I did the Top Nine photo generator on Instagram, but I didn’t agree with the photos it chose, so I picked my own.These Top Nine (plus one) aren’t photos that other people “liked” best.

They are not photos that an algorithm deemed worthy enough to show other people.

They are not photos that I was hired to take, or that will help get me new jobs.

They are photos from my life that I like best.

They are photos that remind me to slow down and make time for my own life.

They are photos that remind me that life is short and I only have one chance to live it.

They are all photos taken on film with cameras that quite likely will not give me results that I expected, but they almost always give me photos that I love.

So here is to a slow new year, ignoring algorithms, being present in our own lives and having experiences that will likely not be what we expect, but will almost always be what we love.