“Helena” by Jose Ángel González Balsa
( @jagonzalezbalsa on Twitter, and oriaciones sucias on Tumblr )

in the most modern of clichés, I got lazy because of photo-social media. it was not quicksand, but perhaps the fabled grey-goo of “creativity” in these networks. thus, it is that the best way to get back to the ways** of photography within me, rather than sharing, is to log-off Instagram. while the reason to be on Instagram is solely friends, and share some quick snaps/stories there, the fact is that, unlike the flickr days, I cannot be bothered to search for a variety of photographers. yes, this also gets into an aspect of my online photography that is within me: curate photographers. nothing is a greater reminder of this than seeing Jose Ángel González Balsa be posting again to Tumblr. there is much to discover, for this self-professed “can’t get what Street Photography is” person that I am, in his photographs, because of the treatment (as in vision, and execution, not processing) that he gives to his photographs. I have lived with the photographs of Helena since the Flickr days, and they never feel less impactful with time, but quite the contrary: a good photograph is one that breathes with time, and thus keeps the brain alive on what it sees. then, it is time to look through the photos taken in the last 5+ years and give them the inner consumption that they promised. one good thing about this hiatus (not residence!) via Instagram is the further appreciation of video, and that is going to require some work too… something on that on the next post.

~

** the ways should be: use camera, put photos on computer, look at them carefully, select/kill, process. then, post here (what I call my personal Instagram, where few people see it, and I can let it simmer)… and then post to Instagram to share with friends. after a long while, then there is the collection of photographs onto liminal eye.

[1] Grey-goo, as explained in PressPausePlay on Vimeo (it may be better to start listening at @25m23s).