Hello again, world.

Thanks for the half-head shot, Posy Quarterman!

Those of you who've been around a while may remember that I used to do a fair amount of blogging. I started when I first went into business, and kept it up more or less regularly for around five years, but a few years ago, feeling overextended, I decided the blog was an easy place to trim my to-do list.

A couple of weeks ago, I was talking to a long-time client and friend and somehow that old blog came up. I was surprised to hear that she genuinely missed it, and even moreso when, later, mulling over our conversation, I realized that I missed it too. It planted a seed, and I started brainstorming how I could bring it back. This time, though, I want to do things a little differently.

What are the reasons people read photography blogs, anyway? If it were only to look at pretty pictures, a gallery or Instagram page would do the trick, right? But a single image posted on social media is just the tippy-tippy top of the iceberg. A series of photos tells a story; add an actual written story to that and you begin to gain real insight. Real connection. In a time when many of us are feeling fractured and adrift in the weird world around us, we crave that connection and understanding, and stories that underline the humanity and shared experience of the people in our communities are a true comfort.

So this is no longer the Annemie Tonken blog, but rather the Megapixie community blog. You'll still see lots of the photos I've taken, but instead of me telling you about them, I'm asking the people I photograph to share their stories - about family, about photos, about the experience of being photographed, about parenthood, about whatever, really. I'm hoping to find some other voices, too - artists I admire, local leaders and activists... the sky's the limit. I'll be here too, of course - sharing my own personal photos and stories as well as the occasional tutorial or business newsflash - but I intend to be part of the conversation rather than the whole thing.

If you haven't seen these guys in a while, brace yourselves... they went and got really big.

I've already got some amazing content lined up that I hope you'll keep an eye out for. If you're interested in contributing, please please please reach out. If you've got questions you want answered or ideas for future posts (or if you're feeling generous and want to reassure me that I'm not just shouting into the void), say hi in the comments!