200 Blogs and Counting

First Blog  Image,  HDR Toned

I'm publishing this article from Logan Airport as we await the bus to our car.  It is 12:30 AM but, coming from Alaska, it is only 8:30 PM.  Our trip was amazing and I will have much more to share in future blogs, but I like to get my weekly article in on Sunday, so this is a perfect time to celebrate my 200th blog.  You can check out some of my early Alaska Images in my Alaska Gallery - many more to come.

It seems like it was only a short while ago that I celebrated my 100th blog article, but somehow number 200 has crept up largely

Stats

unnoticed. I started blogging in January of 2009, but only published 11 articles in the first 2 years. At the time, I had no idea how to find my reader statistics and thought that I was largely speaking to myself. Then I noticed the "Stats" button and suddenly discovered to my great surprise and a little horror that some people were actually listening. The sudden awareness of an audience made me reassess my approach to the blog. Beginning in 2011, I set a goal of producing one article per week. I wanted to create a predictable resource that would be helpful for developing photographers, especially those who focus on the unique beauty of New England. The production of a weekly blog is a time consuming process which does eat away at shooting and editing time, not to mention the ability to have a life. So why have I kept at it.

Why?
Stubbornness, I guess, once I commit to something, I hate to see it slip and, the longer I kept to the schedule, the more I felt the

Composition

imperative to continue. In my first article I expressed both my reasons for starting a blog and my reluctance about the process. Among my goals was to tell the stories that were connected with many of my images and to share what I had learned about the marvelous art of photography. I also hoped to develop the ability to talk more fluently about my images and process. Chief among my concerns was my discomfort with much of what I saw as pretentious and over-inflated verbiage that is so often used to describe the photographic process. A tree has never "spoken" to me about how I should "capture its essence". As I said in that first article, I

Optimal Aperture

"try to find good light shining on an interesting scene and then start looking for the solution to the multifaceted puzzle which will eventually yield the best image". That is about as "artsy" as I can manage. The surprising thing is that, over more than five years, my primary goals have not substantially changed

The First 100Back in September 2012, I celebrated my 100th blog article and asked "Where Did They Come From". It is still a matter of considerable mystery and terror trying to come up with fresh topics on a weekly basis, but one of the great things about the blog is that it has forced me to investigate new areas of photography , if only to come up with fresh topics. Too often when I try to come off as an expert on a subject, I feel nervous that it may be glaringly apparent that I just discovered the information myself. As I said 100 blogs ago: "As I have worked to keep the posts interesting and constructive, I have discovered that I have learned more than I could ever teach in my short articles. My research often involves finding the actual basis for many of the photographic techniques that I have learned through painful trial and error." 

The Second Hundred
My second hundred blogs were not really much different from the first. I still focus on the Monadnock Region and Southern Vermont, but enthusiastically report on travels to other parts of New England and the world. And I continue to look at the process of photography from the perspective of how it has changed with digital technology and post-processing capabilities. It was on the occasion of my 100th posting that I recognized this focus and renamed my blog, "Getting It Right in the Digital Camera". At that same time I created an index of the articles organized with such topics as"Digital Basics", "Photographic Composition", "Tips and Tricks" as well as collections of articles about photography in and out of

Blog Index

New England. I also referenced articles I have published on other blogs including the New England Photography Guild and Nature Scapes. Of course my largest topic is "Getting It Right in the Digital Camera". It is my continuous attempt to show how digital cameras have changed what it means to get a picture "Right in the Camera", and I must apologize for my repeated tirades. 

Hungarian Parliament on the Danube

The Future
So what are my goals for the next 100 articles. First it is to continue to share my photographic perspective and experiences. As long as people seem interested I will continue to make the effort to keep the information flowing. I know that it is a immense conceit to think that people might be interested in my opinions and activities, but I have discovered that I enjoy the writing and would probably do it even if I was the only one reading. I can't predict where this will lead. It can't even predict what next week's article will be about. Surely there will be descriptions of locations highlighting the beauty of our region, while also trying to illustrate a few technical points of photography. Now that I am fully retired from my medical hobby, I hope to do more teaching. Some of my articles will be in preparation for talks about the basics of photography. And of course I may be forced to buy occasional new gear, solely as an excuse for a blog. 

Finally I want to thank all my readers. I am in awe of the talent and commitment of my followers, and I am aware of the honor of your attention. Photography is a never ending journey of discovery and adventure. At least I hope it is, or I may run out of things to talk about some day.

Jeffrey Newcomer
Partridgebrookreflections.com