I can drive 80 km/h, look down deep, but it helps to take time. Time to breath, to think, to rest, to continue.
After my previous post I gave it some extra thoughts how I want to proceed with my blog and what I want to do with the older blog posts. It is certainly tempting to host the blog myself outside the wp dot com environment (thanks Jorge for your thoughts on that subject), but I don’t really have the means (especially the finances) to do so. In the last week I also had several discussions with others on how I want to continue with my blog, and what is happening in the blogosphere. Also I had some good exchanges on photography with fellow photographer Josh White.
I find it interesting that other bloggers try to figure out what to do with their published stuff. Much gets covered by new posts and images, and what we did gets easily forgotten. I think it is not about rewriting our past, I truly think a blog often echoes a personal diary, but more about restructuring it and make it more easily accessible. Even if I would decide to migrate my blog to a self hosted platform, the restructuring would allow to reduce the number of posts and stored photographs.
The brief moment of reconsideration in the last week also helped me forward in photographing every day again like I did in 2011. While that may seem clueless at first, I found that particular time after all one of the more liberating periods in my photography. Completely unlimited by gear and techniques (sure they are relevant, but became irrelevant through experience and knowledge at some time) only restricted by my personal feelings. I mean, after 72 weeks consecutively photographing I couldn’t remember taking photographs until I reviewed them later on. At that time, last year, it was a shocking experience. The results however have become quite unique documents to me after struggling with that shocking feeling for some time.
In essence, that is for me my stroll photography. My first photo book, Saudade, was about reliving that. I want to work on a similar book for next year though. Some of my blog posts will turn in one form or another into that new book. I’m pretty excited to work on that and it really fits with how I described my feelings in my previous post.
Don’t forget your work, let it breave and remember that time helps. Time and looking back, helps appreciating the road forward.
All photographs by Wouter Brandsma
Wouter Brandsma 
thanks, thought provoking at this time of the year.
Some make lists, I consider what to do now.
Some really nice shots here, Wouter. And I share much of your thoughts here. I more and more find it necessary to collect series of photographs into self published books (like my recent ones from Japan and the Trans-Siberian journey) to give them a more tangible form. Too much of our work, memories and ultimtely our lives is getting lost in posts and hard discs..
There is something about holding your images and thoughts in a printed form. Self publishing never has been easier. Thank you!
Wouter: I have both a wordpress.com blog and an older blog I’ve hosted myself (first with Movable The, then B2, then WordPress). I’m pretty sure I’m going to move away from self-hosting, less for financial reasons, more because wordpress.com does a great job of keeping the back end of hosted sites spam free and upgrades are painless. Given what you’re doing here, I’d say what you have is the best way to go and if you need a kick in the pants to get you over a hump, consider a new theme before dumping WP. The only thing I do differently from you is host images on flickr and blog other people’s images (when accessible) from there on my blog. I find that helps a lot and while Yahoo has all but killed flickr off, the community there is still vibrant and I have contacts there I’ve had since I joined in 2004. Nice to have old friends like that.
I first hosted all my images on flickr, including the ones published on my blog. I took most down and moved them to my 3Gb free storage at WP. I miss some of the interaction at flickr, but find it hard after the changes to enjoy photography there. Maybe I will give it a new shot though, Richard.
Wouter: because I don’t use flickr through its web UI all that much the new changes haven’t affected me as much as they have others. I track it via RSS and use Reeder on my iOS devices and ReadKit on my Mac (hopefully Reeder there too soon) to interact. Flickr remains one of the best deals in town for hosting images although I can’t guarantee that Yahoo won’t change it making it totally unusable at some point.
I do think WordPress is around for the long haul and if I were you I’d keep this blog going. Change the theme, mess around with it, but keep it.
I check those options too Richard. I really hate their apps for iOS and Android.
I think WP will stay too, but their purposes might gradually change from pure blogging.
You and Josh are inspirational. You guys are my personal visual and emotional high points on many days.
My English skills aren’t good enough to express myself the way I wanted but, whatever you do, keep this.
Saudade is an amazing word. From Portuguese to Criolo to Brazilien…
Don’t doubt your English skills. Unlike Josh it isn’t my native language either. And thank you for your comment. There is certainly enjoyment in gaining technical competence, but at some point there comes greater excitements when it is used unconsciously to shift into a more personal expression.
Time helps, as do good camera skills which you have in abundance. You do with them what you choose!
Most importantly, it isn’t hindering me anymore.
