It’s been a week since we transitioned from 2009 to 2010, and in many ways, I’ve felt that the new year needed to be a time where changes were made, life-affirming habits were formed, and self-imposed limitations were relinquished.  And, perhaps inevitably, this needs to be extended to my blog.

I feel that, somewhere [...]]]>

It’s been a week since we transitioned from 2009 to 2010, and in many ways, I’ve felt that the new year needed to be a time where changes were made, life-affirming habits were formed, and self-imposed limitations were relinquished.  And, perhaps inevitably, this needs to be extended to my blog.

I feel that, somewhere over 2009, I lost my way, and that this has been extremely evident on my blog with its sporadic posts, its unfinished projects, its lack of direction.  For a while now, I’ve been posting on Posterous, and this week I’ve started sharing a photograph a day on Blipfoto, and I’ve been very happy doing both of those things.  For me they felt like a release – they felt liberating.  And it struck me that I should feel this way about Less Ordinary… but I don’t.  And I haven’t for a while.

I have considered that maybe it was time for Less Ordinary to finish up.  Maybe I had really said all I needed to say, and now I needed to say goodbye to my blog altogether.  I have also considered that maybe Less Ordinary just needed to become a life-stream site: a place where all the feeds of my various other online activities could be aggregated.  However, I’ve decided on something different…

I’ve decided I need to get back to what this blog was original set up to be – a personal blog.  It needs to be true to me and what I’m about and what I feel I need to say.  It needs to be about me stepping forward and standing behind my beliefs, my dreams and my aspirations.  I’ve been apologetic and sheepish about my lack of engagement with Less Ordinary for far too long – I need to reclaim it again as my own, in order to find any sense of flow here.

So what can you expect?  To be honest, I don’t really know myself yet.  I would imagine that I’ll continue to share my photography, my words, my stories.  I would imagine that I would work out what I think about certain things that I encounter on my journey through life.  I would imagine that I would share experiences, plans, thoughts and opinions.  And if this sounds familiar, its probably because that’s what this blog was about in the first place.

Back in August 2009, I asked for feedback on the blog and suggestions for changes that could be made – at this point I was still looking outside myself for the answers.  And what struck me about the majority of the answers were that I needed to take the blog in whichever direction I wanted to.  At the time, when I felt so directionless in my life, I couldn’t fathom how to take it in any direction – it’s been just as caught within that moment of indecisiveness as the rest of my life has!

It’s only really now that I see what all my beautiful readers already saw – that Less Ordinary needs that personalised focus, and it needs me to be willing to take the lead, otherwise our dance descends into an embarrassing episode of trodden toes, stumbles and missed beats, and we’re asked to vacate the floor – lol!

So – renewal by flame.  When a fire sweeps through clearing away all that was obstructing new growth, the result is an irrepressible fertile burst of new life.  And that’s what I want for Less Ordinary.  I want this post to be the cleansing flame that permits the fresh start – that let’s me hit the reset button.  I want to go back to the roots and rediscover why I fell in love with blogging in the first place.

I’ve started by redesigning the blog, so if you’ve been reading this in your feed-reader, you may want to click through and have a look at the revamped Less Ordinary.  I’ve changed the theme, the headers, and I’ve adjusted the sidebars accordingly; however, the sidebars will be reconfigured in a much larger way shortly – I still have plans of integrating my other online activities into Less Ordinary.

I realise this might all come across as being rather self-involved, but I don’t really feel the need to justify that – I need to do this, so I have.  I do want to say a big thank you though, to all my readers over the years who have not only encouraged me and supported me, but have also provided limitless inspiration.

Thank you & big kisses to you all!

I know, I know, it’s been far too long since I last posted on Less Ordinary.  Life seems to have a habit of becoming extremely hectic and I struggle to make time for my much neglected blog.

I really wanted to share some of the things I’ve been getting up to though, as it’s [...]]]>

I know, I know, it’s been far too long since I last posted on Less Ordinary.  Life seems to have a habit of becoming extremely hectic and I struggle to make time for my much neglected blog.

