(Paraphrasing from the Boston song "Long Time")
Wow, it has been a long time since I have had the chance to write a blog. In fact, it has been almost a full year since I have been able to sit down and write about my photography. What a shame, I have had some amazing things to write about, but life had just gotten the best of me and I put off writing.
There is a creative process to making photographs. The most important thing is to actually go out and "take the pictures." I know this sounds simple, but if anyone out there is like me, the process and planning of the photos sometimes tends to overshadow the simple act of getting out of the house and making the photos.
I tend to think about the project, think about the type of camera I may use, the environment, maybe even storyboard out the idea. Pretty soon I have more ideas about stories and photos, and have not had the chance to execute any one of these projects- yet they are sitting right in front of me on scraps of paper, or in a notebook full of ideas, or example photos are torn out of magazines for inspiration.
The same thing happens at the end of the journey. A collection of photographs are taken, but then what the heck do I do with them? How should they be displayed, how should they be shared, how should they be added to my portfolio?
So the photos stay scanned on the hard drive, or the cards from the camera get dumped and archived, and the process never gets finished.
Finally, how should these images be shared? I have a web site, a Facebook fan site, a blog and a Blurb site. I have been good about sharing new images on my Facebook fan site, but not on my web site. It is all about the time, the time taken away from the creative process of making the photographs. The images need to be resized twice, and then uploaded twice. Tagged twice. Organized twice.
Some of these stories would also make great blogs, but after the double crop, double upload, and double tagging the blog took a back seat. Actually, the whole process fell apart. The process of sharing new work, writing about it, and then displaying it. You know, the photographs I took the time to take.....
I started looking at the ways I was creating and sharing my images, and decided on a new approach.
After the first of the year, my portfolio site at www.steveingramphoto.com will cease being a static site. The site you are reading right now will be the new landing spot for folks looking to begin their journey into exploring my photography.
I have new tabs at the top of this page that will direct you to my Etsy store (in the works) as well as my Blurb site where my September 11, 2011 Firefighter book is located. I also have a link to my galleries which currently takes you to my Facebook fan page to check out my images.
I will have an opportunity to write a blog about a project I am working on, and then immediately direct you to the place I want to take you. Storytelling with photographs is one of my favorite ways of expressing myself, and I will be making more story/photo essays on this site in the future.
My photography tends to be more one of a kind, rather than galleries full of images to order and purchase. Etsy is a great place to showcase handmade items, and my work will be available for purchase through the Etsy storefront. And my blog will be a great place to tell the stories.
All of this is in the works, and being changed and molded to work as we speak. It is exciting because I actually get to fulfill the whole image making process: Taking photos, talking about the work, and then presenting the final product. I am excited to be involved with the creative process again!!!
Stay tuned for updates on different things as they are squared away. Hopefully you all will enjoy the photographs as much as I enjoy the process!!!
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