As we round up the first month of 2020, how are you doing with your new year (and new decade) resolutions? Some of you may be striving to try new experiences, while others could be aiming to change past habits or get out of challenging situations. Though we may easily revert to old habits, we shouldn't give up without a fight! One way to get through the winter blues and continue our journey to self-betterment is to look at the world with fresh eyes. If that resolution isn't quite sticking, make some adjustments or break it down to smaller steps. Going up a gentle slope is more manageable than climbing a steep hill! 

Similarly with photography, we can acquire new camera gear or change the way we compose photos to create new images. We can also look at past photos with fresh eyes, try different processing techniques and find new creations. Below are some images I made recently while browsing through my collection of photographs. 

For this image "Two Suns in the Sunset", I used a new painting filter and gave it a square crop, placing focus on the two suns as they set into the fiery-orange sky.

Two Suns in the Sunset

This "Light as Air" image below was given a blue filter to enhance the feeling of a balloon floating up high into the sky. (Although in reality this was a porcelain balloon in a display case next to the window.)

Light as Air

To further provide an abstract look to the image "Shapes of Winter", motion and blur filters were applied. The trees' shadows appear to be moving while the observer is stationary - does this sound like a dream where you wanted to run but was stuck in place?

Shapes of Winter

I hope these gave you some inspirations to look at your photographs (and the world) with fresh eyes, find alternative options and carry on with your new year resolutions!