I really wanted to share some of the things I’ve been getting up to though, as it’s all quite exciting!  Hmmm… now where to start?  Think this may require some bulletin points!

• I’ve been asked to convene a course on Digital Media at the University of Stirling.  It’s an interdisciplinary course run with Film & Media Studies and Maths & Computer Science, and I’ll be giving 3 lectures, leading a few tutorials and helping out with some computer labs.  Will probably write more about this on the other blog giving details of my lecture topics etc.

• I’m involved in a joint project with the lovely Lea Woodward & Sharon Hurley-Hall which just launched a couple of weeks ago called Location Independent Parents.  It’s a blog aimed at helping families live a location independent lifestyle, and I’m writing the articles on home education.  The response to it has been phenomenal – really exciting.  My latest post there was on home-education and whether you’re qualified to teach your children – please do check it out!

• I’ve started to give archetype readings which follows up a lot of the spiritual work that I’ve been doing recently.  I’m intensely fascinated by the Greek gods and goddesses and my work is informed by their narratives and myths.  I’m probably just as surprised as anyone about this development, but I’m absolutely loving doing this work, and the readings really seem to resonate with people.  If you’re interested, you can read more about them on my business site.

• Oh yes, my business site!  Another new development!  For many years now, my husband and I have had a business partnership called PASS, through which we conducted our tutoring service.  When I started the social media side of the business our name no longer suited our services.  So, we’re now Pomegranate Services!  Pomegranates are the fruit of knowledge, and as we provide a variety of knowledge-based services from education to consultancy, we thought it worked as a good metaphor for our business

OK, saved 2 of the biggest pieces of news for last!

• Firstly, I am going to be co-hosting a series of 4 women’s spirituality workshops in France throughout 2010.  I’m doing this in conjunction with Jackie Walker, Vena Ramphal and Gill Taylor and it’s going to be completely revelatory!  I’ll be doing another post on this soon, as there’s just too much to say about it here.  If you’re interested in finding out more though, please drop me an email at amypalko at madasafish dot com to make sure you’re added to our mailing list!

• Secondly, I am launching a joint project with my dad, Bob Leckridge, who blogs over at Heroes Not Zombies.  This is going to be really quite major, and I really hope you’ll join me on the new site once it’s launched.  We’re going to have monthly themes, and dad has already put together a truly stunning calender to accompany the project.  Please do buy yourself a copy, and join in with all the great things we’re planning throughout the year!  Both dad and I have worked on this already for a number of months and we’ll be blogging both on Less Ordinary & Heroes Not Zombies about some of the core concepts of the new project.  Can’t wait to share them with you, cos I know you’re just going to love them!

Apart from that, you can find me in a few different places on the internet, as I’ve been interviewed about Full Moon DreamBoards for Jamie Ridler’s blog, written a post for The Calm Space and started a Posterous blog, which is kind of like a scrapbook blog.

Phew – Didn’t realise there were so many great things going on till I wrote them all down!  But how exciting, hey?  You know after I finished my phd I really felt lost for a long time; I felt as though there was nothing to fill the void that the completion of the thesis had left.  What this year has taught me is that there are so many opportunities out there – you just have to make sure you’re open to accepting them when they come your way!

OK – I promise not to leave it so long till next time.  I’ll be blogging soon to fill you all in on the women’s weekends, the archetype readings and on the big new project with Dad.  Until then, why not tell us all what opportunities have come your way?  What are you setting up for 2010?

A couple of days ago, I threw open the door and invited your thoughts on where I should go with my blog, and the response was extremely generous.  The support I received for what I have built here at Less Ordinary really blew me away, particularly as I haven’t been a very attentive [...]]]>

A couple of days ago, I threw open the door and invited your thoughts on where I should go with my blog, and the response was extremely generous.  The support I received for what I have built here at Less Ordinary really blew me away, particularly as I haven’t been a very attentive blogger of late.

