It was exactly 10 years ago today that I launched this photoblog and, although I didn’t know it at the time, reset the trajectory of my life.
I had recently moved from Los Angeles, where I was born and raised, to the desert and was at loose ends in just about every area of my life. Unemployed, socially and emotionally adrift and in need of some structure, I thought a creative project of some kind might help me get my bearings. And so, with only a vague and previously-unexplored interest in photography to guide me, I decided impulsively to start a blog, post an image every day for a year, and see what happened.
What happened has turned out to be much more than I could have imagined that New Year’s Day in 2010.
My year in the desert led to nine more here in the nearby mountain village of Idyllwild. Life in this tiny art-centric town suited me perfectly or so I thought for a very long time. I immersed myself in the local art scene, participated in several solo and group exhibitions, sold my work, received a few awards and even a little media attention, none of which would have been possible without that first daily-photo project and the 1300-plus images I’ve shared here since then.
In other words, I’ve come to think of this humble little blog as the project from which all good things have come. It has meant everything to me.
I’ll be moving back home to Los Angeles in a couple of weeks, something I couldn’t have seen coming a year or so ago. And while I’m ready to jump back into urban life, I wouldn’t trade my time here in the desert and mountains for anything. I’ve learned so much these past 10 years, have met some excellent people, and have had experiences and opportunities that I’m pretty sure wouldn’t have been possible anywhere else.
Maybe it’s because I’m a fan of nice round numbers and full-circle moments or maybe it’s simply that this online space is so clearly a visual diary of what has been a pivotal and very distinct chapter in my life, that I do believe the time has finally come to say goodbye.
I’ll continue to share my images on Instagram and hope you’ll consider joining me over there. I also have another blog and a newsletter you can subscribe to via my website if you’re so inclined.
In the meantime, my heartfelt thanks to all my friends here in the WordPress blogosphere for your kind comments and encouragement these past 10 years. I so appreciate you sharing this wonderful ride with me.
Wishing everyone out there a peaceful, prosperous, and fulfilling 2020 and beyond. Happy New Year!
More fun with Christmas lights. :-)
More fun with Christmas lights.:-)
Took a break from packing (I’m moving back to the city in less than a month!) to go check out the Christmas trees in the center of town. I’m not the most Christmassy person in the world but I do love Christmas lights!
Water is life’s matter and matrix, mother and medium. There is no life without water. ~ Albert Szent-Gyorgyi
How beautifully leaves grow old. How full of light and color are their last days. ~ John Burroughs
Nature is ever at work building and pulling down, creating and destroying, keeping everything whirling and flowing, allowing no rest but in rhythmical motion, chasing everything in endless song out of one beautiful form into another. ~ John Muir
Experimenting with intentional camera movement and slow shutter speed in one of Huntington Gardens’ bamboo forests.
From my walk. Experimenting with intentional camera movement and photo impressionism in South Pasadena’s Garfield Park.
Instamatic Gratification 