Four hundred and seventy two photos. Surprised even myself going through my Lightroom catalog. For a year that was spent mostly indoors, I’m a little bit impressed with myself. (And that number’s going to go up with some last-week-of-the-year images.)
The collective universe categorised 2020 as… well, not the best year. But looking back on my four hundred and something photos, there was actually a lot of good stuff in there. So, here’s a short stroll down 2020’s memory lane.
Before the 2020 that was
Turns out, there was a 2020 before March when the shit hit the fan. Museums, food festivals, and general outdoorsy-ness. Not to mention all the social interaction. Good times.
![Photo of 2 people looking at a classic car.](https://time-wellspent.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/timebefore-6942.jpg)
![Photo of the inside of a classic car exhibition in a museum.](https://time-wellspent.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/timebefore-6939.jpg)
![Photo of a stand at a food festival.](https://time-wellspent.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/timebefore-6991.jpg)
![Photo of the food festival attendees.](https://time-wellspent.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/timebefore-6989.jpg)
![Photo of a farm.](https://time-wellspent.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/timebefore-6720.jpg)
![Photo of mountains and a cactus.](https://time-wellspent.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/timebefore-7123.jpg)
![Photo of a family hiking along a mountainside.](https://time-wellspent.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/timebefore-7085.jpg)
Stay-at-home times
I leant on photography to not let cabin fever in during those few months. Though, there’s only so much you can photograph in an apartment that gets terrible natural light 90% of the time and kind of good natural light the rest of the time.
![Black and white photo of patio furniture.](https://time-wellspent.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/stay-at-home-1-2-scaled.jpg)
![Black and white photo of a close up of some flowers.](https://time-wellspent.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/stay-at-home-1-scaled.jpg)
![Photo of silhouette of a lamp shade looking into a courtyard.](https://time-wellspent.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/stay-at-home-1-11-scaled.jpg)
![Photo of a close-up of an aloe vera plant.](https://time-wellspent.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/stayathometimes-7152.jpg)
![Photo of some outdoor plants.](https://time-wellspent.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/stayathometimes-7241.jpg)
![Black and white photo of windows on the side of a building.](https://time-wellspent.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/stayathometimes-7247.jpg)
![Black and white photo of a bedroom.](https://time-wellspent.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/stayathometimes-071029.jpg)
![Black and white photo of a door in a room.](https://time-wellspent.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/stayathometimes-082508.jpg)
![Black and white photo of the interior of an apartment.](https://time-wellspent.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/stayathometimes-085229.jpg)
Quiet times
I had to. For just a couple of afternoons, I wanted to see what the world looked like with everything shut down. (Like so many other folks out there.) It was a little strange to see some places so quiet and devoid of people. But then again, fairly normal for Phoenix just as summer was beginning to hit.
![Photo at a low perspective looking towards downtown Phoenix.](https://time-wellspent.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/quiettimes-7130.jpg)
![Photo of an empty outside bar.](https://time-wellspent.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/quiettimes-7132.jpg)
![Photo of a row of unused street scooters.](https://time-wellspent.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/quiettimes-7139.jpg)
![Photo of lined up bicycles.](https://time-wellspent.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/quiettimes-7143.jpg)
![Photo of an empty indoor gym.](https://time-wellspent.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/quiettimes-7144.jpg)
ALL the Botanical Gardens visits
Phoenix’s Desert Botanical Gardens has become my #1 place to take anyone who comes to visit. It’s beautiful. Just see.
![Photo of a man looking into the distance at the Phoenix Botanical Gardens.](https://time-wellspent.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/allthedbg-6913.jpg)
![Photo of people at the botanical gardens.](https://time-wellspent.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/allthedbg-6745.jpg)
![Close-up photo of cacti.](https://time-wellspent.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/allthedbg-7051.jpg)
![Close-up photo of a red flower.](https://time-wellspent.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/allthedbg-0178.jpg)
![Photo of a hummingbird.](https://time-wellspent.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/allthedbg-6806.jpg)
![Photo of the Papago Buttes from the botanical gardens.](https://time-wellspent.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/allthedbg-7054.jpg)
![Photo of saguaro cacti.](https://time-wellspent.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/allthedbg-7033.jpg)
The good in 2020
We bought a house! Our first house. So, of course, we’re turning it into a project. And I’ll be turning that project into my own photography project.
![Photo of a couple holding up keys.](https://time-wellspent.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/newhouse-0308.jpg)
![Photo of a couple standing in front of a house.](https://time-wellspent.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/newhouse-0302.jpg)
And when things got marginally safer, we did some exploring. I’ve lived in the US coming up to two years in 2021 and I still feel like I’ve barely seen much of the country. Figured it’s a good idea to start with Arizona.
![Photo of mountains.](https://time-wellspent.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/exploring-0323.jpg)
![Photo of an ocotillo plant.](https://time-wellspent.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/exploring-0514.jpg)
![Photo of mountains in Sedona.](https://time-wellspent.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/exploring-0760.jpg)
![Photo of a creek.](https://time-wellspent.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/exploring-0763.jpg)
![Photo of autumn coloured leaves.](https://time-wellspent.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/exploring-0777.jpg)
![Photo of the tops of Sedona's red rocks.](https://time-wellspent.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/exploring-0808.jpg)
![Photo of kayaks on a lake.](https://time-wellspent.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/exploring-7395.jpg)
![Photo of a man looking at mountains in the distance.](https://time-wellspent.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/exploring-7415.jpg)
And of course, throw in a healthy dose of local exploring around Phoenix. (When I got mildly obsessed at photographing all the palm trees.
![Photo of a sunrise.](https://time-wellspent.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/local-0099.jpg)
![Photo of Phoenix's skyline.](https://time-wellspent.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/local-0105.jpg)
![Photo of the entrance of a church.](https://time-wellspent.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/local-0608.jpg)
![Photo of the Westward Ho.](https://time-wellspent.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/local-0744.jpg)
![Photo of palm trees in front of the Westward Ho.](https://time-wellspent.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/local-0869.jpg)
![Photo of a person's silhouette.](https://time-wellspent.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/local-0879.jpg)
![Photo of an empty lot with a palm tree and construction work.](https://time-wellspent.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/local-0884.jpg)
![Photo of the shadows of trees.](https://time-wellspent.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/local-0903.jpg)
![Photo of two people sitting in a park on the grass.](https://time-wellspent.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/local-0913.jpg)
Thanks for scrolling through and looking and reading my 2020 in photos. Probably more photos than I planned on sharing—I definitely got carried away.
P.S. If you want to buy prints of my photos, I‘m selling some here. If you’ve seen something I’ve posted you’d like as a print, leave a comment, and I’ll add it to the store.
Congrats on your first house Jaina! Excited to see your pictures from 2021!
Thanks Humaira! Hope you had a lovely new year 🙂