I built this website for you

And it was my friend’s fault.

I started my photography journey on January 1st of 2023 when I set out to post a photo a day on my instagram page (link below). Sure, I’d like to think it started way before that, building slowly with every photo I took with the low quality camera of my phone. But the reality is that I wasn’t in tune with my passion for photography yet.

Prior to that date, there were hints. For example, I took this photo in July of 2022 in Savannah, Georgia with my phone. Enjoy it. It will be one of only a few color photos you’ll see on this site - I’ll explain why on another blog.

It’s no Mona Lisa, but I was proud of it. Little did I know that something major was brewing. Something that would become a major part of my life for years to come.

So I started 2023 with that goal. Consistent and persistent. You know what happened next. One photo a day quickly shifted to one photo every now and then. Shame on me. But the passion for the art form only grew. I purchased my first “professional” camera, a Nikon Z50 early that same year. Here’s one of the photos I took on that camera unedited.

I’ll let you do the math on those coordinates. And yes, it’s another color photo. Like I said, you’ll see less and less of them. But I had to be real and, in reality, my journey started in color, both in terms of travel and photography.

Then came the algorithm game. That endless and tireless pursuit for virality on social media. I swore I wasn’t going to fall for it. “Zuckerberg has nothing on my will power!” I said (or something along those lines, perhaps less PG-13). Again, I think you know how that went. I started learning about hash tags, hooks, stories, and now the dreaded reels. It became less about the photography and more about the likes.

Within all that, I happened to enjoy telling both the visual and the written story. Below is a post I shared/wrote in mid 2023. Please don’t laugh. I’m trying to make a point.

This is when my friend comes in. Ana, which may or may not be her real name. She told me she wanted to learn more about the photos and, in 2024, suggested I create a blog.

“A BLOG?” I screamed. I barely have time to take and edit photos with a day job, much less to put together a blog and maintain it.

But in reality, I did have enough time. I just didn’t want to see it or, better yet, I didn’t want to give up the activities that took up my remaining hours. A playa’s gotta play, right?

And there was something that was bothering me too. Something that bothers most creators in today’s social media driven world. It was the fact that I had to adjust my photos to fit the strict confines of the instagram grid and feed. Greedy. That’s how I felt cutting corners (litteraly) to make my photos fit even thought they lost their meaning and the intentionality of how and why I initially took them.

And this leads us to 2025 and my goals for the year. In particular, this one:

So I did what I do best. I made it a habit to work on building a website. I decided to allocate 10 minutes to it each day, sometimes more if I was locked in. The end result is this. What you’re reading and seeing.

So what?

First of all, I’m thankful for Ana for pushing me to do more with my images than just share them to an ever growing collection of memes and reels. To share the stories behind them. I’m thankful for everyone that has in one way or another helped me in this journey. Even if it just meant posing for a photo when they least wanted to be in one. And thank you to all of you who have been part of what to this point has been an exciting travel and photography journey by your comments, likes, messages and shares. I truly appreciate knowing that my images and stories touch you ever so slightly and it pushes me to learn and capture more and more.

This is a space for you. It’s built for your entertainment, inspiration… an escape, if you will.

Welcome to Still JG.