Tears in Rain

I can't sleep and neither can my little girl.. we sit here in the first hour of New Years Eve. I take her photograph. She commands, "Daddy, put your camera in the bag." I do as she requests and we sit together secure in the warmth of the living room looking at the white ice increasing on the trees in the moonlit garden. Poppy whispers"..it's snow..it's snow outside Daddy." I'm not going to correct her. There isn't any snow, it's too cold to snow right now... We hold hands and listen to Gladys Knight and the Pips and everyone else in the house is asleep as we share a perfectly precious short spell of time. Recently, I've been preoccupied with thoughts about Blipfoto; all the contributors, past and present, all those unique images and insights, slices and fragments of real life.

"Memories like the corners of my mind
Memories Misty watercolor memories
Of the way we were
Scattered pictures of the smiles we left behind
Smiles we gave to one another
For the way we were
Oh can it be that it was all so simple then
Or has time rewritten every line
And if we had the chance to do it all again
Tell me?Would we??
Could we??
Memories may be beautiful and yet
What's too painful to remember
We simply choose to forget
So it's the laughter we'll remember
We'll remember
Whenever we remember
The Way We Were..."

First of all let me offer my sincere thanks to Joe and Team Blip. I joined Blipfoto just a day or so after Joe launched it to the public in the Summer of 2006 and was privileged to be a small part of this fledgling community which became a significant part of my life, allowed me to document the birth and development of my two children, stay in touch with friends and family abroad and virtually meet a wide range of fantastic and wonderful human beings. There is no doubt in my mind that Joe and family deserve the fruits of their labours. Think of the thousands of hours they have devoted to the project. But the fact remains that each and every Blipper has also dedicated precious time, effort and endeavour to the cause. This union led to a vibrant website which for a time helped restore my faith in humanity. However, now, it seems, miscommunication and misunderstanding abound.

Having expressed my opinions honestly and freely by emailing Joe, I have received his response, and he has assured me he will progress and 'monetise' blipfoto as originally planned.. I can't argue with that. It his company and his absolute right to do with it whatever he pleases. I have issued a statement on the forum. It is with a great deal of soul searching and regret that I now feel it is time to take this difficult step. Many thanks to each and everyone of you. Some of you will never comprehend the positive impact you have had on my life. You are the Heart and Soul... You are the salt of this Earth... I will dearly miss you...

Please remember you are always, every single one of you, welcome to contact me anytime by e-mail and see my images in other places by following links in my about section. So, now it's time for me to bail out for a while.. I will not stop taking photographs everyday. It's my life and my livelihood and in 2009 I have a great deal of work to do establishing a new studio and gallery, as well as helping to parent Poppy and Gabriel.

Just in case any of you feel bad for me, please don't as I know, beyond all doubt, that this is the correct direction for me to take right now. I have had a long time to think about this course of action and I have searched and failed to find alternatives and compromises. I do not have a single grudge or bad feeling towards anybody on Blipfoto and I can honestly say I haven't had cross words here since my arrival on July 22nd 2006. I depart five uploads shy of achieving 900 consecutive blips and it really has been a pleasure and privilege. I will never forget your support, kind words and positive sentiments.

I am ever the optimist and you never know, one morning I may wake to transcend through a myriad of multicoloured bokeh lights into the Utopian Dreamscape of a parallel universe where I am still a small part of a Donations' propelled Blipfoto and I just might be able to back blip all the days I will miss... ;) Have a soulful and spiritual New Year...

I'll leave you with one of my favourite all time quotes, which sums up my feelings about the beautiful and ephemeral nature of this life..where every moment is precious... I have loved my time here but I accepted from the beginning that it had a finite lifespan.

"I've seen things you people wouldn't believe.
Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion.
I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate.
All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain.
Time to die."
Roy Batty, Nexus 6, Bladerunner.