Life in a cartoon. Any choice that I made that turned out good was a lucky guess. Well. That sounds terrible. I have to be honest, I almost feel like retiring from the photo business. And, from the art of it.
I was scrolling through Facebook when I came to a local NPR post. Gwen Tompkins is going interview local photographer who won the Michael Smith Award. That’s a big deal around here. He’s had more shows than many people who seek them out. I say this without jealously, he’s a terrible photographer. His work is marginal at best.
I’ve applied to that contest. Nothing. Crickets. If not me, I can tell you about ten photographers are more worthy than this guy.
I don’t get it.
I really don’t understand why my time in New Orleans has been so unacknowledged while I thought that I was being very productive. Maybe my work isn’t what I thought it is.
That’s a hard pill to swallow.
I suppose that I can accept that, especially since my early career was so good. I spit out good pictures without thinking about it. The awards came too. They don’t really matter, but everyone needs a pat on the head once in a while.
It’s time to come to a reckoning. I make pictures pretty easily. It’s all the other stuff that is time consuming and hard work.
Maybe I don’t want to work that hard anymore.
Stay safe. Stay strong. Stay mighty. Wear your mask. Wash your hands. Keep your distance. Look after each other. Enjoy every photograph because you never know when they will come to an end.
This picture is supposed to be my art. For sure, this is something that I enjoy.
Sometimes.
My heart isn’t t this stuff. I photograph and tinker with it because right now there is nothing better to do.
I could blame it on the virus. I could blame it on the dogs who demanded walks. I could blame it on my broken physical state.
Or, I could accept that this is about the only kind work I can produce these days.
I dunno. This is just see it, photograph it. I am a photojournalist at heart. That’s what I was trained to do. That’s what I did.
I’m not really whining. I’m just thinking out loud. I had a great career once. I had fun. Time passes by.
Oh yeah. Three layered pictures to make one. The spooky tree is the base. The orange blood-like splotch is the second image. The red grass like area on the left is the last and it is really red grass. Don’t ask.
The rest is all tinkering. Eventually the layered pictures come to a place where I like it.
STORYTELLER 
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