As.Eye.Go.04

This is my home page now.

Well, per usual, I get something going. I get bored with it and I go in a completely different direction. A few weeks ago I did some work to build out a new website for my photography. Now, I'm switching it all over to just be a Substack. These pivots are not new to me. But this time I will say, I think my goal is sound. I’ve come to the realization that I just don't want some random ass website up that no one will find. And if they were to stumble upon my site, it’s just a wall of photos with no context and in reality, hasn’t even been updated in months or even years.

I’ll will admit though that, up until about 15 minutes ago, I did want that because I felt like I needed it. But now I don't. A big part of why I feel that way is last night I was reflecting back on an art fair I was in this weekend and another one that I did last fall. I've come to the realization my photography has a very narrow fan base. And I’m fine with that. In a weird way I prefer it. The people who do like it, seem to really like it. And the people who don’t, don't. There doesn't appear to be much in between. What I mean by in between is, at least at the few art fairs I’ve done, the people who come into my booth spend time in my booth. They will come in and look at every single image. Engage in conversation. Tell me how much they enjoy it. But the majority of people just walk past. And that’s fine. It honestly is. I know the whole 1000 true fans thing has kind of been beat to death but I subscribe to the idea of it. I don’t want to make images for the masses. That said, if I accidentally create an image for the masses one day I wouldn’t turn down bulk sales.

All of that to say, that's the reason I considered looking for more interesting ways to share my work. Why cast a wide net when I can do daily or weekly posts where I share my work and can directly access people who are already fans. And maybe even make some new fans along the way. The first "non-traditional" ways to show my photography that came to mind was just to pivot to a platform I already use. And instead of using it sparingly, actually use it.

Obviously, a “blog" is not a new or non-traditional way of sharing images as there are millions of photo blogs, and I’m sure there are thousands of photography Substacks out there as well, but it is newish to me. I've dabbled in blogging platforms before but they were always just a section of what was primarily a gallery site. An after thought. Never a priority. And rarely maintained.

It all comes down to this: I don't want to manage a gallery site. Last week I thought I did. But now I don’t. I don't want to optimize, organize and catalog photos for a website. I don't want crappy low quality images up and I don’t want high quality images up that have been sold. I don't want to put the effort into something hardly anyone will ever see. I can’t imagine there are many people who randomly seek out new photography on the internet. And I’m sure the ones who do, would probably click past my site the same way the majority of people walk past my booth at the fair. Also, who wants to really look at a wall of photos on a screen anyway. I like the idea of at least having the option of adding some narrative or context around the work if I desire to. I like the idea of creating new work with that purpose in mind.

I want to add one final bit here for any photographer who may stumble upon this and is currently selling work or thinking about it. My opinion based on anecdotal and very limited evidence: People seem to not care about process. They don’t care if the image was captured on film vs digital. If it was printed in a darkroom or on an inkjet. They either like the image or they don’t.