PT Boat on Mud Island 1974 - from my personal photo archives project

The whole social media thing has been social mania for me for the last few weeks.  I have to squash so much into my time and still do my job as a “full-time” real estate agent, and all those other niceties of life, like being a good husband.   I wonder sometimes what processes I can terminate.  The changes in FaceBook, the yo-yo stock market, politics in general, Google +, viewing, scanning and indexing every photo I have ever taken, and that never ending stream of incredibly interesting items in my RSS reader keep me more than busy.  And that is not to mention the planned and unplanned photo excursions, and, of course, updating this blog as well as my real estate blog.

If you are following me in the social space, you know that I have been sharing and even creating some interesting content lately.  Do I really need to keep blogging?  It’s a question I ask myself often; but I do feel some deep obligation to add to this journal.  So,  here are some of my more rewarding recent discoveries, inspirations and projects:

Interesting Blogs I have discovered

Pixiq describes itself as the place for photo experts and enthusiasts to engage in an open and on-going dialog about everything photography.  The site offers great information on equipment and techniques for all levels of photographers, but the blog leans more toward photographer’s rights- what’s “legal” to shoot in one area may not be OK somewhere else.  the blog will give you a better understanding of the power of the image.

The Cagle Post is a great blog for political cartoons and commentary.  It presents the spectrum of political views – and gives more chuckles that Fox or MSNBC.

My Photo Archive Project

Starting by scanning  black and white negatives made with my first SLR cameras, I plan to digitize every good and relevant image I ever captured.  I am pretty deep into the B&Ws, and am close to starting on thousands of slide.  Here is a slide show of what I have done so far:

Preservation and Neglect

I find myself getting more and more interested in preservation projects in the core city.  Memphis Heritage, Friends for our Riverfront, and Clean Memphis are all doing good work.  There is a lot of neglect in our city:  vacant property overgrown with weeds, dilapidated buildings, poorly maintained infrasturcture, and lack of respect for our historic treasures like the cobblestones on our Downtown riverfront.

All the stuff that goes on in October, arguably Memphis’ most beautiful month:

the 39th AnnualPink Palace Crafts Fair, river arts, Memphis Heritage Architectural Auction, the King Biscuit Festival down in Helena, the River Arts Festival, and so much more!

Oh, and there’s that bathroom remodel that we have been putting off for years.  It starts this weekend.

Related articles

• Sifting through the layers (joespakeblog.com)
• In a Real City (revisited) (joespakeblog.com)