One conscientious dude

Joerg just celebrated a decade of blogging. That is one hell of an effort! Trumpets and fanfare for the Blogfather.

In his tenth anniversary post, Joerg discusses how photography online has changed – the main conclusion being that photography has moved from difficult-to-find to impossible-to-ignore:

What seems to be happening right now is that not only can you see everything that has been produced, but you will pretty much see everything that has been produced.

It’s a point I agree with.

Often people bemoan the flood of photos online, are turned off by PR, and despair at how difficult it can be to make any sort of living. These are genuine concerns, but should not be confused for the idea that photography has lost its soul, or worse still, is on the decline.

I reckon the photography-ecosystem has never been livelier. Everything is up for grabs (that might explain at lot of the hopeful PR) and those that make the good work and back it up with sincere and targeted correspondence will thrive.

I’m only on the writing side of photo-industrial-polygon, so I can’t fathom accurately what it is like to create and invest in image-making in the current climate, but I can say I’m not short of things to write about.

There’s no need to panic. Like Joerg says:

Photography on the internet is not being handed down to us by powers beyond our control. Instead, it is being created by each and every one of us, one photograph (or article) at a time.

Don’t worry about the flux and unknowables around us but focus energy the things we can shape and nurture.

Alec Soth thinks raising a blog is like raising a child. “Both take a ton of time and energy and the rewards, while significant, are oblique,” says Soth. I’ll take his word for it as I am not a parent, but I know how much time I spend on writing – some which is well-received and some of which is passed over. Recognition is only part of the reward; that which Joerg’s received has been well-earned. He has raised a healthy 10-year-old and is looking forward to ten more years of nurturing, one post at a time. As ever, I’ll be following his lead.

I raise a glass an Old Fart mug to Joerg’s ten years of conscientious thinking and writing.