In difficult times, retreating into memories can be seen as a weakness, yet it proves to be an effective solace. Those cherished memories have sustained me through many sleepless nights. Sometimes I mock myself, as Hemingway wrote in The Snows of Kilimanjaro :

"Love is a dunghill," said Harry. "And I'm the cock that gets on it to crow."

Perhaps I am the only one still clinging to these remnants of the past. But having been lifted and aided by these memories time and again, I wish to express my gratitude to those who create them. This is the reason behind the photo series titled "Comforting Memories"

"Comforting Memories I" depicts a journey taken during the summer of 2019, the last one before the COVID-19 pandemic. A golden age, often only recognized in its absence, isn't it? That summer now seems like a distant mirage, radiating the heat of carefree days and unmasked smiles.

A significant portion of the photos in this collection was captured with an iPhone 5. The images are blurry, which now seems to lend them an irreplicable quality. Therefore, I refrained from making substantial stylistic alterations to any of the picture, to preserve their original look in 2019. So you can see both sharp and hazy, colourful and colourless at the same time.