I Am Taking a Break

Storm Clouds & Tree
Maclearie Park, Belmar

You may have noticed that I've not been actively blogging lately - my last installment was an interview a little over a month ago. I hadn't planned on taking time off, it just happened to be that my time was needed elsewhere.

I have a list of things I want to write about and even started writing a few but things just never fell into place. Some of what I want to write requires me to spend time in parks and they are just too crowded these days. The COVID-19 pandemic has turned people into nature lovers, rushing to parks that they might normally just drive by without notice.

One reason I love landscape and nature photography is the solitude; the increased popularity of the parks pretty much guaranteed company. I also hibernate somewhat during the summer months, the heat and humidity of New Jersey summers tend to sap me of all energy and desire to be outdoors. The last couple of weeks have been brutal - whenever I have ventured out to fire off a few frames the lens immediately fogs and it takes a while before I can start to use the camera. It has been maddening because Tropical Storm Fay blew thru here last week bringing us some incredible cloud formations.

Deep Cut Gardens

All of that aside, there is still a lot of photography to be done indoors and still a lot to write about.

So, why take time off? I think I need to "recharge" a bit. I have been writing about photography for almost nine (9) years - I had a blog hosted on Wordpress before moving to Blogger more than three (3) years ago and was part of a blogging community named, Niume, before it folded. While I have enjoyed sharing my knowledge, images and stories I haven't quite "gained traction"; it seems as though I am (mostly) writing for myself, seeing very little legitimate traffic and virtually no interaction with my readers.

Earlier in the year I removed the "Improve Your Photography" series from this blog and created a new one specifically for that series. The thought was that I didn't have a primary focus (yes, I suppose pun intended) to this blog so I was turning towards more of a spotlight on my photography. The interviews seem to be quite popular so they will remain a special feature from time-to-time. What I learned was that, despite heavy promotion, very few visited the new site. I was encouraged one day when I saw a spike of 100's of views on each of the posts only to come to the realization that two of my blogs had 1,000's of views from Romania overnight; an obvious attack on the Blogger platform. All of the posts on that site have been reverted to "draft", at least temporarily, while I re-evaluate what I am doing. I don't know why I am having trouble with readership and want to take some time to figure it out.

The same goes for this blog. Where do I go from here? Do I keep writing or just retire the site and move on? I don't have any answers right now. I have spent the past nine (9) years writing and more than five (5) years trying to establish some type of freelance photography presence - maybe I am spreading myself too thin. One of the goals of the blogging (and YouTube channel) was to help generate interest in my work and provide an income stream to help support my passion. I can tell you that the "income stream" has produced not as much as a "drip" nor have I seen a growing interest in my work.

Social media - primarily Facebook and Instagram - seem to bring about a better response though only slightly.

So, with that I am going to close out this post. I don't know when I will be back but will announce on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram when I am ready. You can follow my work on social media at the links below. In the meantime - thanks for stopping by.

Social Media links
* Joe Valencia Photography on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/joevalenciaphotography/
* Joe Valencia aka Wandering Photographer on Twitter - https://twitter.com/WanderPhotog
* Joe Valencia on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/valencia32photo/

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All photos are copyright Joseph S. Valencia All Rights Reserved They may not be used in any way without express written permission of the photographer. If you wish to use any of the photos you may contact the photographer at valencia32photo@gmail.com

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