I created the main page of koraks.nl back in….2005, probably. That’s a long time ago! For a few years, I fairly diligently updated the galleries and from time to time, I wrote something about how I did photography. A lot has changed since then. Panta rhei!
The internet abounds with tutorials and how-to’s. Very convenient, and I use this information a lot to take inspiration from. Because it turns out that most of what I do, has already been done before. That’s perfectly OK – Western culture values originality, but that’s just our perspective. There’s nothing inherently wrong with doing the same thing other people have done before you, and trying to do them well. Indeed, I sometimes wonder how much true originality really exists, in the sense of doing or inventing something groundbreakingly new. It’s a tall order! Anyway, all this means that I see very little value in yet another place where Somebody tells you How Things Should be Done.
I’m going to try and keep it close to myself and my journey – this is my own place, after all! All I intend to do, is write from time to time about stuff I’ve been up to and things I learned on the way. Given my interests, this will probably revolve around photography (a lot), electronics (a little), cooking & gardening (less than I should), and maybe other stuff…I don’t know really, let’s see where we end up!
One more thing: I’m no Luddite, but some things just don’t work all that well for me. Most of social media falls in that category, and I also found out I just don’t have the discipline for vlogging/making YouTube videos, and I don’t think I’ll ever ‘get’ the podcast thing either. When searching for and digesting information, I personally prefer text over video or audio, because the latter force you to absorb information in a synchronous way. I much prefer asynchronous information consumption: scrolling, browsing, skipping bits – and text lends itself much better to this. This is going to be a text-based thing, maybe with some pictures. Alright, if needs be, I won’t hesitate to include a little video for illustration purposes. But no actual vlogging or anything here. There’s lots of people being really good at that, and it’s just not for me!
So, here it is: my new Blog. Yes, I’m late at the party – some 25 years after blogs first rose to popularity, I’m starting mine. Hey, I’m living in the past with my film-based photography most of the time anyway, so I’m just being consistent! Hope you enjoy. I’ll see if I can find a way to let you get in touch with me if you want. Not that I’m that hard to find online, but you know, just in case. I’ll be happy to hear your thoughts.
Now, onwards to glory! (I guess!?)