Photo Diary – January 2026

I had a comment on a recent post from Frederic Paulussen. Fred’s a Antwerp-based photographer, blogger and podcast host, and — as so often happens — I clicked through to his site, then followed links to some of his podcast guests, then their projects… and before I knew it, another evening had disappeared. Not wasted though — definitely one of those enjoyable internet rabbit holes that leaves you feeling inspired.

One thing I really liked on Fred’s site (aside from the excellent photography) was his monthly round-up posts where he gathers his favourite images from the previous month. So I thought I’d have a go at something similar here. Fred also throws in book and film recommendations — I’ll skip that bit for now, although music might creep in at some point.

I’ve written before about trying to take more pictures again and January was more productive than recent months, but still relatively modest by previous standards. It was mostly local walks, usually with the dog, which, pleasant as those walks are, makes any kind of considered photography almost impossible. Stopping to compose a shot while a dog-shaped velociraptor impatiently tugs on the lead tends not to end well.

One outing that did produce a few pictures was a walk from Kobyla Góra, the nearby hill that boasts the title of highest point in Wielkopolska. “Highest” might oversell it slightly, but it’s the highest we have around here and it looks great when covered in fresh snow. I took a couple of cameras along just to see what happened and came back with a handful of snaps I quite liked. The Monochrom in particular felt right for the cold January light on snow.

A few days later, on yet another bitingly cold morning that we’ve had so many of in the last couple of months, after the school run I headed over to the wooden church “in the field” near Bralin. Dawn was just breaking and the cold air had that crystal clarity. This time, colour worked better with the dawn sunlight and mist.

In my effort to get back out more often with a camera, I made two city trips with no agenda other than taking pictures – to Wrocław and Łódź respectively. No plans, no shot list, just wandering and seeing what caught my eye. I felt pretty rusty both times, but it was enjoyable all the same. It reminded me of my old photo-flâneur days when I used to roam cities with a bit more confidence and instinct than I seem to have at the moment. I hope that those feelings will return if I continue to ‘put the miles in’…

Finally, I shot a few pictures at the stables where my daughter rides ponies. It was almost completely dark in the stables but the Ricoh GR worked its usual wonders and produced some excellent results.

So that was January: not prolific, but still worthwhile and hopefully the start of some sort of comeback. A few local walks, a couple of small photographic adventures, and a reminder that photography doesn’t always need grand locations; sometimes it’s just about paying attention to what’s around you and doing it often enough that it becomes natural and habitual.