The days around New Year’s Eve i usually try to review the last year and selfreflect on things. Last year i tried something different, an experiment so to speak, where i journaled everything i did for a whole year and to my suprise i was astonished that i reached more goals than i thought (but also many were missed). It helped me to focus on new goals and resolutions and also to re-evaluate some things.

Especially re-evalueating my life is an ongoing theme for me since i lost my grandma last year. I want to write about this but there are still some issues at hand i have to clarify first as this also affects my mood and my photography. Well, winter is not an active photography time for me in the first place but there are also inspirations missing lately.

Not everything is gloom though1 - i met new people and saw some new places and i am curious what this year will have in store for me. There are exciting new developments on the horizon. Cool new projects and (hopefully) more time for photography - i still have some camera and film to test.

Speaking of such, here are some fireworks captured on polaroids i made with my SX-70 at midnight:

  1. Although, i am not so optimistic about the recent political developments. It seems to me that even a “progressive government” continues to set a far-right and authoritarian course - be it with the expansion of mass surveillance, with repression against climate activists or with further resentments towards poor people and refugees. While the Left is still primarily preoccupied with themselves, the right continues to grow stronger due to the hypocrisy and incompetence of others. And the EU is giving them all the tools for more control. Surveillance disguised as digitalization projects for example in health, postal and mobility services or directly with data retention or chat control (which at least is postponed for now). The climate catastrophe is still raging on with really creepy phenomenons and the political change is still a farce. I hope in 2024 there will be still positive changes, ideas and projects for a better world… ↩︎