Farewell 2021

Al doilea an al "erei corona" se apropie de final. Un an poate mai ciudat decat precedentul, un amestec de sperante palide, haos, deziluzii, neincredere, dezbinari, incrancenari...

Cred ca in acesti doi ani omenirea a demonstrat ca pur si simplu nu are puterea sa gestioneze o problema la nivel global, iar la orizont apar altele mult mai grave decat cea in care ne prindem urechile acum.

Intr-o nota mai optimista, in plan personal a fost un an surprinzator de bun. Ma bucur in primul rand ca sunt sanatos, atat eu cat si cei dragi. Am reusit sa calatoresc mai mult decat as fi indraznit sa sper la inceputul anului, am vazut locuri noi (insulele Feroe), dar am si revazut locuri de care sunt foarte atasat (Islanda si Madeira). Am reusit sa vad un vulcan activ, un vis din copilarie implinit. Parca si acum simt caldura infernala a raului de lava aflat la cativa metri de mine, mirosul de sulf si vegetatie arsa, uluirea tuturor din jur, nici o filmare sau poza nu te poate pregati pentru asa ceva.

Din pacate, din diverse motive, am iesit mult mai rar pe munte fata de anii precedenti, lucru pe care neaparat vreau sa-l schimb in anul ce vine. Mi-e dor de un rasarit pe creste, de o noapte in cort, pana si de greutatea rucsacului.

Pe plan fotografic, am reusit sa-mi implinesc un alt vis, sa am posibilitatea sa vad si sa fotografiez din perspectiva unei pasari. Inca invat sa stapanesc jucaria, dar imi ofera multe satisfactii de cate ori o folosesc.

In continuare sunt foarte in urma cu selectia si prelucrarea tonelor de imagini pe care le-am adunat in ultimii ani, dar am mai recuperat si sper ca anul viitor sa pot in sfarsit sa imi cristalizez un portofoliu.

Iata cateva imagini pe care le-am realizat sau prelucrat in acest an.

Second year of the "corona age" is coming to an end. Perhaps an even stranger year than the previous one, a mix of pale hopes, chaos, disillusions, mistrust, discord, disbelief...

Unfortunately, I think the past two years are the proof that mankind just lacks the ability to handle a serious global level problem, and there are other bigger problems to handle in the years to come.

On a more optimistic note, it was a really good year for me personally. First of all, I'm thankful that me and my beloved ones are well and healthy. I got to travel this year a lot more than I dared to hope. I saw new awesome places (the Faroe islands), but I also revisited places that are very dear to me (Iceland and Madeira). I got to see an active volcano, which is a childhood dream come true. Even now I can feel the infernal heat of the lava flow that was just a few meters from me, the sulphur and burnt vegetation smell, the sheer awe on everyone's faces, no picture or video can really prepare you for that experience.

Unfortunately, for various reasons, this year I didn't go out in the mountains as often as last years, I definitely want to change this next year. I really miss a sunset on a mountain top, a night in my tent, I even miss carrying my backpack.

I managed to fulfill another dream of mine, to be able to see and take pictures from a bird's eye perspective. I'm still learning to master the new toy, but it puts a big smile on my face every time I fly around.

Unfortunately, I'm still way behind on selecting and processing the ever growing stack of images that I've gathered throughout the years, but it's work in progress and hopefully next year I'll finally able to have a portfolio containing my best photographs.

Here are some images that I've made or processed throughout this year.

January

Ochiul viscolului - muntii Mehedinti / Eye of the blizzard - Mehedinti mountains