New Year, New Blog!

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Hello… is this thing on?

Well, the ball has dropped, the fireworks have gone off, and 2020 is finally in the rearview mirror. So what better time to launch this blog that I had on my to-do list last January? (Though, in my defense, there wasn’t much to write about last year.) I suppose the silver lining of a COVID Christmas at home in Tucson is that I’ve had a nice chunk of free time to spend on neglected projects like this one.

Normally I’d be spending my week and a half off of work either up in Minnesota with my family or down in Chile with Steven’s, but we decided to stay home this year given the whole global pandemic thing. It was my first Christmas in my own house and my first time picking out a Christmas tree (after a lifetime of fake trees this was a double first). We also learned not to wait until December 22nd to buy lights, because you’re going to be putting up whatever last few strands you can find at Walmart, even if the colors don’t match. But overall I think we did a pretty good job “adulting” and making Christmas happen, even if it was pretty low key.

I know the general sentiment is that 2020 was awful and we’re all happy that it’s over (not that anything has really changed since I woke up yesterday), but to be honest I had a pretty decent year. While the cancelled trips and lack of social gatherings were definitely a bummer, it left me with a lot of free time to spend on my photography and other hobbies. I did a ton of astrophotography—including dipping my toes into the pool of deep sky—because, hey, not going to catch COVID in the desert alone at 2 am! I also got to try storm chasing on the plains for the first time, which was an incredible experience and one that I hope I’ll get again this year (still gotta get my first tornado!) And how about that visit from Comet NEOWISE in July? So it certainly wasn’t a waste of a year by any means.

Now that the holidays have come and gone and it’s back to work on Monday, I guess it’s time to get back to real life and jump into the new year. You might be wondering, what’s on the docket for 2021? The answer is a resounding: no idea! I was supposed to be getting on a plane to Kenya in a couple of weeks, but unfortunately that’s been postponed until things calm down a bit more. So with my PTO balance replenished and no trips planned (I don’t think I’ve ever had no trips planned), I guess I’ll just wait and see where 2021 decides to take me.

If you enjoy reading my ramblings and following my adventures, you can subscribe to my new blog to get notifications when I write new posts. I’ll be talking about a little bit of everything: photography tutorials, travel tips (for when life gets back to normal!), and just a glimpse into the day-to-day life of a rocket scientist photographer. And the comment section is open—I’d love to hear from you!

That’s all I’ve got for now. Thank you to all of my awesome followers for your support and for making 2020 a great year (at least for photography)! I’m definitely looking forward to what 2021 will bring, so I hope you’ll come along for the ride.

P.S. If you still need a 2021 calendar, my full-color photo calendars are still available to order! I’m really happy with how they turned out, and I bet you will be too.