Yes, my birthday is on Father’s Day. I’m 42.
I get this one day for myself all year, so I’m asking for a present. If you have the time, it would be wonderful if you could take this quick survey. It’ll be a massive gift to read your responses!
And if you’ve been thinking about supporting the column and helping me transition away from the grueling jobs, now is a good time!
I hope you’ve enjoyed the last few months of Glass City.
When I started this change I didn’t know exactly what to expect. But I wanted to commit loudly to it to force my hand.
I worried (and still worry) that being on a schedule will eventually kill the mood (a typical creative worry). What will it be when it’s not spontaneous; when I’m not in the mood? Will you get bored? Will I get bored?
I’ve done maybe 10 of these in this new format. What about when I get to the 50th? The 100th?
How do I write this many without sounding too preachy? The only way to write this frequently when it’s not a full-time career is to make a lot of it about yourself. This is what I worry about the most. I try to cut out the amount of I’s in these pieces, but it’s an impossible task.
And I will get back to sharing the work of other photographers here, but since I’m making this place more regular and official, I’m working to figure out the lines between what’s considered Fair Use, especially with copyright troll companies out there taking advantage of any grey areas (which I’ll do a piece on at a later date). This will take some time to figure out the correct system, but we’ll get there.
When I made this change, I asked a handful of people I respect if they wouldn’t mind receiving it. (That’s three I’s in that sentence). Then there are 13,000 of you who found me in so many different ways, some who have been here for over 10 years. Then there’s my mother, her strange friends, my in-laws, and some high school and college friends who all get it. My wife reads occasionally I think.
These are tough constraints to have in the back of your head, but I wanted to try to write in a way that’s appealing and interesting to all types of people. I hope I’m starting to achieve that, and can continue it.
But the best thing about this change is that it has affected my habits. That was the ultimate goal, to keep a constant note on my phone to write ideas or sentences with a list of things to photograph to go along with those ideas, and I’ve been focusing and upping my reading list to spur ideas. I don’t know what it’ll be like after 50 of these, but there’s already much on the backburner to share.
So thanks so much for coming along for this ride, I hope I’m entertaining you!
And to finish off, I’m going to throw this in the top fold only once a year, but if you’ve been thinking about supporting the column, now is a good time!
Support Glass City
This column will always be free for all, but the goal is to financially justify a day a week dedicated to it.
$1, $5, $7 a month will help to improve the digest for all. Cancel here anytime in a couple of clicks, no judgments, I’ve been there!
Or try the yearly print plan, with a limited print every year on special Japanese Bizan rice paper (Out of a choice of three options).
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An edit of your writing could eliminate many of the “I’s” that you are concerned about.
YOU WRITE: “When I made this change, I asked a handful of people I respect if they wouldn’t mind receiving it. (That’s three I’s in that sentence). Then there are 13,000 of you who found me in so many different ways, some who have been here for over 10 years. Then there’s my mother, her strange friends, my in-laws, and some high school and college friends who all get it. My wife reads occasionally I think.”
EDITED VERSION: When this change was made, I asked a handful of personally respected people if they would mind receiving it. It’s also been sent, and read to some degree, by the 13,000 of you who found me through many different ways, plus my mother, her strange friends, my in-laws, some high school and college friends, and my wife.