I purchased a 20 inch grip arm from Matthews to be used with the clamps I have. So far so good. I have misplaced my light stands, which seems improbable. Luckily, I have not misplaced all the clamps.

I have not changed my social consumption habits, making progress here is slow. Not changing my habits means progress toward making pictures is slow, but I managed to make some yesterday.

I am spending less time on Instagram. I still let it rob me of time. I have not always been so consumed by it. I have left it for periods of time in the past. My world shrinks when that happens.

For those who may not personally know me, I teach photography and digital art at a University of Wisconsin outpost. School started this week. I was not really ready for it. I managed to get sick the week before and lost my voice. I made it through, I don’t fully have a plan for the second week yet. The first couple of weeks are always rough because I spend so much time talking. I managed to create some grading that needs to be done.

One of the goals I had was to create fewer assignments, I missed that goal. These are what I need to grade from the first week.

I hoped that this site/newsletter had more content by now. My choices about how I use my time are what work against me. This coming week I want to make more progress on that front. Maybe we will get more than one post out.

I am not trying to make something I can monetize. I am trying to get myself off of platforms. I am attempting to write again, without the aid of an AI. Confidence is what I lack when I write. So I need to do more.

WordPress could be seen as a platform, but not like I see Substack as a platform (which I have, but don’t want to use). I want to give myself a year and see what I can make.

Posts will relate to my life here in the Midwest, photography, teaching, and I am not sure what. I just know that being tied to a platform, right now is not something I want.

Who knows what the future holds.