It’s been a couple weeks since I’ve posted to the blog. I’ve been meaning to write a post for the last, well, couple weeks. I don’t have a set schedule or a particular number of posts I’m trying to write in a given period of time. But I still feel guilty when I don’t post on a somewhat regular basis. That’s the problem with blogs. If you get busy and can’t write frequently, you tend to feel guilty (at least I do). Not that I think anyone is holding their breath waiting for the next post, but there is a sense of responsibility in maintaining a blog once you’ve started it. It is sort of like my Digital Darkroom Questions email newsletter. It is free to receive, and yet I feel really guilty if I miss a day.
All this thinking about the reasons I haven’t been able to write in the blog more frequently, or why I’ve sometimes struggled to keep up with the DDQ emails, got me thinking about photography (Think this segue is a stretch? Stick with me…). I realized that my own photography faces the same challenges of writing blog posts or any of the other tasks on my list. Sometimes we get so busy we have to put aside certain tasks and focus on the most important. In my case that’s been a couple of new books I’m working on. It’s amazing how much work is involved! I realized the last time I was out photographing was on the University of Massachusetts campus when I was presenting at a New England Camera Club Council event a few weeks ago. And that didn’t really count, because it was really about me making use of my free time in between sessions. It’s been a little longer since I actually set out for the purpose of taking pictures.
Besides feeling that I need my “photography” fix, I am, like most photographers, on a quest to always improve my photography. That takes practice. And that requires getting out there and taking pictures. For many of us photography is a hobby rather than a profession, and as much as we love it, sometimes it falls by the wayside. I think from time to time you need to decide it is the top priority, and get out there and take pictures, even if it is just in your backyard. So, sorry Deke. I’m bailing out on the book for a day and going to take some photographs!
Tim,
Rest ashured that lots of us look forward to you emails and blog. It’s our chance to stay connected with the digital photography world since it isn’t our lively hood. It might be fun for you and us if you had a “Photo Contest” for us to send you images.
- Paul
Even if you make your living making photographs for clients and take pictures every day or so, you can still get exactly the same feeling about not making your own photographs. I have been so busy working for others, I cant remember when it was that I just spent a day or two taking photos for me. Well I guess shooting photos of my kids could be for me, but even that sometimes seems like I am shooting for their Mom and Dad (me) not just making my art to express myself.