[BigMackCam]

To all my fellow forum members - friends, acquaintances, occasional sparring partners (and a small few unintended adversaries ) - I wish you and your loved ones a healthy, happy New Year!

What a year we've endured All of us have, to a greater or lesser extent, been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. For those whose personal or family health and/or livelihoods were affected, my heart goes out to you. For the rest of us who've been more fortunate, we've nonetheless dealt with necessary limitations to our personal liberties and freedoms, and anxiety that is the product of, and feeds upon, uncertainty on such a grand scale. Vaccinations are, thankfully, under way, and cannot come soon enough, in my opinion. I dearly hope they might culminate in a level of control over infection that allows us to return to some degree of normality in the near future.

Whilst our enjoyment of photography may have been the least of our concerns during this challenging time, I'm sure for many of you it has suffered (I know it has for me)... and though it may seem unimportant in the grand scheme of things, interests and hobbies such as ours provide essential diversions - indeed, therapy - in our daily lives. One of my New Year wishes is that in 2021, as our global situation improves and we regain more control and certainty in our lives, we'll also regain the freedom to enjoy our photography with renewed enthusiasm and vigour.

2020 has reminded us (if reminder were needed) how fragile our society and lives can be. Let's resolve to make 2021 a great year - bold in the face of adversity, back behind the camera in the great outdoors, tolerant and community-spirited in these, our forums, that have provided a welcome and much-needed haven throughout.

HAPPY NEW YEAR, everyone. Even with the challenges still ahead, may 2021 be your best year yet

---

Last edited by BigMackCam; 01-01-2021 at 04:28 AM.

[cpobuttons]

Cheers

[bwgv001]

Happy New Year, everybody. I really like this community. Keep on going.

[Serkevan]

Happy new year to you all as well, Mike!

Good riddance to this one, from me, honestly - a breakup, work stress and uncertainty, doubts about photography even. Not a good year by any metric . But, in the end, none of that's a tragedy... so I count myself lucky. I have friends who have lost jobs, others who - like so many, far too many - have lost loved ones.

So here's to a, let's say, more conventional year in 2021! Hopefully full of opportunities, photographic or otherwise

[clickclick]

Yes, Happy New Year to all!

[Cerebum]

Happy new year to all. What a wonderful post. I was one of the gazillions who lost their job, or more accurately, got to tell a bad boss to shove it. I miss the job, and the location as Garstang is very photogenic but my self respect has returned photographically it had little impact. Bailey still needed walking and I had time on my hands, also covid was an interesting study. My annual photobook is still at 132 images, despite some ferocious whittling! Throughout the pandemic we have been allowed to take excersize (carrying a tripod) and meet with at least one other in open spaces so sanity has been maintained. The key thing is staying safe so we are all here to look back on 2021. I am not going to bash our government because every country in the world, bar Germany, believes their leaders did the worst job, and these are unprecedented times. One thing to remember, (this came out in the first weeks and has proved very true indeed) " Before a pandemic, looking forward, everything we do seems excessive, afterwards, looking back, everything we did was inadequate!". Follow the guidance, Don't take risks, & keep posting. You are collectively saving my sanity.

[stevejo]

And happy new year to everyone from me. Personally think our government is doing as good a job as can be expected under the circumstances. Glad it's not me having to think of everything.

[Madaboutpix]

I am not going to bash our government because every country in the world, bar Germany, believes their leaders did the worst job, and these are unprecedented times.

Not so sure about your assessment of sentiment here in Germany, despite our (sadly, not altogether undeserved) reputation of habitual aloofness. While the German COVID-19 numbers may not look as bad as in America or in some other European countries, they look much less impressive internationally (think New Zealand, South Korea, Taiwan, even Japan by comparison), and the second wave has hit Germany hard enough to remind people of that. Vaccinations have started here, but there is a sense in some regions and states that the local governments could have done a better job of preparing for the second wave during the relative lull of the summer, and that the second lockdown came too late, and it has dawned on people that it will take substantial time till the vaccine will actually reach them.

But the main thing I wanted to say and do is to commend Mike for his elegant and touching post and wish everyone on these forums all of that goodness he mentioned. Looking back, both photographically and otherwise, 2020 could have been much worse under the circumstances than it turned out to be for me personally, and I feel lucky in that and am quite aware that others have fared less luckily.

And I'm grateful for the relative peace and freedom from harm and worry that I was able to enjoy during a stay in the Palatinate Forest in autumn, where this picture was taken:

[Michail_P]

Nice post. What we really need is our health. The past year was the worst....
I am very glad to be a part of this community. Photography is all the therapy I wanna have. I heartily wish you all a great new year. May 2021 give us all we want, creativity, happiness and prosperity. Good morning everyone, greetings from Greece.

[Rondec]

Thank you, Mike. Happy New Year to you and all the other great members of the Forum as well!

2021 just about has to be better than the year we just left (that's a pretty low bar to get over), but there will be plenty of beauty around us and hopefully more trips to see it.

[UncleVanya]

Nice thread Mike’s post has created. I for one had to drop a lot of hobby time to pick up new effort brought on by the pandemic. I cooked more, arranged for grocery pickup and delivery for two households, obtained supplies that were scarce, and spent time just being there for friends and family - even if it was virtual for many. The demands on my time ebbed and flowed - practice and a few more options have slowly given me back a bit of free time I can spend on photography which I’m grateful for.

On the wider front, so far my job isn’t in jeopardy, but all industries are showing signs of fragility. The social isolation and inability to travel (much) has my wife on edge. I have 80’ish year old parents and in laws that I worry I’m watching their last years from afar.

The entire situation is made stranger by the inability to escape it. Almost every other disaster you can flee, or at least find a temporary relief from it. This one extends everywhere, there is no escape.

