Having a nice camera and a website with “photography” in the name does not make one a photographer.
It was a nice run. But I am making some changes.
Aaron Emery Photography is going away. In its place will be aaronemery.net. That seems more fitting.
The site was rarely about photography, and I haven’t really done much with photography since the photo booth for my sister-in-law’s high school graduation party, which was 3.5 years ago. A few photo sessions with our kids, and my brother-in-law’s senior photos, but I never worked to grow it as a business, and subsequently, the business never grew.
Instead, I used the site to wax philosophical about kids, stoicism, and life.
Dropping the pretense that this was a photography business website feels better. It feels more honest.
I’ve long heard that having a personal website is a good idea, even if you don’t use it for much. That’s how I had been using aaronemeryphotography.com.
I’ll continue to use the website as a blog, to work on my writing, to discuss stoicism, kids, life, or whatever else happens to be on my mind. I’ll also use it to show off the projects we are working on as Abbie and I endeavor to make and build things. And yes, if I manage to get off my ass and charge my camera batteries, may even try my hand at some photography.
I always felt pressure related to the photography website not being used for photography. To be honest, I felt like a bit of a fraud. I hope some of that pressure will now be relieved.
While minor, these changes are already impacting my mindset. As I no longer feel a thought in the back of my mind that I should be doing more with photography, I am free to write about whatever I want. I know I was doing that before, but there was always some hesitation that I wasn’t focusing enough on photography.
So, there you have it. Some changes are coming to the website. You will still be able to find me at aaronemeryphotography.com for now, but that domain will be retired at the next renewal. From today, moving forward, it will simply be aaronemery.net.