Putting myself (and my photos) out there
I hesitate to call myself a photographer, but maybe I am given how much I've been itching to make a photography website for the past couple of years.
I take photos for fun. I've never had any formal instruction besides an intro class I took in middle school, which probably doesn't even count. But photography always manages to become something like a job for me whenever I travel somewhere. I'm not really sure how or why it became that way. It just is.
For a while I've wanted to build the site from scratch. To be honest though, that's probably why it's always been on the backburner. So, for better or for worse, I've settled on paid services for now. Are they privacy-friendly? No. Does my pride hurt a bit knowing I could probably figure out how to do all this from scratch? A little bit. But sometimes the convenience is worth it. I have friends who have been waiting for over two years to see some trip photos, and now I can point them to an actual website.
My best friend has a photography business and can rake in cash. Meanwhile, I've never been drawn to more lucrative types of photography. I've never expected to be able to sell any prints. However, I've decided to make that option available because... well, hey, if I can earn a buck, why not?
So, yeah. I'm really glad that I have a home for my photos now besides the few that are housed here on my blog. Relieved, even.
It's at a point where I feel comfortable sharing it. So, here are my photos.
I'm not into writing blog posts telling people what they should or should not do. But as many people on Bear know, sharing art is so cathartic. In some cases it's scary and vulnerable, sometimes in a good way. I've definitely hesitated to share some of the things I've written on my blog, for example. And that's why I think it is sometimes worth putting them—thoughts, art, whatever—out there.