The William Carnahan Photography Blog Begins.
I’ve never been one to write. Fuck it.
William Carnahan - Taken by Sam Shimizu-Jones during out new lighting course on www.videoschool.com
Nietzsche said something along the lines of become yourself. This blog will be that. Bad grammar, bad spelling, no rules other than expressing myself without censorship.
Two very large things I’ve decided on in the last year. Action, two actions I have taken for the better.
I’ve been journalling consistently since July 2022
I’ve taken a huge break from social media - specifically Instagram.
I started journaling in 2022 as I both became more interested in Stoic philosophy and just needing some clarity in my head. I am a terrible speller, and probably not the most interesting or complex writer, but again…. fuck it. Outside of photography and conversations with a very few select people in my life, writing has become the most honest place for me to express how I am feeling and what I think. In person, if you know me, I am generally very quiet and keep most of my opinions to myself. Or at least I try. Writing about how I feel, where I am, what I’ve been doing every morning is an amazing outlet. The re-reading of the writing is an even better for of reflection and contemplation. I love it.
Instagram is, in my mind, kind of social media these days across the biggest spectrum. It’s addicting, it's annoying, and I hate it. Not being on it, I have found much more time for other activities to take up my brain and my fingers. That being said…. Its a visual medium in a world where I am a photographer and a now world wide photography teacher. So… Do I need to be on it? No. Yes. Maybe. Either way.. I hate it.
At the moment I am traveling through Sicily, I was hired by a student to come take photos of his wedding. On the last few days off I’ve been walking around Palermo and Ceflu.. Taking photos.. Thinking.. Walking. In the mornings I have coffee and write in my journal. Today, I sat in the Palermo Cathedral while a highschool orchestra played classical music. WHAT. What is my life? I walked back from there as it started to rain. I thought about all the photos I have taken this week, the students I have been able to meet, the food, the smells… I didn't post on social media. I thought about all the times I did want to post something. I would catch myself and ask “WHY?” Why do I feel the need to video this and show people immediately what I am doing, where is the good in that? What purpose does it serve? Deep down…. Honestly… what does it serve? WHY do you want to post what you are doing? Is it to show off? Is it to teach people? To show people what and where you have been? Does it stimulate conversation? Does it make you money? Does it get you the next job? Does it bring you happiness to show other people how much fun you're having? Are you having fun doing it if you're focused on sharing it? Do you want all the likes and the comments and your friends to say “Lucky!” “It must be nice” “You're always traveling.” Why why why why why.
When I took away the ability to post things (deleting the app from my phone), I was able to see when the itch struck to actually post. I can actually see that yes.. I just want to show off. I wanted people to see where I am and what I am doing. When I was monetized through stories I would make these stories just so that I would make a couple bucks, but because I actually enjoyed doing it.That is shit. I don't want to do that.
I want to share my photos and writings as art. I want to share my photos so I can talk about it with other people who also enjoy photography. I want to share my photos and talk about them so people may learn how to take photos and can feel more confident in doing it. I want to share my photos so we can talk about similar stories, and the food we ate, and the people we met… so we can connect. I want to share my photos so I can share the place and people in those photos that may never get seen. They deserve to be SEEN (literally and figuratively). These places and these things deserve to have a voice in our culture in the circles that follow me. That’s why I want to share my photos.
So the blog begins. I do not expect anyone to read all of this, but it’s more of an exercise in writing..and intent in my photography and art. Here I can be targeted about the story and several photos in full website resolution glory. We will see how long this lasts… as soon as the idea struck I got back to the hotel and started writing this and haven't stopped. So, I think that's a good sign. YES, I will probably post this to instagram when I come back to it with maybe a photo of me that Sam took. In a perfect world, I would only log into instagram when I made a new blog post just to advertise it, drive traffic, yadda yadda yadda… (maybe in a perfect world I wouldn't have to). I’ll turn off the comments, probably stop following a lot of people, and avoid scrolling and looking at messages and if I can figure it out I will not have instagram on my phone as long as I can avoid it.
I hope this blog serves as a place to showcase my photography in a more insightful way. I hope it gives my students a place to learn and feel good about their own photography.
This all feels very good.
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