Happy Belated New Year everyone!! Over a week into 2023, it still feels strange as last year went by quickly.
Here is the lowdown:
- I am currently on a career break from work (or a sabbatical), now until September. I return back to work in October. So in the meantime, I will be keeping myself busy during those nine months
- Tenerife Times: Well the good news is that I am going to Tenerife next week, not for a holiday but three months to do a Spanish immersion course. I enrolled at a language school down South in the coastal area, however I start the following week.
I had been planning to do a Spanish immersion abroad since last summer, although I was already attending classes in London. I have been learning Spanish on-and-off for nearly a decade. My main goal for 2023 is to hopefully improve and be fluent in the language. This could enable me to learn other Romance languages, such as Italian, French and Portuguese as Spanish is similar to them.
Also I am planning to do a photography based project during my Tenerife stay. So keep your eyes out for updates…
- Same Blog, Some Possible Changes: The blog will be going through a few ‘changes’ in this year. First one is Film Friday; my plan is to start the feature later than scheduled, most likely in March. The good news is that I had already written out the list of films for the fortnightly posts, with some I may have to purchase after I come back from Tenerife. Film Friday was dry in 2022, and I am considering retiring it when the year ends due to the cost of film. While it’s popular, sometimes film is not always widely available with them getting discontinued and stock shortages.
Tried and Tested Thursday will remain, I will still post entries as much as possible – so advanced apologies if there are a lack of them in the coming months. I would like to discuss other things apart from film and photography, maybe trying out something creative or experimenting with other art mediums, or talk about other topics not necessarily related to creativity.
Story Time Sundays? The rare occurrence. The only feature that doesn’t discuss really anything photography related, with the last post being in January 2022. My plan is to do at least six or seven posts this year, fortunately I have got one written longhand it just needs to get typed up. The story times unleash the true me of rambling, however I do plan on cutting the entry length down a tad bit.
Monday Monthly Mentions? Still here with the same format: exhibitions, photography, art, life, news and personal anecdotes. I will most likely have to cut down the length of each entry.
- Other Interests Beyond Photography: The main advantage of taking time off from work is to pursue other interests or explore new ones. I would like to focus on writing, including blogging and maybe send some written pieces to competitions or submissions. I wrote story outlines, mind maps and plans in 2022, as well as revisiting a few previous planned ideas. Hopefully something will get materialised or published this year.
I want to concentrate on arts and crafts, mainly scrapbooking, plus getting back into painting again, but start off simple with watercolours or acrylics. I bought some arty bits from Hobby Craft and The Works, some I will take with me to Tenerife to do my photography project.
Also I really want to explore the great outdoors of the United Kingdom. I signed up for a few walks and hikes through Meetup groups. I planned to stay within the Southeastern region for now, mainly around the home counties of Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire and Kent. There might be a chance that I will go beyond or towards the southwest like Sussex or Hampshire. It would be great to discover some hidden gems.
Before I end this post, I would like to share a couple of rare photos of myself, which were taken on the weekend by my dear friend Sally. The camera shy photographer in her habitat, clutching onto her Cath Kidston purse about to pay for the bill!!
Take care and stay safe
Photographic Jannine 