Captain’s Log – Stardate 79466.6
With the year drawing to an end it is natural for us humans to do a few things. One of these things is to reflect. We look back and then we look to the future. We plan, we want to prepare. We want to do many things. All of this natural based on how our previous trip around the Sun went. We see where we missed out and promise to plug that hole in this year. We see what we didn’t do and resolve to do better and do even more than we did this year.
Then at the end of the year we tend to complain about how tired we are. How rundown we feel.
I dove into my archives on my phone camera roll. At first I wanted to do a grand “my favorite images of 2025”. But the months from Jan – August is likely on my external hard drive and at this point I’m not in the mood to go hunting. I opened a file titled “Camera Roll” and started looking at the past.
Back to 2022.
This was a time where I started work at 7:30. I had a routine where I’d go to a local coffee shop fairly early (they opened at five, I arrive at five forty-ish). This worked out great when I started working at 9 but the new job back then changed things. To still get my coffee I had to leave home at 5am. In the summer it is a breeze. Sun’s already poking its head out. In the winter it is a different ballgame.
Darkness. No people on the road. The odd car coming and going.
Perfect for photography. And on certain days you are blessed with a misty morning. This image was taken in Autumn. Mobile phone camera, nothing fancy. Looking at this I would like to go back there on a misty morning and waiting for this view again – only to snap it with my XE-2.
Fast forward a few months. Things changed a lot. I went back to my old job (long story). Now my routine was perfect again. Sitting down and drinking coffee gave me plenty of time to think. I thought about my future, my photography, my life at that point, etc. Btw I don’t need a specific time of year to reflect & introspect – give me twenty minutes, a quiet place and a cup of coffee and let me be.
The photo was taken as I sat down drinking my coffee. Also on my mobile. The lady in the photo was a regular customer at the fast food restaurant where I worked. Just before she left we talked about her husband, how he passed on and how she was feeling lost without him. I snapped the image and forgot about it. It was only after I looked at it again that I saw my hands. The image is symbolic in the sense of me listening to hear, being an ear or a shoulder in a difficult time was a comfort. The reflection of my hands almost comforting her as she walked away.
2023.
This year was a good one for photos. Walking to work early in the mornings meant better photo opportunities. On the days where I took my camera I felt good. But things change and this was to be the year where my photography started to slow down. At the start of 2024 I lost my job. Retrenched. It felt ‘good’ for the first month. No ‘baas‘ to answer to. (I dislike this word quiet a bit).
Time rolled on and in May / June I started working again.
My time for photography is now a lot less. And sometimes my will to go out & take photos is also a lot less. But looking through my photos from previous years always serve as an inspiration. A show of possibility. From the time when I could go out and take great morning photos. To the time when I was a friend to someone who needed it.
tl;dr
Photography can serve as a great way to recall memories. It’s a great medium to ‘document’ our lives [in a non-social media show me every little detail] way.
Thanks for reading : )
P.S
I recently uploaded a zine with some images from my ‘Apartments’ photo project. If you’re interested in what it looks like you can find it here.