Marc Blackwell's Blog

How much of yourself do you put out on the internet? When did the real world start meshing with what's published online? When did the internet become a tangible thing through wireless internet on my bus to Google on my cell phone? The real world and the internet are crazy worlds to jump back and forth from. In real life your emotions are present, real, alive and in the moment. Online they're preserved forever. Whatever I write will be logged into some computer for annoymous readers that can go back and say on Friday, January 12th, 2007 Marc said and felt this. Crazy.

So what do I write?

I know I'm not the most important person on the planet. I get that. Finally. I know that my particular situation is not all that different or special from anyone else. I understand that I'm not breaking any new ground in photography or life. I'm not number 1.

Musicology by Prince is an amazing album and I've only heard the first song.

After people start telling you that your art is "good" you almost believe them. Almost. Then you start to think that everyone is lying to you. That they don't even know what good art is. But after a while you start to appreciate what people have to say. Every time someone says something nice you look in their eyes

I wish I was better with words. The other day we were in Boston and I had a surreal moment. Lucas, Michael and I were all walking around the entire downtown area and at one point we were in the middle of this really busy intersection outside all the massive tall buildings. There was crazy construction going on, traffic everywhere, people walking and an awesome city scape infront of us. We entered the wonderland like we were approaching a castle - with skyscrapers rising up everywhere around us. And there we were, the three of us in this crazy new town exploring like Curious George. I had my camera with me and that's where the surrealness came. Just being in a new place, a downtown urban environment like Downtown Boston, taking pictures that I felt like people were going to look forward to seeing. And I think I got it. I don't know how to put it in text but something clicked. (haha, get it? 'clicked'?) Just me, my camera, and my friends. That's why the pictures are "good", I think. Because the experiences and the stories that are behind them are so awesome.

I'm a lucky guy.

There's also some exciting news happening that I don't know if I want to bring to the "internet world" yet so come back sometime.

Peace y'all.
I appreciate

Here's the new year's post. Are you ready for it? Can you handle it? Do you know what I'm going to say or will you be able to understand what I've said. Has it, will it, and can my words ever make sense to anyone else but me?

On a daily basis I wonder if I'm really a photographer. A real photographer. My style, if I even can claim a style, changes so drastically from one day to the next that I wonder if I'll always be a poor starving artist jumping from one project to another just barely "making it". And then I wonder too... is that's OK?

I mean, I love to shoot with my little point and shoot digital Canon Powershot that half the rest of world owns. I own a honkin' sweet professional Digital SLR but I hardly pull it out of it's bag. I switch the little setting on my camera to black and white mode occasionally even though most photographers will tell you that's the worst idea imaginable. I never use the flash, I let anyone "steal" my photos and I don't even know how to load a 35 mm camera. My shots are becoming more grainy and out of focus and candid than ever before. I'm breaking all the rules and not getting paid for it. My website's slackin', my fan base mostly centers around 15 year old girls thanks to High School Musical and I hate the stinkin' press. More people than ever have told me they love my work but I never believe them. What, where, and who am I in the photography world? A pioneer or a failure? A disillusioned hippie or an artistic genius? I have no idea.

Granted, I'm in the best position I've ever wanted to be in as a photographer - traveling around and seeing new things and trying to capture them but ... but ... something's not there ya know? Or maybe that missing whatever helps me be creative. I dunno. I'm not complaining, I'm not worried, and I'm not ever going to stop taking pictures; I just wanted to put my thoughts into words I guess.

So stick around. Apologies, but not so much, for a creative mind gone haywire. I don't know what I'll do, or what my next picture will look like, or even how I'll present it to you. But I appreciate you coming to my webpage . . . I've never had this large of an audience so many positive responses. So thank you.

Gotta go,
peace
-marc