The Photographer Blog » News & Updates

How I’ve Started a New Photoblog

Mandy — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 16:55:03 +0000

My sister is an artist and she wanted to start a blog to let people know what she’s been up to and what’s new on the painting front. She did have a ‘proper’ website but had to rely on a friend if she wanted to change or update anything. Which isn’t the best way of working so she decided to start a blog, but had no experience of how to create one or how to use one. That’s where I came in, she wanted me to help her set one up. While doing this I realized that there may be others out there like my sister who were struggling to find the right information, or just didn’t have the time to look for it.

Why am I telling you this – Stay with me a little longer…

Anyway, that’s when I decided to write a series of posts for the absolute beginner blogger that wants to start a free blog with Wordpress.com, on my other blog that follows, you guessed it my blogging exploits – Build a Blog. I decided the best way to show her how to start a blog was to start one! So I started a blog of my own on Wordpress.com called Mandy Jones Photography (there’s also a link to it in the navigation bar at the top of this page).

I thought straight away of starting a Photoblog. You already have a blog I hear you say? Yes I do have this blog, but this is a blog about digital photography and my journey as a photographer and although it has lots of images on it, it’s not solely about the image there’s information that goes with it, and the image is there to enhance it. I wanted a blog where I could share the growing amount of images that are gathering digital dust on my hard drive and that nobody is getting to see, and let it just be about the image. And yes I have a Flickr page that I can do that with, and some of my images may end up on both the photoblog and Flickr.

So do I really need a Photoblog?

No, I don’t NEED a Photoblog. But I do think it could be an advantage to have one…

I know one thing for sure it’s not going to be a portfolio site, it’s just going to be more of a photodump for my images, sharing them and letting them get some air. A more specific portfolio collection of my images is on its way but more of that to come… I also like being able to show my growth as a photographer, I think that’s an important part of sharing my journey, so the opportunity arose at just the right time.

Starting a Blog on Wordpress.com

It’s a bit like running a blog with one hand tied behind my back at the moment after being used to this blog running on Wordpress.org. But it’s given me a different view of blogging as well as taking me back to my early blogging days that may have grown a little dim in the old memory. Going back to basics is not always a bad thing because it makes me keep things simple, and focus on what is the most important thing that I’m wanting to get over to my readers. In this photoblogs case it’s the image. So it will be interesting to see how this blog develops.

I chose one of their photoblog themes for the blog, the Duotone theme. They don’t have many photoblog themes at the moment, but one of the features that I really liked about this one was that it automatically publishes the EXIF data for the image with every post I make.

Do you have a photoblog? If so which service do you use? Please let me know in the comments…

Mandy

If you liked this post then you may also like to Subscribe to my RSS Feed!

If you enjoyed this post then you may like to read more at my blog

How I’ve Started a New Photoblog

Tweet This Post Delicious Digg This Post Stumble This Post

Calumet Going Strong After 70 Years!

Mandy — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 21:37:11 +0000

I went to the Manchester Calumet tradeshow last thursday to celebrate 70 years of Calumet Photographic. I really enjoyed the day not least for the goody bag that I received for being one of the first 100 visitors through the door, or for the free sensor cleaning that they were offering. But also for the range of support that they could offer. I liked the sound of the seminars and workshops that they run, which appeal not only because of the subjects available, but also because of the hands on experience and the chance to meet like minded photographers.

I also enjoyed the day because it reminded me how good it is to go to a proper photography shop and not just shop online all the time. Shopping online is convenient and quick when I know what I want, but there is nothing like going along to my local photography shop to have a good look around and try out what I’m looking at buying. Not to mention the chance to chat face to face with the staff as opposed to the rather more inpersonal chat via email online.

Obviously Calumet had their staff on hand during the day to help give advice and answer any questions. But there were also reps from Nikon, Canon, Sony, Lowepro, The Societies, Bowen, Hasselblad and Epson to name but a few. This was a great opportunity to pick their brains a little and try out the new gear. For me The Societies, which is a growing worldwide association for the professional photographer was the most interesting of the trade stands, because I’d never heard of them before and what they can offer their members. And in this current climate it’s good to know that there’s a dedicated society to helping the professional photographer get the most out of their business.

So don’t forget your local photography store next time you’re looking for something, they may have more to offer than you think!

Mandy

If you enjoyed this article and want more, then subscribe to my RSS feed and never miss another one!

If you enjoyed this post then you may like to read more at my blog

Calumet Going Strong After 70 Years!

Tweet This Post Delicious Digg This Post Stumble This Post

Calumet Celebrates 70 Years

Calumet Celebrates 70 Years

Mandy — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 21:13:12 +0000

Calumet Photographic is celebrating 70 years in Photography

And to celebrate this anniversary they have been putting on mini tradeshows at their Manchester and London stores, with a wide range of product demonstrations from major manufacturers. I will be going to Manchester Calumet who are having their anniversary tradeshow on Thursday 8th October from 10am – 8pm.

