Since launching iPad Decór back in April, the encouraging feedback I’ve received from actively sharing perfectly cropped 1024 x 1024 photographs of my travels to prettify iPads has been very comforting to say the least.
Quite honestly it’s become one of my favorite side projects to curate because unlike Jorgeq.com, the focus of iPad Decór has rested soley on sharing personal experiences through my photographs alone.
I’ve often referred to the refined selection of choosing which photographs to feature to the simplicity of hanging a print in our home. There’s thought behind each decision because that’s what the process represents. I wouldn’ dare choose to hang a print I don’t like, especially if it’ll mean having to see it everyday. When we have friends come over, they’re always taken back by the amount of places we’ve had the opportunity to visit. I enjoy showing more than I do bragging about it.
I continue to have passion for owning and maintaining my own website and it hasn’t diminished at all but I’ve considered doing away with the current format of Jorgeq.com (articles, links, quotes) and competely replicating that same enthusiasm I gain from running iPad Decór.
Because I’ve accumulated so much content I’m still proud of at Jorgeq.com, the decision I’m comtemplating is allowing that content to live by itslef and perhaps setup a sub-domain and start from scratch with what essentially will be a photoblog, very much like My Little World or Samantha’s Flickr stream. Both photographers whose site is rooted not only in beautiful photographs but with deep stories that enhance their reasoning for being shared in the first place.
Despite the availability of much better suited photography based themes for WordPress, I’m no way ready to give up the amazing community that I feel I’ve connected with using Tumblr for the past 3 years.
If the flow of content happens to lessen here, it’s because I have new ideas that I can’t deal with them just being idle thoughts anymore.
Through meetups with fellow photographers, through constant inspiration online and constant shooting, I’m more comfortable presenting myself as a photographer to friends and family and I want for Jorgeq.com to be representional of that confidence.
I don’t enter photography contest as much as I’m suggested to but I’ve changed that about me because it’s really a great assessment in seeing how your photographs stack up against others as well gaining the exposure that comes with winning one. Some are free while others require a fee but I confess it’s the latter that I veer to the most.
What’s wrong with free ones? Absolutely nothing but you must consider that because it’s free, the amount of entries are going to be considerably higher whereas if you pay, there’s the obligation to place extra thought on the caliber of the material that’s being submitted as oppose to submitting just because there’s a wide open door to do so.
Not always the case but a perfect illustration of this would be similar to the amount of comments a blog may receive. Are they always insightful, relevant and do they add value to the topic at hand? Absolutely not but then again there’s no velvet rope at the front to contain it unless you’re one that likes to deal with moderating comments on Wordpress.
I know I don’t which is why I side with the Sun Chronicle’s recent decision to charge $0.99 for a comment that any reader might consider submitting. Unless one has something valuable to contribute, one’s less likely to pay for something’s that’s often abused. Like Marco said, hopefully submissions would “be more civil, more intelligent, and better written.”
I can’t say that I’m overjoyed with every single one of my photographs but the ones that I feel more strongly about are the ones I don’t ever have any reservation paying $20 a piece when submitting to a contest. Whether I win is another question but at least I can stand firmly behind what I think adds substances to a less-likely-to-be saturated environment.
I’m always been mindful that if I were to devote myself to writing strictly photography based content, I would perhaps reach a much wider audience but my intention with this blog has never been to try to replicate better material than what’s already out there.
I like to focus more on the personal experiences through my writing and having the ability to weave my photographs into any of it has become the perfect structure to represent me and what I want this site to become.
There are a few readers that will stick around more than others and that small percentage that invest the time to probe deeper and discover what else to expect from this site, those are the ones that I have felt I’ve made a quality connection with already.
I can’t recall specifically where I came across this statement but it said that “if it takes you longer than 10 seconds to explain your blog, then you probably haven’t made sure it’s conveying the right message as to why it exist in the first place.”
