It’s not a goal at all in my life. I have milestones or achievements I think that are/will be way more important than this one. Half a million views on Flickr. The statistic is not perfect, doesn’t count the direct link to the images, or for examples everytime one is displayed on this blog… it’s still quiet something nonetheless. Am I happy about it? sure I am!! I don’t consider myself as a photographer, it’s just a hobby, a way to keep some photographic memories of what was my life at some point was, of what i’ve lived and experienced, who I am. True it’s been 2 years that I now always have my camera with me, didn’t thought it’ll last that long, but now it’s just « me » to have always a way to keep some images of the night, evening, dinner, party, concert, drink, event i’ve been to…

So here we are, 50 images randomly chosen via Flickr River. I’m not the kind of guy that succed in looking at his work on a global scale, being able to judge what’s really good or not.. even if my pictures are good. Don’t get me wring… I like them, I love them, even!!!  For the memories they are bringing. I’m a self made man photographicaly wise, I’ve learned by shooting, I’m developping them « as i feel it ». Which will sometimes bring some good feedback « we honestly don’t fu**in care about the burnt hairs ». someone once commented on a picture…. And he was actually right, learning, growing, changing….

I’ve been to a lot of a concert this year, this might help. When i’m in couleur café (like for Bénabar), in front of thousands of people, there’s mathematically more chance when they google it to arrive on my Flickr… But well. I’ve got some positif feedback, people that like my « Art » (it’s supposed to be Art, but well, not my real idea of Art… my vision of things maybe, even for those words I kinda disagree…) comment and make me sometimes interpret a photo where I was just happy of the graphical result of it. It’s maybe what I like the most actually, just being able to spread with the other people that were there the memories.

Because time is really flying by (I know, it’s common sense, but well.. it’s like so true you know…). It will be 2 years since I arrived in Brussels very soon. 2 years.. wow.. who would have thought? And that where I realise that I used to blog for a stream life… when I left England to move to Ireland, I thought I had so many things to spare with the person I was crossing that I started blogging.. and when I looked at my first entries 3 years ago.. wow…

Gosh 3 years seems a while ago, and so many stuff happend. I used to blog daily, ’cause in a foreign country, especially one that you love, you always got something to tell, that someone didn’t get your accent, that when one of your roomie name Brian and that another roomie ask « Hey vince, Where’s brian? » you smile and laugh on ur side while answering « brian is in the kitchen » (only french can get this i’m guessing), or the nite out you got at the Ball, or at Bob’s in Temple bar (gosh what a nite to remember), how I started working in luxembourg and so on. Those are memories I’ll cherish, because they made me who I am, a French with an irish harp in the heart, surrounded by english habits, and now leaving in the country of the French fries… How European of me

Now the question remains, if Flickr is a way just to keep track of what i’ve done, will I be happy to share that with my loved one when the times come, will my kids/grand kids will one day have access to « I saw grandpa’ vince when he was young.. he made some stuff OMG…. » ahah.. I don’t have the answer to that… A little reverse engineering tho to prove my point.. would i be happy to have those kind of « lifestream » on my parents, see them young and doing loads of stuff.. true it was another time, and I love them how they are, but the thought is kinda fun… and I don’t know if I’d look at it

On the other hand, it is true that I never put personal stuff, no one can read if i’m still a bachelor, if I met someone, if I’m happy about my life (that is actually not true, there’s really 3 depressing posts in here), but you get the point. I’m just trying to share a moment of my life, to those who are concerned and to those i randomly met who that googled « around the world in 50 years 3D« , I’m happy about the 30ish people who are on my RSS, I mean I probably know them, and i’m not « trying to have a stat issue » like some might have on twitter (where they are all running for followers… what a shame…).

Way more people come to my Flickr account than in here, it’s more than fine with me. Fun to see how people came to Flickr on the other hand, usually googling, and sometimes misssing the point. One of the popular request that point out to one of my album is « metal concert »… well.. i’m not really a steeler guy (or am I… those who know for which US NFL team I am would have smiled here), i’m more pop rock.. and it’s pointing to the « eagles of death metal concert », that was one impressive gig, but well.. not really metal…

You’ve got the classical « butterfly coldplay lovers in japan » that is not getting to the day i saw this astonshing and heart warming concert, but to a cliché of one of those butterflies we brought back and taken months afterwards. « gloria devil may cry » is also one that get me a dozen weekly, as the « franz ferdinand live » (i’m happy about this set so that’s cool). My most viewed cliché is off course a bad one.. but well, a fan forum is bringing a lot of people to it, whereas clichés i’m really proud of are barely seen. It’s ok actually, those are the little treasure i’ll just keep for me.

Half a million. It’s a lot some might say, the most important is that i can carry a little bit of dream sometimes, and people thanking me for such or such clichés. Verba Volant, scripta manent. It also works with the photos

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In my Ears : Gary Go -open arms- ♫« you’ve got to look myself in the eye, and say it’s gonna be alright…« ♫