Though it may be one of those "don't quit your day job" stories, I have been working to completely revamp my personal website to focus solely on photography. It had plenty of my photography before, but not only did I need a new way to manage the site itself and keep up fresh content, but the photography-oriented weblog is a good way to help me keep from setting my camera down for too long.
We must find a balance, though. How much work? How much play? And when does work become play and play become work? I love photography, but quite honestly, it is very easy for me to become completely consumed with photography, thinking about shots and projects long after laying down to go to sleep and waking up with new techniques to try. I think we do need a hobby, something we enjoy to give us an opportunity to relax a little. If that hobby, however, is just another consuming activity in our lives, it does not accomplish much.
We have to set priorities, and family should rank up there pretty high, higher than work. If we come home from work and jump straight to the hobby till it is time to sleep, we might as well have not married. For that matter, we might as well cut off contact with the whole human race. A slightly better reaction, I would say, is to put family first, bring home the bread, and then find some way to allow ourselves to relax and step away from work after having already accomplished those first two steps.
Just thinking outloud. And speaking of, maintaining both New Frontier and my personal ChinaCoop.net sites certainly has the potential to eat up even more time. There is always something to adjust and improve in life!
