This photography blog started nearly ten years ago as an experiment. Social media was starting to get my attention. The concept that “once it’s on the Internet it’s out there forever” was starting to take shape in my brain. With a name like mine, there are literally thousands of me. Could I create a presence online that defined my electronic space? Could I shape the narrative?
The short answer is yes. The longer answer is, yes, if that’s your passion, and you’re willing to fully commit. Which I did for a few years. I spent a LOT of time working on this Web page. It turns out it’s harder than it looks.
I shared some really terrible photos, and learned to take much better photos. There were some really silly and meaningless conversations on here. An awful lot of “great photo” “thank you” type dialogue. When I review it today, it seems pretty trite. If this is how I define my presence digitally, I’m unimpressed. It reminds me of the time I reviewed my Twitter account and discovered there were precisely zero tweets I felt needed to be preserved. I deleted them all. I’m going to do the same thing here.
I’ve stepped away from the camera and started to do other things. I run marathons now. Built a barn. That kind of thing.
The Nikon I bought back then can now be had for less than a hundred bucks used, including a lens or two. But it’s still a good camera, and I’ll hang onto it, even if it doesn’t come out of its bag that often. For now, at least.
Now I am embarking on the biggest, most challenging part of my journey so far. We’re renovating a 208 year old farmhouse. When the house is done, I have a garage to build and a coach house to restore. The next three years of my life promise to be very busy.
Prior to this post, I’ve put up exactly two pictures in the last four years, and only one of those was a new photo. So I’m going to shut this grand experiment down now. It’s run its course. If you’re reading this, that just means my hosting agreement has not yet expired. As soon as it does, this site will disappear. And then, like most people, you’ll still be able to find me online, you just may have to look in the more usual places. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn… I’m out there. Drop me a line.
My web hosting is paid up through January 2020, so this fare-thee-well will hang out for a little bit. I won’t be checking back in, so look for me elsewhere.
Until then, have fun and play nice with the other kids. I shall endeavor to do the same.