Interestingly there was a real consensus throughout all the comments, tweets and emails I received.  In particular there were quite a few comments than pick up on my practice of sharing my love of the ordinary details of the everyday to show their inherent extraordinariness:

I can’t imagine an Amy blog called Less Ordinary without your lovely photos. Always zeroing in on something quite fantastic, or marvelous, something that’s crossed your path, or something you’ve gone seeking. And the “just so” words you choose to go with them. Being aware and mindful of your world, your life at that moment. I can think of nothing more delightful. And isn’t that enough ~ Jan Cartier

Amy, some of the things that attracted me most here were the photos of those often overlooked, yet profoundly simple things you see around you. Whether during one of your walks around town, the countryside, or whatever, your thoughts, along with the truly wonderful images, never fails to cheer me up. (I’m also one who likes to find those things most folks might simply walk right by, so I understand the point of view.) ~ Robert Hruzek

As a photographer myself I love your use imagery to challenge viewers to think and see more deeply. As a blogger and writer I love reading insightful well written work that takes me to depths I hadn’t explored and opens my mind to yet more intriguing surprises. ~ Bill Weaver

Karen Wallace quite rightly struck upon one of the reasons why I’ve begun questioning the direction my blog has taken:

We all love your photos, your writing – and I have a feeling you’ve found a bit of the spark in the writing you’ve been doing for us at The Calm Space, Nature Space is so inspirational and beautiful… ~ Karen Wallace

I have so enjoyed the writing that I’ve produced for The Calm Space, and I think one of the reasons for that has been the freedom that comes from writing on someone else’s blog!  However, I also think that another reason has been writing with the guidance of themes.  Interestingly, Lea Woodward suggested in an email that I think about adding monthly themes to Less Ordinary, and it’s an idea I’m definitely toying with.

Another suggestion that I really liked came from Joanna Young who, in a tweet, planted the idea that I think of my blog as my playground.  This taps directly into the way that I originally perceived the blog – a place to share whatever my creativity happened to produce with no limitations or expectations.  Somehow, along the way, I’ve lost that & I look forward to finding it again!

Jonathan Woodward also sent me an email commenting on the design of the blog, which I feel needs a bit of a birthday makeover.  His suggestion was to choose seasonal headers and adjust the colour scheme accordingly.  Fortunately, the blog’s theme, Mandigo, has several colour options, so this is definitely something that I’m technically capable of doing!  Also I think it would tap into my love for the new & would refresh my approach to the blog – it’s amazing how much an alteration of the visual opens up my imagination and my motivation to create.

Lastly, Christine Kane left a wonderfully empowering comment about tapping into “what it is in YOU that needs to be born here” and taking the lead:

People love to be led. Especially audiences. I always advise upcoming songwriters not to ask things from the stage like, “Do you want a slow song? Or a fast song?” cuz that puts the audience into a leadership role. Most of them just want you to lead them! So, as for your blog — I would love ANY direction you went in, as long as it’s a clear voice coming from your oh-so beautiful self, Amy. ~ Christine Kane

All of the other ideas, suggestions, opinions seems to support this with messages such as the following filling me with enthusiasm and excitement for the future of Less Ordinary:

Keep writing, snapping photos and sharing your thoughts! ~ Ada Lovelace

I’ll love your blog whatever you do and wherever you go with it… ~ Joanna Young

I do hope that you continue to share your view of the world around you, through your colourful photos and favourite poems. But whatever you choose, I hope that it’s fun for you! ~ Jasmin

Wherever you go with it, you’ll take us all into a good place with you ~ Julie Gibbons

Continue… Doing what you do, Being who you Are, Sharing your Joy, Following your Heart – and the Way will surely appear. ~ Kathleen

I hope you continue blogging, in whatever form appeals to you… ~ Naveen Bachwani

Share it with us how ever the inspiration leads you. We will follow. ~ Wendi-Kelly

Be yourself as usual. ~ Roland Hesz

Special thanks also go to Alex Fayle for his comment, which has sparked off an exciting idea that I hope to put into action soon – more details soon!

Given that so many blogs out there are all words words words, the posts I like most of yours are the ones with photos with only a few lines that ask us to somehow see the world in a different way.  That to me is Less Ordinary and a whole lot More Interesting! ~ Alex Fayle

One of the things that I’ve learned from this process is that I need to have a little more faith in myself and in the kind of content I share here on the blog.  An extremely valuable lesson that I’ll be taking forward as Less Ordinary enters its 3rd year.

