I think it would be fair to say this has been an extremely difficult year on a personal level. In the spring my family was rocked by the sudden death of my father, killed in a road traffic incident while riding his motorcycle. This came only a year and a half after the death of my mother.
I've still been working this year, and that has no doubt helped keep my mind occupied during some of the more difficult periods. There has been some good shoots, meeting some very interesting people, but certainly for the second half of the year at least my time has been dominated by events away from my work. Dealing with my fathers estate, and the police and justice system. The year finished with a young car driver being guilty of causing my fathers death, but I took no satisfaction with the outcome - there are, as they say, no winners here.
The Place Where My Father Died, 2013
We have always been a close family. My parents were happily married for over forty years, and my brother, sister, and I always went back to spend Christmas in the family home. This year Christmas is going to be strange, a difficult time. I am now taking a break, taking some personal time to sort out my own feelings about what has happened. I'll still be spending some of Christmas with my family, my brother and sister and our own families. There is a wedding too. The first week of 2014 will see my brother's wedding to celebrate. And a best man's speech to write. The former I'm looking forward to, the latter not so much.
I am also taking some time to travel, leaving this week and getting back to the UK in February. The trip has been some time in the planning, arranging a time window in work isn't always easy. But I'll be enjoying the personal time, and no doubt taking a lot of photographs as I travel. Work will begin again mid february, and I'll show here some new photographs, and try to write more often in 2014.
I wish you all a good Christmas & New Year.
Best,
Michael