I have used Calumet online before while looking for wedding and portrait albums and found exactly what I wanted, but I have never been to one of their stores. If I’m looking at buying photographic equipment then I obviously look for a store with a wide range of cameras and accessories, which Calumet obviously have including a rental option. But also as an amateur photographer I look for a store with good photographic knowledge and who are willing to give advice. That’s sometimes easier said than done!

But I’ve seen online that Calumet stores have experts running calendars of seminars and workshops that they make available to everyone. So I’m really looking forward to the tradeshow and checking out their Manchester store, and what they have on offer. I’ll report back what I find…

I know this post has gone out with a little bit shorter notice than I had hoped, but maybe I’ll see you at the tradeshow?

Mandy

If you liked this article and don’t want to miss anymore, then please subscribe to my RSS Feed!

If you enjoyed this post then you may like to read more at my blog

Calumet Celebrates 70 Years

Tweet This Post Delicious Digg This Post Stumble This Post

Calumet Going Strong After 70 Years!

Do you want your Photography site to have better SEO?

Mandy — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 20:40:13 +0000

I know I do! I want to increase my website traffic and grow my search engine capabilities so more people can see my images, and read my articles. Lets face it a photography site has to be well optimised these days because there are so many quality sites out there.

What’s the point of having a photography site to display your images if nobody can see it?

One of the most important parts of any type of website, never mind a photography one is SEO (Search Engine Optimisation). There is a host of information on the internet about SEO and how to use it, but I’m really excited because I’ve just found an ebook that is specific to Photographers and optimising their Photography sites with SEO.

It’s called the SEO for Photography Websites Free Toolkit and it includes the SEO Cookbook, videos and a bonus What Buyers Want PDF. It bascially is a step by step guide for photographers to help them improve their photography sites whether they have a blog, portfolio or website using SEO. I’m reading through it at the moment and so far I’m really pleased with it. I think every photographer that wants to build a ’site’ and grow their online presence should download this as it’s a really good resource, and it’s free so there’s no excuse!

Mandy

Did you like this article, then you may want to subscribe to my RSS Feed so you never miss another one!

If you enjoyed this post then you may like to read more at my blog

Do you want your Photography site to have better SEO?

Tweet This Post Delicious Digg This Post Stumble This Post

I’m Making a Photobook with SoFoBoMo 09′

Mandy — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 21:44:29 +0000

Have you ever thought about making a photo book?

I’d never really thought about making a photo book before now, but I’m going to try it out using SoFoBoMo 09. What on earth is SoFoBoMo? That’s what I said!

SoFoBoMo is short for Solo Photo Book Month – a group event where a bunch of photographers all make solo photo books start to finish, in 31 days, at more or less the same time. It’s modeled loosely on NaNoWriMo, where participating writers all write novels in a month, and NaSoAlMo, where musicians write and record solo albums in a month.

Sound interesting? I thought so and that’s why I’m giving it a go, it sounds like it could be a lot of fun and I’m sure I’ll learn a lot along the way.

Where did I hear about it?

I heard about SoFoBoMo 09 from Neil Creek, when he mentioned he was taking part and making a photo book on his blog inviting his readers to take part – so here I am.

What am I going to do?

As you may have read in my last post I have recently become interested in food photography, and I thought this would be the ideal opportunity to put my new skills to the test. So my photo book will be about food.

Stay tuned to find out how I’m getting along!

Mandy

Did you enjoy this article? Then you may want to subscribe to my RSS Feed!

If you enjoyed this post then you may like to read more at my blog

I’m Making a Photobook with SoFoBoMo 09′

Tweet This Post Delicious Digg This Post Stumble This Post

What does Photography mean to you?

Mandy — Wed, 06 May 2009 21:03:01 +0000

For me briefly (because I’m prone to ramble), photography is an expression of what I see around me, and how it makes me feel. The trick is to then convey that in my photographs. Everyone is unique and no two people will see a photograph in the same way, we all see things differently so lets enjoy that to the full. Photography is a creative expression therefore there is no right or wrong way to do it. And this is actually one of the main reasons why I like photography because it can be so unique. If five different photographers took shots of the same object do you think they would look the same?

What’s it all about?

The Photographer Blog is about my love and passion for photography and taking photographs. And it follows my journey with digital photography.

I want to share my experiences and what I am learning as an amateur photographer with you my readers. Although I’m not new to digital photography, I am new to DSLR’s as six months ago I bought my first one. A DSLR gives me endless possibilities for my photography and I can’t wait to explore and share them here. I feel photography is a journey and The Photographer Blog is the place to follow my journey with digital photography, and a place where I hope I will meet like minded photographers. Lets share what we know and enjoy each others photography.

The Blog – things are changing?

I want the best environment possible to share my photography and make this blog easy to read and navigate. If you’ve visited before you will have noticed that the design of the blog has changed completely, and there is still a bit more to do. I think it looks cleaner now which makes it nicer to read, but just bare with me a little longer while I finish it off. And as always feel free to let me know what you think in the comments!

