It’s my birthday today, and I had a stack of pictures all ready to share, but I was looking at them again and I realized that there was only one really worth sharing, and then I realized that my monitor calibration was off, and that the HD 400 needed a more thorough adjustment than I’d given it, so I ended up with two, and I can’t decide which I prefer…
Either way, though, pretty, huh.So today, God willing, is my birthday.*
As of today, I’m feeling fairly dissatisfied with my hobby. I enjoy paying enough attention to Allah’s creation to notice things that might make a decent picture. I enjoy playing with technology. I enjoy experimenting and learning new techniques. I enjoy looking at other people’s pictures and trying to discover what and how they saw. I really enjoy playing around with analog processes. I enjoy writing these posts and flinging pictures into the void.
But I have this feeling that I should be doing something more than flinging pictures into the void.
I made a meager attempt at that some time ago, but no one was interested in what I had to offer.** I have accounts with flickr, Facebook, Google+, twitter and Instagram, and a tumblog, and probably some more too, but I never post to most of them and rarely to the ones I do post to, and I rarely engage with anyone on any of them.
Most of the blogs I read and podcasts I listen to encourage people to pursue projects and given my background in art and art history, I’m somewhat inclined to agree. Thing is, I can’t seem to get to it. Between work, time with my wife, keeping up the house, etc., the time I have to shoot is limited, not to mention the time to develop the film, scan the negatives, process them, and keep up this blog. So I have trouble even coming up with a project to pursue, let alone pursue it.
It’s a post over at The Online Photographer that got me thinking about this, really, and by the time this post shows up in your feed I might be over it. It’s a feeling that waxes and wanes, and so maybe, with enough self-examination and prayer, maybe I can come to a similar realization and just be a Happy Snapper too.
*I’m writing this on March 30, so as of now, only Allah knows if today is my birthday or not, or if it’s a day at all, or if the WordPress scheduler worked and sent it out, even.
**The free print offer still stands. Just shoot me an address and I’ll happily mail them off. I have 6 sets left.
