Mike Powell

It’s hard to believe it, but I started this blog 14 years ago and it still is going. On 7 July 2012 my dear friend and photography mentor Cindy Dyer sat me down and told me that I was going to have a blog. She already had some experience with Word Press and helped me set up my account and publish my first posting. In case you are curious, my first post that was simply entitled Blue Dasher dragonfly and featured a photo of a Blue Dasher (Pachydiplax longipennis) in the obelisk position that made it look a bit like the dragonfly was doing a handstand.

Word Press keeps track of a lot of statistics and I am never sure how accurate they are, but according as of today I have published 5,558 posts (including a small number of re-posts by other bloggers) and have had 673,856 views. Those numbers are so big that they boggle my mind a bit. For a number of years I was posting almost daily, but I have slowed down somewhat over the last few years.

That being said, my approach to my blog has remained remarkably consistent over the years. I remember when I first decided to use the words, “My journey through photography” as the subtitle for the blog and the blog has become a kind of journal documenting many of the amazing things I have encountered and my reactions to them.

Thanks so much to all of you for your support and encouragement that have helped to keep me going on this continuing journey. “Progress,” however you define it, has been slow and the pathway has definitely been meandering.

This recent photo of turtles seems to be appropriate as I pause and reflect, basking a bit in the warm feelings as I think about the past. This blog has helped me to come out of my shell a bit and to share a lot about the thoughts and emotions that bounce around in my head and in my heart. Undoubtedly that leaves me vulnerable, but as the old adage says, a turtle makes progress only by sticking out its neck.

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.