Why Start a Blog?
As I begin my adventure into the wide world of blogging, I brainstormed ideas for blog topics. Several came immediately to mind. I want to write about street photography. It is a discipline of an art form that I am particularly passionate about.
If you are thinking of starting a blog, regardless of the topic, it will likely be on a topic you are also passionate about. It may seem as if that alone guarantees the first few months of posts are going to practically write themselves.
But is passion enough? Or do we need a larger goal in mind to start a blog?
Obstacles to Starting a Blog
One of the biggest obstacles to blogging (at least for me) is overcoming the feeling that this is an insurmountable task that will be a years long process. When I picture the future of my blog in my head, it takes two forms: a project that has taken off over years of hard work, or a total and utter failure. Both are terrifying.
Recently, I just decided to do it. If it doesn’t work out, I can quit. But quitting is not in my nature, so part of what I needed to be overcome is my own perception that quitting something makes me a quitter. The fact that helped me move past this is simple - that is terrible advice.
Anyone interested in trying something new who came for me for advice would get the same response: Give it a shot. If it doesn’t work out, at least you’ll know it wasn’t for you and you can rest easy knowing you tried.
All that was needed to get this blog off the ground was to take my own advice.
A Creative Outlet
So why even bother with starting my own blog in a digital world already saturated with ideas?
Well, to anyone who has this viewpoint, I would offer not to discount your own thoughts and opinions. Even if it seems like everything worth saying has been said, it hasn’t been said by you, and your experiences frame the perspective delivered in a blog.
Another reason, I wanted to start a blog was as a creative outlet. A big motivating factor for me working in street photography is as an outlet for all my creative juices. This blog offers me a secondary avenue to create something original of my own work. Something with no oversight that I can take in any direction I choose.
This blog will also (hopefully) allow me to connect with an audience and showcase my work. I love the process of creating photos, but I also want to share them with the world. Social media has become more restrictive and difficult to navigate.
With any luck, this blog will be a way to showcase what I am working on and collaborate with an audience who appreciates my work.
What to Blog About
Sometimes blogs are created to generate ad revenue or perhaps to drive traffic to a website, but in this case I am blogging as an outlet for creative expression. I am more than aware that the internet has plenty of blogs and vlogs on the topic of street photography, but this one is mine. As I said above, this blog is more about providing an outlet to connect with an audience and practice a little creative writing.
If you happened upon this blog because you are thinking about starting a blog and don’t know if it is worth it, I can’t yet say for sure. This is written in the first step of my journey, but I do know that you are never going to find out if you don’t start.
Just Have Fun with It
My plan for this blog going forward is mainly to have fun and hopefully build a meaningful group of people to connect with, who are also interested in street photography.
With that goal in mind, I hope you comment below and let me know what landed you here. Please subscribe to my mailing list for updates on future blog posts about street photography.
If you were on the fence about starting a blog, I hope this helped you decide to jump in. If you are interested in street photography and my experiences with exploring the medium, I hope to hear from you soon!
