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 A blog post I think is important 
First, I appreciate the notes that were left recently, and the ones left during the February drama.  I will probably be back, but not like I was before.  I love Wikimedia and everything it is trying to do.  I wanted to be a part of it.  More, I wanted to show its potential.  The worst misconception about me is that I am arrogant about my work.  I most want people to realize that everything I did, they can do too.  You don't even need to do what I did; your own secret hopes and ambitions on here have the potential to succeed.  

It's not self-promotion.  If you are contributing work of such high quality that you could actually make a career for yourself, then Wikipedia is damn lucky to have you.  If what you give is crap, face it:  your stuff will be removed, nobody will stick up for you and you'll have zero hopes of ever branching beyond Wikipedia.  This is important:  you should strive to contribute material that is of such high quality people actually think you could be a professional (but the ridiculous argument that you are using Wikipedia to doing that is stupid beyond belief).  

I outlined on my blog how I went about doing what I did on here, how you could replicate it if you wanted, and general advice.  I don't care if anyone follows it.  But I certainly hope it explains how unexceptional my contributions were; that is, if only other people attempted what I did.  

I'm an artist - I wanted to work on here and give something back.  But I never wish to be a professional photographer or journalist/reporter.  I realize that's a shock for many to believe.  Wikipedia is a great public space to attempt art, whether it be journalism and information as art, or photography that is encyclopedic before it is artistic.  

Here's the blog post where I try to explain how I succeeded to gain access, improved my photography and made a reputation for myself simply for doing what I believed in on Wikipedia:  blog.shankbone.org/2008/07/19/david-shankbone-finally-tells-you-how-to-replicate-his-success.aspx

If contributing high quality work that is recognized on and off Wikipedia is self-promotion, then we need more self-promoters who try to create such high quality.
David '''''' "