Despite everything, I’m feeling hopeful and I’ve not been too negatively impacted. I wish for a speedy return to a more normal life, but I’m braced for the slower path I expect is more likely.

One thing that has helped immensely is the number and quality of tools and communities that permit virtual interactions. I suspect my sanity and comfort levels would be greatly impacted were it not for forums like this and tools like Duo, Zoom, FaceTime, Discord etc.

Thank you all for making this year more bearable.

[Cerebum]

Not so sure about your assessment of sentiment here in Germany, despite our (sadly, not altogether undeserved) reputation of habitual aloofness. While the German COVID-19 numbers may not look as bad as in America or in some other European countries, they look much less impressive internationally (think New Zealand, South Korea, Taiwan, even Japan by comparison), and the second wave has hit Germany hard enough to remind people of that. Vaccinations have started here, but there is a sense in some regions and states that the local governments could have done a better job of preparing for the second wave during the relative lull of the summer, and that the second lockdown came too late, and it has dawned on people that it will take substantial time till the vaccine will actually reach them.

But the main thing I wanted to say and do is to commend Mike for his elegant and touching post and wish everyone on these forums all of that goodness he mentioned. Looking back, both photographically and otherwise, 2020 could have been much worse under the circumstances than it turned out to be for me personally, and I feel lucky in that and am quite aware that others have fared less luckily.

And I'm grateful for the relative peace and freedom from harm and worry that I was able to enjoy during a stay in the Palatinate Forest in autumn, where this picture was taken:

Trust me, it wasn't a criticism or an inference to the aloofness of the excellent German people I was reading a report where they looked at the actions of governments globally. All countries did pretty much the same thing, its just that Germany did it two weeks earlier than the rest and saved thousands of lives. Also, Angela Merkel is a scientist and not a .....Boris. I don't suppose you would consider swapping leaders with us? Hmmm?

[Madaboutpix]

Trust me, it wasn't a criticism or an inference to the aloofness of the excellent German people I was reading a report where they looked at the actions of governments globally. All countries did pretty much the same thing, its just that Germany did it two weeks earlier than the rest and saved thousands of lives. Also, Angela Merkel is a scientist and not a .....Boris. I don't suppose you would consider swapping leaders with us? Hmmm?

Hey, no offence taken here. BTW, we Germans are a pretty quirky bunch in many respects, and there are uglier sides to our national character, to put it mildly. I could get more specific, but then we would soon enter the realm of politics, which these forums have been prudently kept free of, and therefore I'll not comment on the Boris vs. Angela swap either ...

Bummer, too, that you've lost your job. May you soon find a new one. That kind of thing can really wear people down; I know it would test my sanity.

[c.a.m]

Today -- the dawn of 2021 -- is much like yesterday, the last of 2020. Even so, it was great to put up the new calendar -- as symbolic as it is -- and look towards a better year. My wife and I have been hunkered down for months, but we're grateful to be in good health and fairly good spirits. Our two adult children have been working from their homes productively since March.

Having been in senior management roles during my career, I've been watching our politicians and others. Some have risen to the occasion remarkably to provide leadership in the face of unknowns and uncertainties. Our public health officials have been working non-stop for months, and several of our provincial and municipal Chief Public Health Officers have been applauded publicly for their competence, humanity, grace, and empathy. Our Canadian Armed Forces have been called to assist in the logistics of deploying the vaccines, especially across our vast northern and Arctic expanse, which is sparsely populated by small communities with limited health and medical facilities. In times like these, we're glad that our public service is dedicated and generally competent. Above all, we're thankful for our health-care workers.

My photography activities were quite different in 2020. One of my favourite subjects, classic car shows at various venues, was completely shut down. However, COVID precautions allowing, I made a point of venturing out to new locations and to shoot new subjects. I participated more actively in my camera club's competitions, which has maintained a programme through Zoom, and I spent time to develop my post-processing skills. For the first year in a decade, I didn't acquire any new camera gear, new or used.

Pentax Forums has been an important part of my photography hobby, and I appreciate the social, technical, and learning aspects, as well as its international flavour (or flavor). Thanks to all of you.

- Craig

[Mbaez]

A big amen BigMackCam!
And happy new year to everyone!

To all my fellow forum members - friends, acquaintances, occasional sparring partners (and a small few unintended adversaries ) - I wish you and your loved ones a healthy, happy New Year!

What a year we've endured All of us have, to a greater or lesser extent, been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. For those whose personal or family health and/or livelihoods were affected, my heart goes out to you. For the rest of us who've been more fortunate, we've nonetheless dealt with necessary limitations to our personal liberties and freedoms, and anxiety that is the product of, and feeds upon, uncertainty on such a grand scale. Vaccinations are, thankfully, under way, and cannot come soon enough, in my opinion. I dearly hope they might culminate in a level of control over infection that allows us to return to some degree of normality in the near future.

Whilst our enjoyment of photography may have been the least of our concerns during this challenging time, I'm sure for many of you it has suffered (I know it has for me)... and though it may seem unimportant in the grand scheme of things, interests and hobbies such as ours provide essential diversions - indeed, therapy - in our daily lives. One of my New Year wishes is that in 2021, as our global situation improves and we regain more control and certainty in our lives, we'll also regain the freedom to enjoy our photography with renewed enthusiasm and vigour.

2020 has reminded us (if reminder were needed) how fragile our society and lives can be. Let's resolve to make 2021 a great year - bold in the face of adversity, back behind the camera in the great outdoors, tolerant and community-spirited in these, our forums, that have provided a welcome and much-needed haven throughout.

HAPPY NEW YEAR, everyone. Even with the challenges still ahead, may 2021 be your best year yet