The infamous year of 2020 is now drawing to a close and while a new year will be coming, a lot of things are going to bleed over into 2021. Unfortunately, a lot of it are things we cannot control. I try to stick to the things I can, otherwise my anxiety gets out of control.
You see, I am used to being confined to my home for long periods of time. I am used to people being insensitive and selfish because they think illness is weakness, so when all of this Covid-19 drama hit the world and families became further divided, including mine, I was disgusted, but not surprised.
While a lot of bad things have happened this year, this time last year I was confined to a wheelchair and recovering from a Crohn’s disease flare up that almost killed me. Film photography has been my therapy. It has kept me going and my YouTube channel and this blog have changed my life. It may sound silly, but for me this hobby gives me something to work towards everyday, and something to distract me from pain and sickness. I have experienced so many horrendous things in the ten years since my diagnosis that oddly enough, it has equipped me to handle crazy things like a pandemic.
I don’t have New Years resolutions, I create goals, and my goals for 2020 were to improve my photography skills and grow my channel so that I could keep doing what I love. I think my photography has improved since I started shooting film over a year ago. I have learned to develop my own black and white film and scan it with a flatbed scanner. I have learned to shoot medium format, and to meter using a handheld meter. I never thought I was going to be able to do these things, especially when I couldn’t even leave my bed to get to the bathroom.
I have chosen some of my favorite photos from this year to include in this article.
Some positive results from this year were learning to take pictures from the car when going to and from doctors appointments. That resulted in two zines I have up for sale.
Being confined to my home isn’t something new for me, but adding the pandemic into the mix did add a new set of anxieties. Not being able to go too many places to take pictures forced me to find another way to express myself creatively and I did that with still life photography.
I’ve also learned to push and pull film on my quest to find a film to shoot handheld around my home.
Slowly I have made progress in my health and in my photography. I hope that I can continue to do so, and I hope that all of you reading this will continue to come along with me.
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If you would like to help me out with the cost of film, developing chemicals, and the upkeep of this website, please consider making a small donation. If you would rather purchase one of my zines, that would also help.
Until next time, stay motivated and keep shooting.
Aly, you are an inspiration. The still lifes are gorgeous. Glad to see your inclusion in Casual Photophile.
Thank you very much🙏
Also. If you care to, would u make a post about your scanner and how u scan your film post processing?
If that’s something you guys would like I would. I’ve been thinking about doing that. I want to make a video for my channel showing my process from scanning thru to how I edit
Outstanding photos Aly, some reason my color photos suck so your yours give me hope
Thank you Aloy. I’m sure they don’t suck! I can’t remember seeing your color work. I have only seen your black and white. But I’ve noticed too that since I’ve been scanning my own negatives that my color work looks a lot better. Not sure if it’s related.
This article says everything! I have MS and due to Covid can’t go to the streets like I used to. I also shoot often from a car. The car; the huge lens hood lol. You are a lovely person, and this site is lovely, too. Keep it up Dear. The images in the post are awesome. Peace/Safiyyah
Thank you very much. My Aunt had MS I know what a difficult disease that can be.