I took the late train home Saturday night from Seoul. I haven’t taken the train much this year. I’m not sure why.
I like the window seat. I like watching the countryside drone on. The contact sheets that make up my life.
I was tired. Tired a lot lately. Almost too tired to take this photo. I’ve seen this a lot. There are moments when the metro parallels the train. It was so dark between the two. The people looked strange. We were moving about the same speed so somehow it felt like we were on the same train.
Weird that.
The first person that saw this photo said it looked like a contact sheet. Is it arrogant to feel satisfaction in having felt the same way when I was taking it?
Maybe so.
I think my blog will be mostly like this for a while. Shorter. One or two photos. I post too much. That was one of the things I have thought about lately. I’m posting too many photos. “Show your best” as they say. I don’t really know what that means. I have a hard time figuring out what constitutes a good photo when it comes to my own.
Something I probably need to think about.
Maybe I should get the aisle seat next time.
February 2016.
Seoul, South Korea.
jtinseoul 
Up to now I only saw excellent pictures on this blog. So you can just go on and keep posting. And feel free to write some more!
Thanks for your work!
And by the way, the contact sheet analogy is quite spot on. Or it reminds me of a loaded scanning holder.
Thanks a lot dude. And yeah that is exactly what my friend said.
Deciding if our own photos are any good is one of the hardest things to do photographically …. I gave up thinking anout it too much and post what I like , whether they are good or not doesnt matter if I am like them 🙂 screw everyone else :))
Haha, yeah I’m much the same way 😉
If you ask me, you post too little! 😀
Haha, well, thanks 😉
You post what you feel you have to share i guess. I share neilh1970 point of view as well – if its important to you thats what counts. And its not only whats in a photo, its what is not in a photo also, and i can honestly say i’ve enjoyed reading your posts. So yea, thank you
Nah, thank you dude. I always appreciate your comments.
I really like this photo Josh, it looks much better on my computer monitor than it did on my phone. Think this benefits from having the extra space so that you can take each window scene in. You should print it BIG 🙂
Interesting that you’re thinking about how you edit and share your images because I’ve been going through a bit of turmoil in this department too. Since starting my website/blog I’ve become very conscious that I should be editing my work more strictly before sharing any of it. Of course I don’t have to worry about having a large number of followers to please like you do, but by putting my photographs into the public space I seem to have introduced a big element of self doubt. Right now I’m wondering why I even bother to be honest. Most of my “work” is pretty crappy really in terms of what makes a good photograph, but I like it anyway. Who am I trying to please after all? Weirdly, I never felt this self doubt when I was sharing via instagram alone, it’s only since introducing a website into the mix that things have gone a bit sour. It just seems to have made it more “real”. I guess it’s something I just need to get my head around. Thanks for sharing and please do keep posting. If nothing else it’s good to get an insight into how another photographer’s brain works. I’d take a post like this over a camera review any day.
Thanks dude. I think the key is we should only try to please ourselves. I often post photos I know people aren’t going to like but I don’t care much. As long as I like it. And a lot of the times I can’t really explain why I like what I do.
I think style counts too …. We are all too self critical , but we all eventually find our own style ( even though it often changes over time ) I think if you like a certain photographers style you will appreciate most of their work . Even the slightly weaker images …..
““Show your best” as they say. I don’t really know what that means. I have a hard time figuring out what constitutes a good photo when it comes to my own.”
I know what you mean.
Yeah I find it really hard. I just post whatever now and try not to think to much about it.
This mirrors my thinking when I lived in New York and had 2 hour commutes by commuter train and subway. Something about seeing life carry on outside while feeling trapped in these lumbering boxes steals away your humanity and leaves you bone tired and wanting freedom.
I found you blog from Eric Kim’s tweet. Your first post has me hooked.
Thanks, I appreciate that! Eric and I have been close friends for many years and I always laugh when he tweets something like that. Glad you’ve found your way here!
Hey Josh, I check in once a week because I know you pretty reliably post once a week. Always look forward to seeing what you’ve done. Whenever I think of installing Instagram, it’s to follow your shots and those of a few others. So, keep on keeping on 🙂
I’m so hard in critizing my own work that I harldy posting at all at the moment. Not sure if that’s good…