2021: Year In Review
2021. I think it’s fair to say that it was not the year that most of us were hoping for. Instead of the pandemic dying down and everything returning to normal we have had more waves of covid and seen an even further degradation of civil discourse. We have been able to return to doing many of the things that we lost last year, although much of it has been on limited terms. At times it has felt like one step forward and two steps back. Thankfully, photography has been an outlet and escape for myself and many others from the craziness that we’ve been living through. I ended up branching out my photographic interests due to the lack of social opportunities. I feel that I’ve been able to further my skills in ways that I may not have in more typical circumstances. The act of going out and creating has been much more solitary, but in turn I’ve found wonderful communities online to share these experiences with. Here I am going to go through some of my favorite images from this year and dive into a bit of that photographic journey.
This shot was taken at a rather popular location for photographers, Weary Road in Evansville. The road has plenty of urban legend surrounding it. Some claim that it is haunted by an “old man Weary” who once lived on the road, others claim that it is haunted by teenagers who died in a car crash. It’s all interesting to read about, but my main focus is the beautiful canopy of trees just past the bridge. One January morning we experienced the beauty of hoarfrost (or is it rime ice? Still unsure about that one.) and this was the first place that I thought about visiting. It’s about forty-five minutes from Madison but I knew that if the ice was thick out there it would be worth the drive. I was very pleased to see that it was just as stunning as I had hoped. A good start to the year indeed.
Shooting abandoned houses has become a somewhat obsessive hobby of mine over the course of the pandemic. I’ve always enjoyed driving through the countryside, and I had the idea to put together a photobook showcasing the beauty of Wisconsin’s rural landscape. The scope of the project quickly evolved with the addition of “rurex" (rural exploration) photography. The book is still in the works and will feature photos from my Outskirts collection. Hoping to get that put together this coming year. The rurex portion of this all started while driving around with my friend Sam when we stumbled upon an abandoned house and decided to take a closer look. Walking up to a home that had clearly been left to decay for many years was a strange feeling, one that I knew I wanted to chase and explore again. It was a thrill that was quite the opposite of the relaxation that I usually find driving aimlessly. Being in those spaces can feel serene, however there can be dangers present (rotting floors, mold, wild animals, squatters, nosy neighbors, law enforcement, etc.) so that sense of serenity is often short lived as worry creeps in. It’s all part of the thrill. The first image is one of the most stunning houses that I’ve found thus far. I would have loved to explore the interior but while walking up I spotted a tent pitched through the window and quickly nixed that idea. The next set of images are from a favorite house of mine that still had furnishings inside. The place seemed to be in relatively good shape, aside from the kitchen floor having completely collapsed. These were a couple of my favorite details.
Here’s a candid shot of Vanessa from our brief hike at the Decatur Dam. It was a dreary day and the leaves were wet from rain that passed through earlier (ideal weather for working on my Foliage project). We hiked around and she pointed out things that intrigued her, which I tried my best to capture. As much as photography is about expressing your own vision, it was quite nice to have another set of eyes and to try to showcase the details that she saw. However, catching her happily taking in a view ended up being my favorite photograph of the day. Our time spent together has made up the brightest moments of my year.
‘68. Josh Scogin. Nikko Yamada. Great band and kind people. This was my fourth time seeing them play, and one of their first shows back since the pandemic began. They hadn’t skipped a beat. It was a phenomenal show. They sounded great and as always were a blast to photograph. Live music made its return this year and I could not be happier. If there’s one thing that ‘68 does best, it’s assuring everyone that rock and roll is indeed here to stay.
Foliage has been a series that i’ve enjoyed shooting for awhile now and I was able to get some more shots that i’m proud to add to it, but what is more exciting to me is that I started a new sister project. Being in the headspace of photographing decaying homes inspired me to bring a similar approach to photographing flowers. I personally find standard flower photography to be a bit boring, to me they’re much more interesting when captured past what many people consider their peak stage of beauty. A little imperfection goes a long way. Languish was a rather short lived project as the window for getting these shots closes quickly. For a few weeks I was making many trips to Olbrich Gardens to see how the flowers were progressing and searching for the right ones to photograph. The weather conditions that I enjoy shooting my Outskirts work in happens to be the same for this project, so I had to choose which to spend my time on. As the flowers would soon be gone and the houses would likely stand to see another day, working on this project took precedence. I have a feeling that this coming year i’ll be anticipating poor weather and wilting flowers once again.
Friends and bands. New and old. This show was an absolute blast. I got to see my friends play with bands that have been together for years as well as new bands formed during the pandemic. For some it was a return to doing what they love and for others it was their first time playing together for a crowd. This was one of the smallest basements that I’ve ever walked into, the prospect of getting any good photos immediately felt daunting. I’ve found though that pressure and constraints can at times produce great work. Not to say that this set of shots is great, but I’m very happy with how they turned out. I’ve always had a bit of a love-hate relationship with basement gigs due to unreliable lighting, shoddy sound, and unbearable temperatures to name a few complaints. Nonesuch unpleasantries were present though and it was a great return to the DIY music scene. Shoutouts to the bands Excuse Me, Who Are You?, No Love Dog, Antighost, Lady Blue, and all the wonderful people involved in them. They’re all worth a listen.
Lost in the Treinen corn maze. Voted one of the top ten corn mazes in the U.S. by USA Today. Each year a different design is cut into the field and this year was Schrödinger’s Cat. They have a map that you need to complete by finding missing sections throughout the maze along with some optional goals to complete for prizes. Vanessa and I made the mistake of coming at sunset and it quickly became cold, dark, and difficult to navigate. We did not end up finishing the maze but I would love to give it another shot this year, preferably with a bit more sunlight. The darkness did give me the opportunity to get creative with my camera and a small flashlight. I was going for a bit of a ghost in the maze concept, and thanks to Vanessa’s cooperation and patience we were able to make it work.
Those were some of my favorite photographs from the year with a bit of context behind them. I feel very fortunate to have a creative passion to work on and this past year has only solidified that feeling. The friends that I’ve made and experiences that I’ve gotten to share through photography are invaluable. Here’s to hoping that 2022 allows all of that to grow.