My byline says it all. I’m a blogger, I’m a web enthusiast and I’m an avid photographer. That’s what this blog is about with a strong emphasis on photography and yet sometimes not just limited to that.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, the sites I will always feel a stronger connection with are the ones that bundle their topic with a first-class personal story and whether I write about how much I enjoyed a movie, it just won’t be another film review as I will always strive to instill some personal meaning to it. Case and point.
I continually come across friends that stumble about my site via Facebook and they inquire what my site is about, hence this post. Is it for everyone? Perhaps not but I can tell you that it’s incredibly empowering to be able to relate truthfully about anything as long as you’re enthusiastic about it and even more so when you consider that people may actually read it.
You can never please everyone with what you write but even more important is remembering that you don’t have to. It’s those select few that matter.
Had I waited 3 more months, a complete year of fighting the urge to redesign would have been fulfilled but apparently I failed to hold off that long.
With lack of time being the foremost reason for not redesigning, the decision was made to stay away from any changes so that I can keep one single look for the site as long as possible and maintain a sense of personal brand. This same principle explains why I’ve gone more than a year not adjusting my avatar to something new despite having more options to choose from.
When you visit my site, with time I want for you to already establish a vision of what it looks like even way before you’ve typed in the URL and to accomplish a task like that, the objective is not to deviate too much from what people are use to seeing. I can’t take credit for this thought. It was heavily inspired by Shawn Blanc.
Aesthetically, weblogs can become complicated very quickly so I attempt to always keep it as clean as possible and not be obligated to include links that I want you to click on. If you’re interested in what you see, you’ll come across them on your own and not because I fed them to you.
In the last couple of months, I like to think that my content has become more photography based and when the opportunity comes to share photographs, the objective is for them to take center stage and not be distracted by any other embellishment that I may have considered added spice to the design.
I kept with the dark tones for the overall feel of the site because visually it draws me in more to the content. I wouldn’t go on the record to say that it’s officially complete because there’s always enhancements that I sprinkle on surreptitiously when I feel inspired by other sites I come across.
Until then, this is it.
In case you’ve never read any of Seth Godin’s books, I dare you to choose any and get back to me in a week to see if any of his statments has modified your perspective on life in any way. If it does, then it means his work as an writer has translated flawlessly and for me, that same influence in this particular paragraph has opened up the chance to do something nice with my photography -
Some people think that you can’t be generous until after you become a success. They argue that they have to get theirs, and then they can go ahead and give back. The astonishing fact is that the most successful people in the world are those who don’t do it for the money. - Linchpin
Being compensated for your work is a sign of value for your craft but there’s times when the mere appreciation of your work is enough payment if the art has caused the viewer to step back a bit more to admire it. That extra step counts.
I’ll admit to being proud of having the opportunity to monetize some of my favorite photographs at Thingsshot.com but it’s not always about the hard cash.
Friends often comment how they like a particular photograph I’ve mine and I’ve surprised them by having it professionally printed, framed and ready to hang and their reaction has been one that I don’t think would have been replicated if money was involved.
With that said, I would like to give away 5 of any of the prints I have curated at Thingsshot.com. You select the one that most resonates with you, I have it printed with the great folks at Mpix and they ship it to you.
Three 5x7 prints will given away and two 8x12. How will you know which format you’ll be receiving? It’ll all be dependent upon answering one question and sharing one photograph.
The top 2 submissions will receive the 8x12 prints and the 3 runner-ups will receive each a 5x7 print.
This small contest will be open for a week, starting today and ending on July 8th. Send your replies and images to contact[at]jorgeq.com with the subject title “Things Shot Giveaway”. Please ensure to include your name and also a website URL if you have one.
All the winner’s questions and photographs will be published here. In the end, it’s all about sharing each other’s art. You don’t have to be a professional anything to create art. You just have to have confidence in that you’re a creator of it.
Jorge Quinteros © 2007 – Today About Archives Subscribe Back to top ↩
