Instagram Woes

It happens every summer, time moves beyond fast and I'm left wondering where a month has gone. The weather has been so kind this year, warm temperatures and hardly any wind. I mention the wind because I live on the prairies and so wind is just something I've come to accept, but what a marvelous break we've had from it.

I've been taking pictures like crazy since getting a new camera at the beginning of July and so you'd think I would have been blogging a lot, but... Instagram. Yep, that's where my photos have been going. A few you of have found me there and so know that I am still alive, but the rest of you, I have not been fair to. 

I'm not sure I'm in love with Instagram.  I was at first, but then I discovered that a lot of people are using it to build up a false sense of popularity. Normally, this sort of thing would not bother me, except that I'm looking for a genuine community. Here's the problem - I post a photo, I get a bunch of "likes" and usually 3 or 4 new followers. That's great! I check out their photos and if I like what I see, I'm happy to follow right back.  Then, a few hours to a day or so later, they "unfollow" me, meaning they were not at all interested in my photos, no - they are just trying to build up their number of followers or advertise. Blech!

Now, there are 3 types of people I follow - people I know, people I find inspiring, and people I would like to get to know through a mutual exchange. I do not want my feed all clogged up by people who are not interested in sharing back and forth.  Of course, I realize that this status competition exists here in blogland too, but it is much less aggressive, and I find I am largely unaffected by it simply because I'm not here to be competitive and build numbers. With Instagram, blogging in the fast lane so-to-speak, you're in the competition whether you want to be or not, and it is not a worthwhile competition. A false sense of popularity through tricking people into following you is, at best, a complete waste of time. I will say though, Instagram does have a fun side, and I have enjoyed sharing with the people I know and the few genuine people I have been building relationships with. Also, there are some absolutely amazing photographers out there, and I thank them for their daily doses of inspiration, they keep my camera clickin'.

Alright, enough of that. Here are a few of my favourite photos from the past month.  I hope you have all had as marvelous a summer as I have, and are enjoying the last days of it.