Every year I try to do a lookback at the previous calendar year and how my photography went. For previous years posts, see the Year in Review category.
It is now 2022 and the previous year was 2021. In 2021, I did not take many photos, especially compared to previous years. I think we all know why.
The Technical Stuff
In 2021, I created 7516 photos and videos, my 12th most prolific year. However, 1460 of these are videos from a dashcam. If we eliminate these, I have 6055 photos and videos, dropping 2021 to my 13th most prolific year. This makes 2021 my lowest year since 2008, and my lowest since before I bought my D300.
For comparison, in 2012 (which barely remains my my 12th most prolific year), I went on a ski trip, moved to the left coast, then traveled around the Olympic National Park. In 2008 (one of my lowest years ever), not much occurred.
In 2021, like 2020 and for the same obvious reasons, I was unable to travel as much as I would like. There were 2 events for 2021: a driving trip to Florida and a week in Switzerland (this week was right after Switzerland opened for tourists over the summer).
Like 2019 and 2020, I did not get to visit Longwood Gardens for Christmas. Like I said last year, oh well, maybe in the future.
In 2021, like 2020, my most used lens was my 24-70. It is also one of 2 lenses that were used more in 2020 than in 2019. My #2 lens for the year is a little bit of a surprise. The 70-200 usually isn’t quite so high, but, 2021 wasn’t exactly a normal year.
In terms of cameras used per year, it is surprising. For the third year, the D850 was my most used camera. In a complete surprise, my D750 is #3 for the year. It was barely used.
As this is the 3rd year that my D850 was my most used camera, far outpacing the D750. The D750 is now 6 years old, and my D800 is 8 years old. Normally, I start to look to replace at 5 years. I also did not use my D300 at all in 2021 and 2020. The last 2 years were not normal. I’m going to wait another year before I consider getting rid of any old camera bodies.
One thing that isn’t directly shown is film. I used a 1980’s era Minolta and a 1960’s era Zenit. I didn’t actually shoot enough film to go and get it developed.
The breakdown of Camera: Lens Combination:
D850/D800:
D750
The Good Stuff – Travels
2021 had several driving trips, and I drove, using my own personal vehicle, more than ever before.
This began in March, with a driving trip to Florida. Wow that was a long drive. Over the summer, I also drove to North Carolina, but that was for other purposes.
In July, I flew to Switzerland.
The Good Stuff – Completed Goals of 2021
Back in early 2021, I set out some goals. While 2020 was not that great, I did meet some goals.
I made money off of stock sales! Awesome. Here is the image. It was downloaded once. I made 25cents. After 2 years, I have a whole $1 in my account.
Well, I guess it is better than nothing? You can’t request a payout at Adobe Stock until you hit $25. So, it may as well have been nothing. Not sure if this is goal met or goal missed. I’m considering moving to a new stock photo site.
I did set a goal of adding more posts. I had 8 in 2020 and another 8 in 2021. Like last year, I did want more, but it didn’t happen. I still have a lot of half-written posts. While I tried to clear out some old half-written posts, I think I ended the year with more than I started.
One goal for 2021 was a redesign of the website. I have a new theme with a new block editor called BoldGrid. I’m using BoldGrid over WordPress Guttenberg because my web hosting hosting company (Dreamhost, referral link for $50 off – note, I also get $50) provides premium version of BoldGrid.
For something unexpected, I had an image hit 97.6 pulse on 500px. It is an image from 2016 of ‘That Wanaka Tree’ in Wanaka, New Zealand.
The Bad Stuff – Missed Goals for 2021
While it wasn’t a goal and was expected, I did not make the 2021 National Cherry Blossom Festival in DC nor did I make it to Longwood Gardens for their Christmas Lights. As I’ve moved, neither of these events are goals moving forward.
I also did not work on learning how to produce videos. While I did watch some YouTube videos on how to make videos, that is about as far as I managed to get.
2022
Looking forward to what 2022 may hold, here are some goals for the year.
Goal: Actually make money with photography. I plan to look into and try out NFTs. I have an account at OpenSea (https://opensea.io/bradleymolnar) and have some images for sale. While it may not make much, more than 25cents would be an improvement over Adobe Stock.
Goal: Even more posts! I’m starting off fairly well with getting the year in review out before Valentine’s Day.
Goal: Continue to improve the website. I have a new theme and I like it. But there is a lot to do, including add more galleries and make them work better. I submitted feedback to the developers of this theme to add in better Gallery support.
Goal: Travel and take photos when possible. I have no idea what will happen with travel, the virus, or anything else. I’m hoping this year starts to get back to normal. However, I did just buy a house, so, this will not be a high-travel year.
To the future-
-Brad