Hey Wouter:
For that reason I stayed in Tumblr. Free and no spam. I begun to publish in google plus…and the response was cool. I like Flickr, the community there is amazing. My guide to find interesting people is The Inspire Eye. Anyways, glad to read your blog, like always.
I can shut the comment section on my blog, but I think they remain important for the interaction. Last night I checkef Flickr again and was amazed how many streams turned into instagrams. Life style, food, cell phone images. By unfollowing a lot of contacts I hope I get the fun back on Flickr. And thank you Pedro, I really like your work too.
Heb lange tijd Flickr gebruikt. Tot de laatste veranderingen. Daarvoor was het een prettig platform: goede interactie in de juiste groepen. Wat minder straatfotogratie helaas. Nu daarvoor in de plaats ipernity met een paar oude Flickr vrienden en nieuwe contacten. Moet zich nog een beetje zetten. Biedt potentie maar is nog klein. Daarnaast wat aan het uitproberen op Tumblr. Daarin vertellen foto’s de verhalen. Weinig tekst nodig. WordPress hou ik als basis, ook om mensen naar te verwijzen. Meer als een portfolio eigenlijk.
Zie een site niet als verantwoording aan jezelf of aan ons. Maar als iets dat plezier kan geven. Zonder moeten.
Succes.
Op Ipernity zat ik zo’n 6 jaar geleden, maar gaf toch de voorkeur aan Flickr. Ik geef mijn Tumblr misschien wel op en hou ik alleen Flickr aan. Eerst een hoop opruimen daar. Te veel is gewoon niet goed en leidt heel erg af, vind ik.
Snap wat je bedoelt. Ook wat betreft ‘te veel’. Zelf ook wat zoekende. En ja ‘ get the fun back’. Dat is denk ik waar we allemaal met periodes weer naar zoeken. Gaat je zeker lukken. Sowieso bedankt voor de zinvolle blogs. Zet mij ook weer aan het denken.
Het is zeker niet altijd eenvoudig Inge. Komt daarbij dat er zo veel mogelijkheden tegenwoordig zijn om je werk te delen met anderen. Omdat ik toch ook wel zeker weet dat ik niet de enige ben met twijfels en vragen, maak ik dus dit soort blog artikelen. Ik ben dan ook vaak blij met de suggesties en meedenken van anderen. Jij dan ook bedankt.
Collating images into collections is something that appeals to me also. I have done it with my poetry and recently a novel, but I hear what you are saying about the blog-age, where we post for today and move on, too much haste and not enough contemplation… Food for thought indeed.
Going through my older blog posts might actually help me re-edit many of these photographs again. And I really do like the idea of collating images and blog posts.
Wouter, many well-known photographers have recommended not looking at, or at least not editing, images you’ve made until many months or even years have past. Personnally I only look at my recent downloaded images in order to give them searchable key words. Then I let them sit for months before doing any significant editing and organizing. But I do write down ideas for future edits/groups/categories in my “Ideas” notebook for future reference and inspiration for work.
As always, thank you for your blog. It provides a welcome periodic reminder to be mindful, persistent, AND relaxed about my photography.
Best Wishes for an Excellent Holiday Season and New Year,
Jamie
Basically my blog is my notebook. I use it after a first edit to post some photographs. Many others never get posted though. The first I really started making new edits was for my first intended book back in 2009/2010 and finally last year after your suggestion. Still many thanks for that final trigger, Jamie.
When I ingest images I generally make a quick edit. Some end in the trash bin, others in my edit folder. Some I process because they instantly remind me of how I felt and what I found interesting at first. Later, months or sometimes a year, I return to older photographs and re-evaluate them again. I always try to make edits for some kind of portfolio, but end up neglecting them again. Interviews, publications or printing photographs for some kind of purpose helps to edit more tightly. And when in doubt, I ask others since I think I’m not always the best editor.
Thank you Jamie and best wishes too!
I think as you, and others, have stated putting a temporal distance between ourselves and our photographs helps to separate the wheat from the chaff. Some images need time to ferment and show their true worth.
As ever, an interesting read, Wouter, and a fine set of photographs to accompany your thoughts.
I get many good and well thought suggestions, but I decided to go through my 2008 blog posts first. Even though I might not have a real plan, more then ever before I consider this blog a sort of diary. Therefore I try to reduce the number of posts and focus on the musings instead accompanied with previously posted photographs so these don’t all get lost for the viewer.
A first rough edit should relief me of 111 blog posts from 2008. Going through these was a nice reminder how I started it and my blog gradually changed into a lot more personal outlet, more then I every intended.
Great!!!