)
I can imagine... :)
I suspect that Marcos gets quite a lot of them! ;o)
Wow what a beautiful way to recap parts of your year or your life these past 12 months. Wonderful!