It’s 2022 and a brand new year! As you set new goals and look forward to what will hopefully be a great year, it’s a great idea to look back on the past year and celebrate all your successes, growth and the beautiful memories you captured in your images.

There are three things I like to do toward the end of the year to reflect back on the moments and images that I have collected since the last New Year’s Day.

The first thing I like to do is scroll through my Lightroom catalog and look for any favorite images I haven’t edited yet and create a collection of them so that I can be sure to work through them early in the new year! There are always images I don’t get to right away or images that I may have overlooked during the first run through.

As I work on a seascape presentation coming up for me early this year, I went back to some images from earlier in 2021 and discovered a small collection of images I love that I had yet to edit.

The second thing I do is go through my edited images and choose my favorites. Then I make a collection and sometimes create a slideshow. Seeing them together usually adds to my sense of accomplishment and renews my gratitude for all the moments I was lucky enough to spend out in nature.

A collection of some of my favorite horizontal images from 2021!

Or instead, or maybe in addition to annual favorites, maybe gather a collection of images from a particular trip or project that you worked on. For example I could create a collection of my abstract images or backyard images, two of my projects from 2021.

Finally, I choose some of the year’s images to print. Whether I print some large to hang on the wall or smaller to put in a few frames, printing always gives me a newfound appreciation of my work. Seeing some of my images in print is a great way to wrap up the year and give me motivation for the year to come!

Probably my favorite image from 2021 that I’m printing large on metal!

Before you move onto setting goals for 2022, I hope you take the time to reflect on and celebrate all the amazing moments experienced and images captured in 2021!

Kristen Ryan is an award winning and published landscape photographer and educator residing in the Midwest suburbs of Chicago. All images are available for purchase in the Fine Art Store or by request. Kristen leads ladies landscape photography retreats in the Tetons, Glacier NP, Hilton Head, Chicago, and the Canadian Rockies, offers private mentoring . New online educational materials are coming soon!