2021, a new rising
Happy new year 2021 to you all!
2020… what a year it was! And yet it is finally/already over. I don’t like end of year restrospective content so I won’t produce such a post. Instead I will mention a Korean tradition that I have picked up over the years and that was particularly meaningful this year: catching new year’s first sunrise.
Sunrises are a traditional metaphor of a new beginning, of hope, of expectations and sometimes of longing too. I very much think that this particular 2021’s new year sunrise would tick all those boxes for a majority of humans.
Whether it is for health, familial, business, financial or liberty reasons we all want 2021 to be an drastic improvement over 2020. We all want to leave covid-19 behind that intangible barrier we call new year and catch up with our lives, perhaps with a few changes.
So it is with a heart full of bright hope that I want to share with you 2 kinds of rises. Who knows, like me, you may find yourself wondering what tomorrow will bring you. Maybe you will get up for sunrise tomorrow to find out… This is about what I found out.
2021’s first light! It looks like it’s shooting straight up, quite magical. Is there a treasure at the bottom of that beam? One that would free us all?
The morning was fairly cold, expected. One thing that is harder to predict though, is how pretty a sunrise will look. This one starts on good tracks. Some clouds, red light commencing overhead, lower pollution…
The few clouds over Sadang area started lighting up, Seoul wakes up to the new year.
The show started at that moment. Will 2021 make a flamboyant debut?
Even the Lotte World tower got her band of fiery clouds.
A wide angle view of what will remain in history as 2021’s first light. I have seen worse sunrises!
Yes, it did! Oh how I love this! The promise of a better year is painted red in the sky, an ephemeral pledge of betterment. Is it a good sign for things to come?
The sun will soon be here! It must have been snowing in the distance to get such a vibrantly diffused light.
Zoomed out a bit it almost looks like a perfect background for an apocalyptic fiction. And yet those inverted rays brings so much hope of a warmer day and a warmer year.
Here she is! Sort of shy behind the fortress of clouds, a metaphore of our cautious hopes for an end to the pandemic and a return to a normal life.
Here goes the first sunrise of 2021: a splendid start followed by an average reveal, hidden behind clouds. It was anti climactic. I would have much preferred a clean and clear beginning, but it was what it was!
However, I am not a superstitious person, I think we create our luck. So I choose to start 2021 with a clear sunrise set of photos. I actually took them the following day but I will look to them if hope ever fades.
Now that is a ball of fire in the morning sky, cutting through the darkness, shining with all its might.
Can you see the air distortion around the sun? I’m not sure what they are but I expect they are due to temperature clashes. It was interesting!
Here we are! The day has officially started, along with the month and year. Up to us to make the best of it.
I want to believe that this first (and second) sunrise is a good omen for this new year. Yes it is a completely arbitrary conclusion but it is nonetheless the one I drew from this early morning experience. What was yours?
Now, the sun isn’t the only ball of light in our sky that brings expectations and hope. The moon also carries its fair share of interpretations in the Korean culture too. But it is now 2021, a whole day has come and is almost gone, will the moon rise also be a good sign for this new year?
Well… the moon stayed even more uncertain than the sun this morning. It only showed its face for a couple of cold minutes. Disappointing call back to reality.
But I want to stay on the positive side of things so, just like with our life engendering sun, I returned the following night with anticipation. And…
Now this is a moon rise!
January second it is! I’m changing the calendar to start one day later! 2021 will be great! I hope…
Gangnam has never looked as good as with a smiling moon looking over it.
“Humans, look up, you’ll get through this.”
Now, without the slightest shadow of a doubt, 2021 is here. It is the moment to make our ingenuity surpass the times. To make our collective spirits soar beyond doubts and fears. To make our race shine with progress and fighting spirit. To make our souls resound in harmony; humans in the infinite universe.
2021, I have high hopes for you.
Again a great thank you for reading this far. I apologize for the lack of writing, my wife and I moved to a new place that required a lot of our attention. I will have more content to write about soon.
Also, as always follow me on instagram @romainphoto_outside (the link at the top of this page) for more photography than I can blog about!
Feel free to leave a comment below and share my blog so that, one day maybe, I can meet you during a sunrise shoot!
A bientôt!