I’ve been struggling with social media lately. I’m on it a lot for work, research and clients, But when it comes to photography, it often feels like the wrong room. To noisy, the light is too bright and there are not chairs to sit and be present with it.
Photograph has always slowed me down. Shooting medium and large format takes a hell of a long time setting the camera, waiting for the right light. When I look at photos or art in general, I really want to sit with it.
I also feel the pressure on social media. The pressure to fit into an algorithm that pushes people towards what is now “perfect”. To look like you’re doing life properly. Perfect bodies, perfect families, perfect food. A little, big bubble where everything looks good.
And the strange thing is that I scroll past people I know and love. We share the struggle at the kitchen table and then their social media is all smiles, holidays, sunsets and the good angle. I get it, I did that too. I understand the need to breathe, to choose beauty, to hold onto something a bit lighter. But there’s a gap between what it is and what it looks like that confuses me.
Photography can tell any story you want. That’s its magic. But if you really look at an image, really stay with it, you often see something else in the details. Maybe just tired eyes, or a little bit of blue feeling that didn’t make it into the caption. I’m not against beauty, joy or positive thinking. I believe in all of that, but I don’t believe everything needs to be cleaned up before it’s out there.
I think I get a bit lost in all of this and, when it comes to photography, I feel restricted by the format, the forced vertical frame and the lack of space for words.
So I went back to my late ‘90s and decided to have an old school blog. A place where I can share images and stories with lightness and a bit more freedom.
Social media can stay as a working space and little window showing moments that made me stop and take a photo. And if you’re curious about what happened before or after that moment, you can come here.
Or not.
But I made it and it feels good.
This made me want to stop. I couldn’t. It’s blurry and I love it.