a photography post without any photos

This may or may not become an actually blog post…so if your reading this, I got gutsy.

So, why have I not posted in a long time?

I was one of those well intentioned photo bloggers that decides to post 3 times a week; have to little success and then drops off sharply.

Can I blame the fact that I just had my first born? Can I blame an international video trip and a major conference at work steeling my thoughts and energy?  Can I blame the fact I can’t think of anything else to say, or I wonder if what I have to say is relevant?

Not sure.

I have been thinking a lot about photography; don’t get me wrong, but mostly in the realm of how images are used in other mediums for story telling purposes.  How a set of images can be more impactful than a standalone image, or how a sequence of images can be used to reveal an idea.  Some of the examples I have been working with are still top secret, but after Urbana, I hope to.

I have also been thinking about simplifying my photography.  Carrying less gear, shooting less frames to get it right, and streamlining my storytelling abilities.

I have been thinking about what kind of images I really like to make.  If you look at this blog, you would think that I only shoot weddings and portraits.  While I do very much enjoy this, I am not sure if that is the only type of photography I want to show here.  That is one reason why I have not posted several of my latest weddings.  Probably an unwise choice, but I was hoping to space them out with more verity in-between.

I have been thinking about what type of photographer I want to be.  And to be honest…I don’t know.

But should I know?  I mean, every blog out there that talks about “vision” seam to say that you should pursue your one faction of photography and do it well.  Yes, I really do agree with this.  Specializing is the best way to become really good at something.  But I don’t know what I want to specialize in.

I know that I tend to be drawn to people in places.  I know I like nature and macro, but only for fun…and I never feel compelled by those images.  I know I am not a candid street photographer or an artsy/abstract shooter either.  So, I guess that is why portraits and weddings work seems to be a focus, but that is not necessarily what I want to specialize in.

I guess this is turning into a rant.

I was talking to a friend of mine about Golf (you know, Badger Vance) and he said, "It's a game that can't be won only played."

I have been thinking the same thing about making images.
There are a lot of other pithy quotes out there about similar things: like "its the journey not the destination." And such like that...maybe that is where I should take comfort, that I am on the journey and I am not designed to feel like I have arrived.