New Year, New Blog.

Last year, I started posting to Instagram every day. I made it about halfway through the year before being so overwhelmed by the enshittification of it all, that I gave up and walked away. Instagram, and all social media for me, has become a swamp. Between the pressure of sharing for likes, comparing myself to what others were doing, and trying to "increase engagement," the entire practice lost its appeal. Simply put, I hated what it became and how it made me feel. 

What I did enjoy, however, was an outlet for my creative endeavors. Mostly photography, but I also wanted to share about the projects that were less about the photos and just more about what I am doing - often these things are photo related - such as modifying a camera for astrophotography, modifying a printer for black and white printing or making a UV exposure box for platinum printing. But I also wanted to include rebuilding a VW van with my dad, thoughts and lessons learned, or perhaps even the poetry I'd like to write. 

Before I re-started posting on Instagram last year, I bought this domain, with the intention of making it this blog of all the random, fun, intersting things I find to occupy myself with. I neglected it in favor of already having a following on Instagram and the ease of the platform - that was a mistake. Perhaps fewer people will see this, but maybe with time, that can change. Regardless, the point for me isn't to get the most likes, it's to create a space for me to journal and share with anyone who is interested. Even if that's just me. 

I took this image of the Orion Nebula during the last new(ish) moon, of mid-December. It was from my light polluted backyard, shooting over the even more light polluted horizon facing the airport, and was filled with all sorts of errors. It was a test of sorts - of gear and techniques I'm still learning, as well as of what I could potentially accomplish without leaving the house. I also used some downtime with the inevitable first time of getting Covid to learn new processing software specific to astro. Lots to learn in this arena of image making, but like the new year ahead, I'm excited for what it could hold.