Over a fairly extended period of time I have come to really hate this blog. It feels more like an obligaton than a way of being continuously and proactively creative with photography. In fact, looking back on the past few months of postings, there is hardly anything clever, beautiful or particularly interesting herewithin. So... I'm taking a break from this blog, taking the link off my facebook page, not posting for awhile. I want to regain some purpose here.
Meanwhile, I am currently in a color photography class and I've worked entirely with film and manual processing in the dark room, as opposed to digital. I have found a serious love for this art and do hope that I will have more opportunities to continue pursuing it. Photographically, I've been exploring some new ways of shooting, presenting and seeing photographic images. Some of my favorite recent influences include Uta Barth & Moyra Davies. I've also been particularly stirred and provoked by the writings of photographer Susan Sontag.
I'm not entirely sure why I'm including all of that information... perhaps its my way of concluding a photo blog, for now anyway. I do intend on writing more, so perhaps some of that will become the new 'blog'... but then again, everyone blogs now and my attempt is a far cry from competition with others'.
I had a moment recently where I found myself feeling slightly alarmed by my life's online presence. Posting a picture every day (which I was not successful at, but many posts were made, nonetheless) swings wide the door into my life. It never struck me as invasive until recently, and I find myself retreating back to simple and pure ways (like printing photographs in a dark room instead of via photoshop). I understand that this is the age of technology and online is "the way to go," but reading tweets and status updates that notify me where someone is every 2 hours is not only annoying, but it makes me feel uncomfortably "in" on peoples' lives. Regardless... I'm done. For now, anyway.
And for my final selection of images for my final blog for now...
(some pictures that i really do like)
A kayaking adventure that involved 4 people, 5 hours, 12 miles of paddling, 4 portages, 2 bridges, 2 dams, 2 lakes, 2 streams, miscalculations, duck hunters, and hitchhiking...
Cheers to all of you anonymous readers of the blog! Email me anytime:: michelle.leanne.smith@maine.edu
