At the end of another year, I am showing a dozen pictures I took over the past twelve months that were important to me in one way or another. There is an unusual number of self-portraits in this year's selection, and that's not the result of vanity. It's what happens if the lockdown that was intended to last through December 2020 gets extended month after month and there is practically no human contact.
Fortunately things changed in summer and I could travel again, as you will see when you scroll down.
For the first months of 2021, this was the only kind of party one could have.
Hennef, Germany. (composite image)
Hennef, Germany. (composite image)
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there was no way to see your friends but on the screen.
Hennef, Germany. (composite image)
Hennef, Germany. (composite image)
During the lockdown I finally found time to repair things at home. In this case it's the washing machine.
Hennef, Germany.
Hennef, Germany.
My first trip after I was fully vaccinated took me to Vienna, a city where
old and new have coexisted (and sometimes clashed) for centuries.
Vienna, Austria.
old and new have coexisted (and sometimes clashed) for centuries.
Vienna, Austria.
Evening at Karlskirche (St. Charles Church).
Vienna, Austria.
Vienna, Austria.
Two workers on the new bridge across the Danube a few days before its opening to the public.
Linz, Austria.
Linz, Austria.
Relaxing at the pool with a vista of Pico del Teide.
Las Cañadas del Teide, Tenerife, Spain.
Las Cañadas del Teide, Tenerife, Spain.
Sunset in Las Cañadas del Teide.
Las Cañadas del Teide, Tenerife, Spain.
Las Cañadas del Teide, Tenerife, Spain.
Sailboat near the Praça do Comércio. Many of the great Portuguese discoverers started from here.
Lisbon, Portugal.
Lisbon, Portugal.
Having just passed the famous Biblioteca Joanina, a student wearing the
traditional black cape rushes to class at the University of Coimbra.
Coimbra, Portugal.
traditional black cape rushes to class at the University of Coimbra.
Coimbra, Portugal.
Food truck at Castelo de Marvão.
Marvão, Portugal.
Marvão, Portugal.
The central square of Vila Viçosa.
Vila Viçosa, Portugal.
Vila Viçosa, Portugal.
So here's to a better 2022 with the hope that personal contact and travel will be possible for more than the three or four months we had this year.
Ophelia Rodriguez Gustafson
You capture the immense range of life: the solitude, the God’s eye view, the pensive and quiet moments as well as the lushness of our earth. Thank you.