Goodbye to 2017

As we say goodbye to 2017, I find myself looking back on the year for a moment. I will jump right in with some of my most fond memories and photos;

• Licking the tail of a snow-covered MiG, Bulgaria
• Beers on abandoned planes as the sun set, France
• Chased by a farmer with a scythe, France
• All the stray dogs I stroked and shared food with, Bulgaria
• “Janine, I don’t want to…but I WILL punch a goat if I have to”, Portugal
• Realising they sealed the morgue only an hour after you left (having no idea you were inside), England
• Finding an almost pristine hotel by luck, Bulgaria
• The snowy climb to Buzludzha, Bulgaria
• The feeling of stepping through the doors of Casino Royale, Romania
• Free camping in the woods and getting scared by the eerie glow of deer eyes in the torchlight, Luxembourg
• Sleeping in a panic room in an abandoned Prison, France
• The interesting and exhilarating entry into Forbidden Fruit (3 times), England
• Neighbour shouting “NO URBEX” in a strong accent, France
• Faro/Bonn airport losing my bag and having only the clothes I was wearing and my camera, Germany
• The optimistic and wonderful son who still lets people into his father house despite painting thefts, Belgium
• Scars from ungraceful entry/exits, too many to count
• A mad dash past a security hut to get to a morgue before the light failed, France
• Successfully avoiding PIR sensors, before tripping the last one and having to run while awkwardly holding cameras still on tripods, Luxembourg

I created my website at the start of 2017, and after a long and steep learning curve I feel proud of what I have set up. Purchasing the domain and choosing an initial layout seems so long ago now. While the website visually hasn’t changed much, a lot of custom coding and optimisation has gone on in the background. The hard work is done, and now I can focus on settling in to editing my photograph backlog and writing regular articles.

I printed my work for the first time, experimenting with both traditional and vintage framing styles. Two very large aluminium di-bond prints hang in my lounge, a successful test at large format printing of metal. I also produced a prototype photo booklet, which you can preview here; Review : Saal Digital Photo Booklet.

I will look back on 2017 with fond memories of travels with dear old comrades, as well as adventures with new friends.

Happy New Year to all, and a wonderful and prosperous 2018 <3