Last week, I wrote about how my own high and unrealistic expectations almost ruined my photography. Those expectations were all related to when I’m out in the field with my gear. There is another expectation I didn’t mention last week that causes me to put unnecessary pressure on myself: posting on my blog every week. More specifically, posting and writing about an image every week.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I enjoy sharing my photographs and the stories behind them. I implemented this schedule in April 2020 and, except for two weeks in July 2022 to handle a family emergency, I haven’t missed a single week. That’s 190 of 192 weeks. That’s a pretty good accomplishment I think. But, over the last several months, I have begun to feel that this schedule has become a bit of a grind, and its almost sole focus on images has become somewhat tedious.
These feelings become even more pronounced when I haven’t been able to get out with my camera in a while and I have to comb through my archives trying to find something to fill the void. Often, I feel that I end up putting something out that doesn’t really meet my standards, doesn’t provide a lot of value, and leaves me feeling frustrated and disappointed with the effort. I can only imagine how you, my reader, must feel.
As the colloquial saying goes, insanity is doing the same thing the same way over and over and expecting a different result. Well, the last time I checked, I’m not insane, although I’m pretty sure there are those who would strongly disagree! So, after many weeks of thinking about it, I came to the only conclusion I could – I need to do something different. It’s time for me to make a much needed change.
So, going forward, I will endeavor to continue posting something every week; however, that schedule will no longer be written in stone as it is now, and I will not be posting on a set schedule. I will post when I have something worth posting, so there may only be one or two days between posts or maybe one or two weeks. Some posts may be shorter and more general in nature while others could be longer and more detailed.
I will try to write about an assortment of topics that will continue to be related to photography, although it may at times be an indirect relationship, and I will avoid posting about my images exclusively. I’ve done that to a certain degree recently with a couple of articles in which I looked back at the images I made in that specific month 10 years ago.
I have some other ideas that I am mulling around in my head, such as a monthly post summarizing my photography activities for that month, which could include such things as the locations I visited and things I read that I found interesting. If nothing else, this will help me get out with my camera more often.
My ultimate goal is to provide you, the reader, something that you find valuable, interesting, and entertaining. I want this to be a place that you want to come back to time and time again.
I have a lot of questions about how these changes will unfold. Will I be publishing more often or less often overall? Will I be able to provide a variety of different posts, or will I eventually revert to posting as I have for the last three and a half years?
The only answer I have right now is I really don’t know. What I do know, though, is that I’m looking forward to seeing how all this evolves over the coming weeks and months. I’m already feeling a sense of excitement that I haven’t had in awhile, and I hope you are, too. And, if you like the changes, be sure to subscribe. That way, you will be notified of new posts, and I will know you enjoy the content as we take this journey together.