What does Photography mean to you? Why do you like it so much? Share your thoughts by adding a comment below.

Mandy

If you enjoyed this article then please subscribe to my RSS Feed!

If you enjoyed this post then you may like to read more at my blog

What does Photography mean to you?

Tweet This Post Delicious Digg This Post Stumble This Post

New Project: Liverpool

Mandy — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 22:22:24 +0000

As I said in my last post I have stopped my project 365 that I was doing. But I want to replace it with something else that will put less demands on my time but give me a focus, and help me to continue moving forward with my photography skills.

I visited Liverpool (which is nearby) in the summer to take some shots and I have been uploading some of them (soon to be all) to my Flickr account. When it suddenly hit me that this could become a great project for me. I love architecture, and Liverpool certainly has lots of that. It’s nearby so there’s not much travel involved and I haven’t shot much city/urban photography so it would be something new as well.

I’m going to try and make it back over their before Christmas and spend the day there shooting and see what happens. I’ve not found my ‘niche’ or ’style’ yet in photography but this is something that interests me and should be a lot of fun!

Watch this space…

Mandy

Did you like this article? Then please subscribe to my RSS Feed!

If you enjoyed this post then you may like to read more at my blog

New Project: Liverpool

Tweet This Post Delicious Digg This Post Stumble This Post

What have I been up too!

Mandy — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 23:13:58 +0000

I’ve dropped out of my Project 365, a photo a day for a year.

I started my P365 in March this year and I was really excited about using the experience to improve my photography. But I soon realised why so many people don’t finish their projects, and I’m sad to say I am one of them.

I was feeling under more and more pressure to take good photos and subjects, and I was ending up with too many lets take anything shots. I had been struggling with this for a while, so I made the decision to drop out of it and concentrate on enjoying taking shots whenever I like, rather than feeling tied to a schedule. And I have to say I feel a lot more relaxed because of it.

I had just started taking my photography more seriously a couple of months before I heard of P365’s, and I jumped straight in. But what I have personally learned from the project is that it would be great for concentrating on one part of my photography, and looking to improve and learn about it through a P365 eg. macro or portrait photography. Although I didn’t finish it I did learn a lot from the process and I would do one again, but just not right now.

Life sometimes gets in the way…

It’s been a funny old couple of months and I have really struggled to achieve what I had planned to by this point in the year, and that’s frustrating. But with two bereavements of family and friends that have hit me hard, and also finding out that I will have to have a fairly nasty sounding operation at some point next year to my head, has made me loose my focus (not surprising).

At the end of the day it is just life and as ever I know I’ll just get on with it, but at the same time certain parts of life can, and need to take over for a while. I’m a great believer in dealing with what life throws at you and not ignoring it, but I’ve never had such creative things like my blogs and photography that have had to suffer at the same time because of it. Whether it’s blogs, photography or life itself they’re all a journey and a learning curve…and I am learning a lot!

Mandy

Did you like this article? Then please subscribe to my RSS Feed!

If you enjoyed this post then you may like to read more at my blog

What have I been up too!

Tweet This Post Delicious Digg This Post Stumble This Post

New Weekly Features

Mandy — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 21:32:16 +0000

What’s your favourite part of Digital Photography?

There are lots of great subjects in Digital Photography that I want to talk and learn about. And this is all part of my journey exploring and learning more with Digital Photography. But I also want to document this in a way that is easy to follow, so I want to change the categories around a little bit on the blog to help me do this. Putting them into 4 new categories:

1. Digital Photography

In this category I will cover digital cameras and gear, how they work and how to use them to the full for taking photographs.

2. Post Processing

Should we or shouldn’t we? I would like to talk about different techniques for post processing and the software that can be used to do it.

3. Stock Photography

This is a new category that I haven’t touched before. Stock Photography has always interested me so I will be exploring what it’s about and how people are using it. I’m also going to give it a go myself documenting what I am doing and how well I do.

4. News and Updates

Everything else…

Each of the first three categories will become a weekly feature on the blog. I’m hoping that this will help the blog and the subjects I talk about flow better and make information easier to find.

Mandy

Did you like this article? Then please subscribe to my RSS Feed!

If you enjoyed this post then you may like to read more at my blog

New Weekly Features

Tweet This Post Delicious Digg This Post Stumble This Post

Image of the Week#32

Mandy — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 22:20:05 +0000

This week in image of the week I’ve chosen a collection of photographs.

These are Liverpool’s famous Super Lamb Bananas, and there’s over 100 of them scattered around the city to celebrate Liverpool’s year as the Capital of Culture.

Here’s just a few of them, very photogenic though don’t you think!

If you liked this article then you may like to subscribe to my RSS Feed!

If you enjoyed this post then you may like to read more at my blog

Image of the Week#32

Tweet This Post Delicious Digg This Post Stumble This Post