This past week I received some very thoughtful comments regarding my previous posting, and I spoke to a few people as well. The result … more to think about.

Is this really an existential crisis or merely a case of misguided ego?

Maybe my obsession is an unnecessary waste of mental energy, because in living my photographic life it’s been the journey that has mattered most. The pictures I’ve made have been the icing in the cake. I know this is true because I’ve written about it here many times before. But here’s the thing … I really do like good icing on my cake, particularly chocolate fudge. I also like it on my brownies. More so since I got Covid and lost my taste buds. Thankfully my sense of taste finally returned, but something changed. I became a dessert person, especially concerning chocolate cake and brownies and the chocolate fudge frosting spread so thickly on both. I’m getting hungry just thinking about it!

Where am I going with this before the food metaphor spins out of control and I run into the other room and beg my wife to make a special dessert for dinner, or start tearing through the freezer to find that stash of leftover frozen brownies?

Time to get a grip big guy!

The journey has been what’s so important, but along the way I’ve created a body of work I’m proud of too. Something I think has some value, to those I care about, and hopefully to those that care about me. And maybe even others … now … and in the future.  If I’ve created an image that moves someone now, or might down the road when what we have now no longer exists, then that’s a good thing … whether I’m here or long gone.

Ok, so what to do? I’m going to continue to think about this and explore the possibilities, perhaps together with other photographers, but I’m also going to think more about books, self-published ones most likely. I have established Monalog Press after all! And I’ve been told that museums and other institutions have libraries that will take books and put them in their permanent holdings!

Self-publishing is something we all can do if we want to make sure there is a lasting record of our work. Maybe not the perfect solution, but a pretty good one to fall back on.

So go ahead, have your cake with some really good icing, and eat it too!

Stay well,

Michael