Chris Bickford

This time of year, just heading into and coming out of the winter solstice, always seems to bring a lot of mystery and surprise. There is a hush about, like time is slowing down just a little bit, as the pendulum reaches its zenith, before the acceleration into spring. A quiet joy in knowing that the darkest days have come and gone, and that there is still plenty of winter ahead to relax, reflect, and make plans. And here on the Banks, if we are lucky, we get blessed with some spells of soft winter weather, where the ocean relaxes and shines, the air is light and balmy, and the clouds do their little dances that make life here in the winter a secret joy for those who bother to look up and notice.

The goings-on of the holiday season can bring about all sorts of emotional swings, as it seems always to be a time of both intense socializing and intense reflection. Warmth and joy sit side by side with loneliness and despair, hope and satisfaction with regret and longing. But the ocean and sky are on their own schedule, and sometimes all it takes is a little checking out from the human world and a little checking in with the world of wind and weather to put things into perspective.

It’s been a difficult year for me in my personal life, but in my photographic life it has been a very good year. Seeds of projects that will occupy me for years to come have been sown this year, and I’ve made quite a few small breakthroughs in my seeing. I have a much better sense of where I’m heading than I did this time last year, and I feel that my house of images is much better furnished; it’s a very colorful and inspiring place to be these days. I’m hoping that in the coming year I can invite more people to come inside and enjoy it for themselves.