Tuesday 18 August 2015

Was that a bird, a plane? Nope, that was a blogpost.



You may have noticed a lack of photographs appearing in the blog, and indeed a general lack of blogging. There are several reasons for this, partly connected and partly not.

I may have mentioned already that we decided that the business was not going to work on an ongoing basis, and that really required that I get a job or 2. And having managed to do that, it is obvious that I should have less free time for many things, including taking and processing pictures. I have been noticing a decline in my desire to blog anyway, simply because the original driver for that – community – is no longer present, and unlikely to return. The blogosphere has become a marketing medium, and I have been a little slow to catch on that personal blogs are probably now pointless. .

And talking of pointless, I love having photos printed; holding a print in your hand confirms that the image you created is now real and physical, rather than being a suggestion of possibilities on a computer. I guess an un-printed image isn’t *real* to me.

But again there’s a rub.

Chris once asked “What are you going to do with all those pictures?” and as much as I like to flatter myself, to a large degree the hobby is pointless. No-one is going to buy the pictures unless I market myself hard (fat chance) and they might not buy them anyway. I can inflict them on a few polite friends to whom I donate prints in exchange for some kind words, though it is possibly unfair to present others with junk not of their own choosing, that they can’t easily discard because it was a gift.

So I’ve mostly stopped taking pictures too, though I shall take more when we go on holiday, simply for the memories and because the scenery will be quite different from anything in the UK.

3 comments:

  1. This is bittersweet.
    Because I know there are gifts there, photography gifts, a good eye, thoughtful sometimes challenging posts. And to silence them seems harsh.
    But I know whereof you speak. exactly. What will happen to the photos I take...

    And as you ask, where is the point of this blogging platform? The community has gone on to other things and formats.
    The question I've been asking is where has the community gone? Where can I go and find them again?

    Is it in Facebook? where all posts are equal whether they challenge people on what's to be valued in church worship today or what I had for lunch?
    I don't know Toni but I'm wondering where in the world wide web is the sort of community that we used to find in the old blogs? The sorts of community that connected you and I.

    I'm open to ideas. :)



    ReplyDelete
  2. Where, I wonder, has the community gone. All things pass and change.

    I've not gone away, but some days I deal with the black dog a little.

    Guess we'll have to make our own community. :)

    ReplyDelete

Play nice - I will delete anything I don't want associated with this blog and I will delete anonymous comments.