Christmas Update: Looking Back on 2025, and Ahead to 2026

This year has been a very turbulent one — and also a very productive one.

Back in June, after a major malware hack, I had to decide whether to rebuild this website or let it quietly fade away. At the time, it was largely dormant, and part of me wondered whether it was worth the effort to save it at all. But because of my long-standing passion for photography — and the sheer amount of old photos, writing, and work I’d built up over the years — I decided to give it one last, serious push.

I put my head down and rebuilt the site from the ground up, working on it full time with the aim of creating a no-nonsense place to talk honestly about gear, photography, and life. Thankfully, it’s done better than I ever expected, and that success has allowed me to make some big decisions about the direction of my family after what has been a fairly rough year.

It all really began when I brought my mum over to live with us here in the Philippines. The plan was for her to live in the house next door so we could all be close and she could finally relax. Life, as it often does, had other ideas. Within weeks of moving in, she experienced a large earthquake, followed by a typhoon, and then major flooding that destroyed many of her belongings. Alongside other factors, this forced me to reassess where my family would truly be safest, happiest, and able to thrive.

We eventually came to the conclusion that we needed to return to the UK — and more specifically, Scotland.

That’s where I am now, in the final stages of planning that move. We’ve found a beautiful house in Crieff, sold most of our belongings, and have a buyer lined up for our home here. Just recently, we travelled up to Cebu City to apply for visas for my youngest daughter and my wife. The next steps are arranging shipping for the few things we’re keeping, booking flights, and organising logistics.

Once that’s done, this chapter of my life in the Philippines will come to an end.

I’ve spent a decade living here. It’s given me two wonderful daughters, taught me how to be a family man, and forced me to let go of certain personal dreams to ensure they had the best possible start in life. More than anything, it’s taught me humility. I’ll be honest though — it’s also worn me down a little.

So what’s next?

January 2026 is going to be busy as we finalise everything and settle in. I’ll continue publishing through the move, but once we’re fully settled in Scotland, that’s when content will return to its normal rhythm. Once we’ve landed and I’ve had a few days to get my feet back on the ground, the plan is to head out into the Scottish Highlands and countryside and start shooting again — the way I used to all those years ago, but with very different eyes.

Landscape and nature photography will naturally become more prominent, and I’ll be publishing deeper articles about the systems I use and why I use them. I also plan to gently reintroduce YouTube in a way that feels natural — not as a replacement for the website, but as a complement to it — sharing the experience of photographing Scotland’s landscapes and wildlife rather than chasing trends or views.

So what can you expect from me in 2026? More of the same, but better. My aim is always to improve: to make articles more useful, to keep refining my photography, and to stay honest about the gear I use and the reasons I use it. I know Scotland will inspire me to get out and shoot more, to reconnect with nature, and to slow things down again.

I’m incredibly excited to be back there with a camera — something I haven’t truly done for over a decade. Part of me wonders how my photos will change, how I’ll see things now, and how my older legs will cope with the mountains. But one thing I do know is that I’m ready for this move and everything it brings.

I’m deeply grateful that through photography — and through this website — I have the opportunity to bring my children into a safer, richer environment, surrounded by opportunity and the outdoors.

And so, as Christmas 2025 approaches, I just want to say thank you — genuinely — for reading my articles, for the thoughtful comments many of you leave, and for the quiet support that’s allowed this site to become what it is today. I wish you and your families a very happy holiday season, and a calm, healthy, and rewarding 2026.