I'm Back...

I'm back...

Well, not really, but sort of. I've been away from the blogging scene for a long time. To be honest, it has been a good break. I was beginning to get cynical about the whole thing, and photography was becoming a source of stress, rather than a stress release. I was getting way too wrapped up in trying to please other people, forgetting that I got into photography because it pleased me.

Recently, a number of my friends and family have told me that they miss my blog and are interested to see some of the photos that I have taken with my new camera. Frankly, I don't want the pressures of having to keep up a daily blog, but I do miss sharing some of my creativity with you all. I'm not too fond of the blog format, and at some point this year I hope to start my own website gallery sort of thing. In the meantime, I will be randomly posting some photos here. There will be no fixed dates for new photos, so you'll just have to check in from time to time. At this point, I would guess that I will be putting up about one picture a week.

Last year I became too concerned with attracting traffic to my site, worrying that nobody was going to see my work. I've gotten over that, and now I don't care. As it turns out, nobody can see my photos if they just sit on my hard drive. Whatever the case, I won't be working very hard to attract visitors, so I guess I'll be counting on word of mouth. If you like what you see, tell your friends.

There have been lots of changes since I last wrote you. Bethany and I are moving to the Philippines in July. We are being sent as missionaries by a local organization called Impact Nations. Bethany will be serving at Mercy Maternity Center as a midwife in training , while I will be learning all sorts of things, including the installation of water filtration systems (6000 children will die today from bad drinking water). Our plan is to acquire a number of skills while in the Philippines, so that we can then go as experienced missionaries to many parts of the developing world.

I will be bringing my new camera with me. Yes, that's right, a new camera! I recently purchased a Nikon D80, and I like it very much. To be truthful, much of the camera was a gift from my wife and the rest of my family (thanks again to all of you!). They got me started with a primed SLR piggy bank back in August. The remainder of the photos here at Rookie Photographer will be from the Nikon. So come back soon and you just might see some new stuff, but I'm not promising it will be any good (yes, I'm still dealing with low self-esteem when it comes to my craft, but I don't care).

One last thing; I used two exclamation marks in the previous paragraph. I promise never to do that again. Peace out.

Timmy