On the virtue of masochism

According to onelook.com, masochism is a word reserved for sexual pleasure induced by punishment. When putting out the subtitle for my blog, I had nothing that raunchy in mind. I assumed that there was an additional and more abstracted meaning of masochism in English. More like in Norwegian, where it is also used for more mundane cases of self-inflicted unpleasantness for the sake of a future reward, with the twist that the unpleasantness is a also a blessing in disguise.

I'll keep the subtitle, and hope that dictionaries are not up to date on second interpretations.

It is the disguise part that made me think of the term to begin with. It goes back to the issue that I kept sulking about in the first two posts in this blog, that photography needs regular practice to maintain skill. I shall not harp that issue any more (for now), but rather share an anticipation.

In less than a week from now, I will know whether I've practiced enough to unleash creativity from day one on a lenghty photo excursion.

The planning of this year's photographic excursion began on the same day as I started this blog. For six months, I've been looking forward to it, talking to people about photo op's on the way, connecting to locals in the area, studying maps, planning what equipment to bring, Plan B for poor weather, etc. etc.

I did mention looking forward to it, didn't I? There's motivation for you. This is what makes me tick. No self-infliction of unpleasantness at all. :)

I have no idea whether I can get online during this trip. If I can, I'll make this blog a travel diary. There will be another post with an approximate itinerary before I leave. Then there may be a fortnight without any posts.

Whether by silence or by words, the Blog will tell.