The other week I posted a picture on Instagram that performed exceptionally well but after a couple of hours I took it down despite having 200+ likes in the short time it was up there.
Why? Because in the self imposed pressure to post every day I put a picture up I was not happy with.
This got me thinking about why we post and are we willing to sacrifice standards just to make the post. I am on clubhouse which is a audio social app where you can join in on discussions from a multitude of topics and if there isn’t one then you can create a room.
During lockdown the photograph groups were very active, now everybody is back at work photographers have dropped away and social media influencers and marketers have taken over. Which is interesting if you are set on growing your social media presence.
When talking about Instagram the go on about regular posting. The IG Algorithm loves a daily post at the minimum. There are sessions on hashtags and of course monetisation.
It is hard work to post every day with an image I am proud to call one of mine. The idea I had at the start of the icmwoodland project was to take my followers along with me on the journey and presenting a picture as one element of the overall project. If I was interested in growing followers and chasing likes I would post a daily sunset as they go down well.
One of the criteria I use when posting is would I like this on my wall? And on this occasion was no! So it came down, and I didn’t replace it, and it felt good, I had readjusted my own balance. Twice since I have not posted my daily image as I felt the picture was not strong enough under my own personal standards.
An example of waiting until I had got it right comes in the case of the picture posted here.
I have photographed the two silver birch trees (on the left) on many occasions. I like the V shape they make, and especially in the evening light they shine out against the darkening sky and woodland. I have never been able to create an icmphoto with these trees that I am happy with. If I made a straight photograph I could do it quite easily but an icm is another matter. Then this week I was leaving the forest quite late and I passed these trees. Being Silver Birches they reflect light quite late into the evening but this night it was past that, it was almost dark. I made six exposures. This was the first one, the subsequent 5 just didn’t work. When I got home and put it up on screen I loved the result. I had found a way of photographing these two trees that I would like on my wall. Hope you like it too.
image and text ©Geoff Franklin 2021