2021 - A Year In Review

2021 was very much a start-stop affair for most of us, with the continuing COVID pandemic and lockdowns once again disrupting day to day life at the start of the year. So it was no surprise that my landscape shoots began 2021 with a stop at a time when I would normally be out and about shooting as much as I could. I wasn’t able to get out again until late March, just before my usual summer hiatus. However, I did manage a few trips out, with one in particular being very productive. It wouldn’t be until September before I would step out again, with camera and equipment ready to photograph the local coastline, in which time I made a concerted effort to make up for the time lost in the first three months of 2021.

I have worked the seascape niche almost exclusively. I will discuss this more in a future post, but apart from two uninspiring shoots at Breydon Water and Burgh Castle respectively, I haven’t photographed away from the coast throughout the past year. For now at least, I am more than happy to stay this way, finding enough peace and inspiration when working beside the sea.
The aim was to work a few local beaches to familiarise myself the locations. I feel that it’s important to revisit locations to find those views and compositions I may have missed during previous visits, and also to see these beaches in various conditions (time of day, tide, weather). The places I worked during the autumn and winter were Gorleston (naturally), Hopton, Caister, and Gunton/North Lowestoft.



I am pleased with what I have come away with in the main. Of course, there was always going to be shoots when you come away empty handed, or not pleased with what has been captured, but if it was easy the desire and motivation would have died a long time ago. Ultimately, it’s about having fun and enjoying the conditions, the location, the creative process and learning a thing or two on the way, and I can certainly say that 2021 has been a success by that measure.


Away from taking and editing images, this year saw my first sale of limited edition prints. Not a huge amount, but we’re into double figures. It’s not the reason I make photographs, but it was something I was always being asked about, so I am happy to oblige. I have to say, digital images do look good online, but having a couple of my framed prints hanging on my study wall, they do look better in the flesh. I may try to push print sales a bit more in 2022, but then again, I might not….let’s see shall we?

I’m not particularly fussed about Social Media, the number of likes or followers remains ‘of interest’ at best, I’m much more comfortable with a small, but engaged audience. However my Instagram account has really surprised me. I gained around 1200 followers over the past year, and, as I write this, I’m currently sitting at 1700 followers. I even hit over 900 likes on one image, over double that of my previous best in 2020. All very interesting, quite what it means I’ve yet to discover, but big numbers and positive feedback must be good…right? in truth, I get more pleasure discovering other photographers and their work, as well as interacting with them about what they are producing. Instagram has been the best social media platform for me by far.

Ultimately, looking back 2021 has been about the photographs that I managed to capture. So with the images in mind, I have picked out 10 of my favourite images from the last year to share. They may not be the most popular images I have shared, or indeed the best, but us photographers get emotionally attached to our photos, some more than others, and for differing reasons too.
And here we are…..in no particular order, 10 of my favourite images from 2021.


Crooked Groyne at Sunrise - Gorleston Beach April 021
Accompanying blog post: Gorleston Beach At Sunrise


Autumn Sunset Pinks - Gorleston Beach, Norfolk, October 2021
Accompanying blog post: Coming Soon


Caister Rocks - Caister Beach, Norfolk, October 2021
Accompanying blog post: Caister Beach - An Amazing Sunset on the Norfolk Coast


Seaswept Rock At Dawn - Hopton Beach, Norfolk, November 2021
Accompanying blog post: Hopton Beach - A Tale of Two Shoots


Rushing Waves at Sunset - Gunton Beach, Suffolk - November 2021
Accompanying blog post: Gunton Beach - Fleeting Colours & Sun Down Waves


Golden Sunrise - Hopton Beach, Norfolk November 2021
Accompanying blog post: Hopton Beach - A Tale of Two Shoots


Rogue Wave at Sunset - Gorleston Beach, Norfolk, November 2021
Accompanying blog post: Gorleston Beach - A Bonus Shoot


Approaching Storm, Hopton Beach - Norfolk, November 2021
Accompanying blog post: Storm Clouds At Sunset


Rainclouds at Sunset - Hopton Beach, Norfolk, December 2021
Accompanying blog post: Storm Clouds At Sunset


Winter Sunrise - Gorleston Beach, Norfolk, December 2021
Accompanying blog post: Out With The Old

Ten doesn’t seem quite enough, so here is a bonus taken on my final shoot of 2021…


Gunton Pinks - Gunton Beach, Suffolk, 31 December 2021
Accompanying blog post: Out With The Old


I hope you have enjoyed looking through my favourite images of 2021. You may disagree with my choice, I might even disagree with myself in a week or two, it was difficult enough for me miss out some of my shots, but being brutal with what I share and accept is part of the discipline. I’m looking forward to venturing out again in 2022 to capture more images. I hope it’s as much fun as 2021 finally proved to be.
Let me know below if you agree with my choices, or if there was a particular favourite of yours you would have put in the list!

STAY IN TOUCH
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LIMITED EDITION PRINTS
I have a selection of images available for purchase as fine art limited edition prints, This blog post gives further information. The gallery will be updated regularly, but if you see an image you like on a blog or Facebook and it's not in the gallery, please drop me a line and we'll see if I can offer it as a print.