I’m a reader. Everyone who knows me well knows that I never leave the house without a book in tow. I need the written word the way that I need oxygen and the idea of there being a time when books were burned by the masses almost takes my breath away. I do have to admit though that I am a very particular kind of reader; I love words on paper. I love the smell of the ink on the paper and the sound of the spine cracking anytime I open a book. I love to hold it and touch it and pour all of my love into it. Like my relationships, I like my literature to be tangible (sorry facebook!).
I actually saw a man the other day sitting at a bus stop reading an e-book. We studied the evolution of the electronic book in my writing class last year but I had never actually seen one in real life. E-books haven’t managed to breakthrough the Canadian market very well and I find great comfort in this! I like that some things can’t be ushered out by the ravages of technology. In such an ever changing world…I think this is more important than ever.
That being said, this makes blog reading a bit counter intuitive to my nature. Don’t get me wrong, I most definitely have my tried and true blogs that I can’t live without but unlike many of my counterparts, going through my blog updates usually doesn’t take much more than twenty-minutes each morning (maybe half an hour if everyone updates on the same day!).
I’ve been making a rather concerted effort though lately to commit a little bit of extra time each day to read up on the blogs of other photographers. I’ve been eager to read how others have done it…how they’ve made their way in the photographic world. I find that it’s easy sometimes to get discouraged by the steep learning curve that I’m on and I’ve concluded that I can either dwell in it or hear from others who have been there themselves.
Photo blogs are everywhere. Really good photo blogs are everywhere. But humble photo blogs are a bit harder to come by. Those who are willing to put their humility on paper and openly discuss the mistakes, the discouragement and the times that came before the easy road are not a dime a dozen…but they are out there. And I’m grateful for that. I’m grateful for the absolutely amazing photographers who have been so willing to eloquently share their struggles and their insecurities regarding a craft that they love so deeply yet still has a rather competitive edge. I’m grateful that I’m not the only one who fights to unearth the little seeds of doubt of that sometimes get planted in my head. I’m grateful that even though it doesn’t smell like a Jane Austen book or sound like a J.K. Rowling book, technology has enabled me to find comfort in a world that sometimes seems very daunting.
Also, blogs are cheaper than therapy!
I actually saw a man the other day sitting at a bus stop reading an e-book. We studied the evolution of the electronic book in my writing class last year but I had never actually seen one in real life. E-books haven’t managed to breakthrough the Canadian market very well and I find great comfort in this! I like that some things can’t be ushered out by the ravages of technology. In such an ever changing world…I think this is more important than ever.
That being said, this makes blog reading a bit counter intuitive to my nature. Don’t get me wrong, I most definitely have my tried and true blogs that I can’t live without but unlike many of my counterparts, going through my blog updates usually doesn’t take much more than twenty-minutes each morning (maybe half an hour if everyone updates on the same day!).
I’ve been making a rather concerted effort though lately to commit a little bit of extra time each day to read up on the blogs of other photographers. I’ve been eager to read how others have done it…how they’ve made their way in the photographic world. I find that it’s easy sometimes to get discouraged by the steep learning curve that I’m on and I’ve concluded that I can either dwell in it or hear from others who have been there themselves.
Photo blogs are everywhere. Really good photo blogs are everywhere. But humble photo blogs are a bit harder to come by. Those who are willing to put their humility on paper and openly discuss the mistakes, the discouragement and the times that came before the easy road are not a dime a dozen…but they are out there. And I’m grateful for that. I’m grateful for the absolutely amazing photographers who have been so willing to eloquently share their struggles and their insecurities regarding a craft that they love so deeply yet still has a rather competitive edge. I’m grateful that I’m not the only one who fights to unearth the little seeds of doubt of that sometimes get planted in my head. I’m grateful that even though it doesn’t smell like a Jane Austen book or sound like a J.K. Rowling book, technology has enabled me to find comfort in a world that sometimes seems very daunting.
Also, blogs are cheaper than therapy!
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