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There was a time when I actually knew how to take photos. Nothing fancy or award-winning, of course, and I didn’t get all mathematical about Fibonacci numbers. I just studied Kornbluh, Bresson, Erwin’s work, practiced for hours, and tried to imitate them. Sometimes it turned out decent.

Then I got married, became an office guy, and sold my 5D Mark II to pay off my debts. When I left for Thailand, I decided to buy a new camera because I never got along with the iPhone. Something light, beautiful, and with manual controls.

I took a Fuji X-T10 with the 18-55 f/2.8-4 kit lens because I couldn’t afford an X-T1 with primes. For half a year, I regretted not getting a Sony: I was adjusting to the ergonomics, learning to pull X-Trans RAWs in Lightroom. It sucked.

In 2018, I want to spend more time on photography. Read, visit exhibitions, and practice.

Asia

The year started in Hong Kong — the best city for street photographers. I was shy and didn’t get a grip on all the dials, so mostly ended up with cityscapes.

Then came Singapore, with roughly the same results. I want to write separately about important events and trips; this post is about important photos.

Most of the first quarter was spent in Thailand, which I never grew to love. Most photos from Thailand are sunsets and sunrises — the only entertainment I fully enjoyed.

Despite the heat and boredom, the little beach neighborhood of Rawai at Phuket’s southern tip became a second home — something Moscow can’t brag about yet.

There were many great moments and people in Thailand I miss. No special photos for all that — just memories.

In March, I quit Aviasales because I was fed up with Thailand and work. Still, it was sad.

Yekaterinburg

Back from Asia to my hometown and disappointed. What was comfortably imperfect became unbearably shitty. I didn’t notice it after trips to Europe, but after a year in dirty, rural Thailand, I was unpleasantly surprised.

People remained good. I’m happy to visit friends in March.

Moscow

In May, I moved to Moscow because business was waiting there. Summer inside the Garden Ring, Moscow is a great city, but it’s always rushing and boxing you in.

Early autumn is beautiful, but starting in October, the unbearable shit begins: sunsets at three in the afternoon, smog, and eternal twilight. I wanted to hang myself, but work called.

Saint Petersburg

Visited Saint Petersburg twice over the summer and immediately disliked this pompous rotten pit. Shame. So many friends there I want to see more often.

Stockholm

Stockholm respects minimalism.

Cyprus

Had to escape the fucking Moscow shit and head to the islands. Stayed for winter in Cyprus, which turned out to be a very pleasant place. Researching residency options.

Random shots

I’m happy with how the year ended. My photography got immeasurably worse, but at least it’s regular. Trying to think, look around, practice editing. By the end of the year, Lightroom learned to handle Fuji RAWs properly. I’m really missing the guts to shoot wild street. Bought a lightweight tripod and a Helios 44-3 just for fun. Fell in love with Fuji, really want the X-Pro2.

See you around.