The awesome thing about being a photographer in the digital age is metadata. Metadata is information written into an image that allows you to look back and have instant access to what date it was taken, with which camera with which specific settings, and in some cases even the actual location of the image. This allows for really intricate levels of organization and makes finding specific events really easy.

This picture is from a batch of the first pictures I ever took. It was on a Nikon d3100 with a manual focus 55mm macro lens I borrowed from my grandfather. I had not figured out anything at all about my camera yet (I had everything on auto because I did not know what any of the letters and dials meant), and though this image turned out pretty well, it was a complete stroke of luck because the other 300 pictures in the import are all hot garbage.

In retrospect, I think this is the picture that made me feel like it was worth it to invest my time into learning. I thought if I could luck out so hard to end up with something like this, education could only allow me to make better things in the future. So headfirst I jumped, and here we all are together.

I guess what I learned throughout this whole process is twofold: first, that everyone likes different things. I poured over thousands of pictures I have taken for this 31-day challenge, and the ones that I absolutely loved the most ended up performing the worst in viewership and interaction. The ones I ended up putting last minute, or I only chose because I didn’t have any other good options ended up being the top performers. If you ever want to win the lottery, just ask me for some number suggestions, and then pick totally different numbers; you are sure to win.

Second, I learned that without any actual effort on my part I have stayed pretty consistent with my photographic goal. I did not even know I had a photographic goal until this, I guess. But I have always loved being able to see into a different world. I love the tiny world as much as I love the vastness of space. I love being able to use my own tools to see those things and not rely in other perspectives. I have learned much more about myself than I anticipated when I started this trek, and based on that metric I would call the journey a success.