I am not by any means a negative person. Even during an absolutely horrible house build that took nearly three years over Covid with a contractor that is now out of business, as he absolutely should be, I remained positive… angry a lot, but positive. And, you know what? In the end it all worked out. Barely, but it did.
Now I’m getting asked quite a bit if I’m okay, lost, disoriented or deranged? I really am not… The post I put up on my now ‘retired’ MegaPixel Mike Facebook page was about as true as it gets to how I currently feel. I think the real story is I just need a break from Facebook. I get so many messages about putting a book together, or folks wondering where I’ve been as they haven’t seen a post for awhile that it becomes a burden for me to actually get posts up. And, it finally caught up to me. I’m not sure if anyone really understands how taxing it is to get a story or post up. I’m a total perfectionist, too, so from editing the images to writing the story it could take me 8-12 hours at times. I am certainly not as talented as a true author or writer of lyrics, but the writing I’ve shared takes time and thought. Sometimes I would stay up until 3 in the morning writing. Well actually, I can’t complain on that one because I think I write the best when I’m exhausted. But, as much work as it was, I really loved every minute of it. I think the part I loved the most was responding to everyone that made a comment. I really, really enjoyed interacting with everyone.
I can’t express how difficult it was to really say goodbye to some of my longtime followers that I know will not be making the journey to follow me on Instagram and ultimately here on this page. They are the ones that made me hold on as long as I did, and some of them I will never forget, but it was getting to the point of no longer being fun for me.
Thing is, I have no idea how many folks will actually be reading this. I have no hidden counters on the page, and no way of knowing who is following along and who isn’t. But, I can’t express enough that numbers really never meant anything to me. I’ve never sent out follower requests, or stuffed my page down anyone’s throat. Ironically, I have tried many times to hide it and create a smaller audience. I’m just not that big on numbers. Even when I am out and about I try to avoid crowds and will typically hide behind everyone if I happen to bump into something that I would like to photograph. I have seen pages on Facebook with thousands of followers with images that I just shake my head at, and I have seen posts on pages by true artists that are exceptional at their skills that have way less followers. Those folks are the ones I respect. I feel a true artist doesn’t seek a following except for monetary gain… and there is nothing wrong with that if that is their livelihood. Most times, however, folks will find them or come to them on their own. Their work speaks for itself.
So, I have jettisoned Facebook. It’s as simple as that. I truly just need a break, I need a small venue and a more intimate following with time between posts that will make them that much more meaningful. A place I can post on my own timeline without being pushed to get the next post out.
You really don’t need to worry, though, as there is no shortage of Assateague Island photographers or pages to see… as overwhelming as it might be. But, the thing is there are so many folks that enjoy taking images and sharing the Island that it certainly would not be fair for me to say I enjoy making images if I reject that others do, as well. That’s not what I’m about. Folks simply get excited when they see something and want to share it… And, I could get into many other side topics here when it comes to certain pages, but again, that’s not me, so I won’t.
As I said in one of my latest Instagram posts, my close friends know deep, deep inside my soul is burning to get my deepest, most delicate and emotional thoughts out onto paper. It's just something I have to do. And, I love photography… So, this is where I will be doing that now. The cool thing is it’s a Photoshop-based web page, so the images are much crisper than they were when I posted on Facebook. There are images I deleted from posts because of the compression Facebook did on them to squeeze them down to size for their servers. Anyway, I really am looking forward to getting back into the swing of things.
Just one more thing, I meant what I said when it came to being busy at work. I’m in the last 6-9 months of my career, and I can’t tell you how insanely busy it has been. Last month I responded to a fatal collision where a young father, mother and their one year old son were killed. We’ve also had several homicides, pursuits with stolen vehicles and the list goes on. As such, I have yet to follow any of the foals around or get out this spring like I really wanted to or planned on. But, when I get back out there it’ll be no holds barred.
Thank you again if you are here on this journey with me and following along. I appreciate it so much. Oh yeah, the images in this post are from my backyard adjacent to one of the golf courses in South Point in Worcester County.
Enjoy.
See you next time…
~MP Mike