A huge thanks go out to everyone who took the time to address my blogging issues laid out in that post and for responding so graciously and enthusiastically.  A great way to start off this blogiversary month!
Amy
xx

The world is waking up, rubbing the sleep from its eyes, brushing its teeth - performing those all too familiar morning ablutions.

And yet…

And yet…

Something’s changed.

Today I see the world with new eyes, and the walk to the bus stop feels pregnant with possibility. My skin tingles from the [...]]]>

The world is waking up, rubbing the sleep from its eyes, brushing its teeth -
performing those all too familiar morning ablutions.

And yet…

And yet…

Something’s changed.

Today I see the world with new eyes,
and the walk to the bus stop feels pregnant with possibility.
My skin tingles from the cold freshness of this day.
My eyes are dazzled by the strengthening sunbeams.
My hair moves frenetically, frantically in the brisk blustering breeze.

And for the first time in weeks, I feel alive.

Suddenly I see…

freshyellow flashes of daffodils.
an elongated V of a mallard duck’s wake.
the swooping flight of a heron disturbed from its watchful keep.

Suddenly I hear…

soft shirring sounds as the wind waltzes through grass turned to straw.
the sweet chirp of nesting chaffinches.
gentle splashes as the swans sluice their feathers.

Suddenly I feel…

early morning sun, low in the sky, warming my face.
the scarred glass of the bus shelter as my fingertips trace the excoriated surface.
the ground, solid and sure beneath my feet.

Suddenly I see, I hear, I feel life…

And it’s wonderful.

I set a photo challenge a couple of weeks ago for the members of my Flickr group Photography Less Ordinary, which was to submit a photo that captured the changing seasons as found in their corner of the world.  Here are the results, which I think you’ll agree, are really quite stunning:

Ulla Hennig (Germany) took this photo of the house opposite her apartment.

Joanna Young (Scotland) took this photo while on a recent trip to Benmore Botanical Gardens.

Hilary Leckridge (France) took this photo of the red vines of Provence.

David Masters (England) took this photo while on a training day in Oxfordshire.

Bo Mackison (US) took this photo on an early morning walk in the Midwest.

Brad Shorr (US) took this photo while on a trip through the country west of Chicago, Illinois.

Eva (Ottawa, Canada) posted this photo of a hydragea which had pink flowers only the day before.

Jamie Grove (US) took this photo while out walking with his youngest son.

Jasmine (Australia) took this photo in her Melbourne Garden, and is the only shot contributed of spring!

Heather (England) took this photo near her home in Bristol.

I think you’ll all agree that all of the submissions are just beautiful, and that they give a wonderful insight into how the seasons are changing in the home countries of some of our readers Less Ordinary.  Thank you to all of you who contributed to the challenge.  I am so impressed with the quality of photography in this challenge, and it just goes to show what a talented bunch the members of Photography Less Ordinary are!  Well done

P.S. If you want to join Photography Less Ordinary, add me as a Flickr contact and I’ll send you an invite.  Photographers of all levels – from those that have just purchased their first point & click to those who can get their head around the workings of a DSLR, from enthusiastic amateurs to seasoned professionals -  all are very welcome.  It’s a group designed to nurture confidence in photography, so if you’re shy about photo-sharing this could be right up your street!

What they also have is a woodland walk, which you can follow around pathways, through gateways and over bridges. [...]]]> On the way home from our trip to Inchcailloch the other week there, we made a wonderful discovery: a beautiful red sandstone converted stables housing a lovely cafe, shop and workshop/meditation space called Tir Na Nog.

What they also have is a woodland walk, which you can follow around pathways, through gateways and over bridges. Here are some photos that I took while I was there:

Tir Na Nog means Land of Eternal Youth, and wandering through the woodlands it felt like a truly special place: the light that filtered through the newly unfurled ferns, the thick trunked rhodedendrons in full bloom that towered overhead, the narrow winding paths through the pungent wild garlic, and the bluebells that danced and nodded in the breeze.

Why don’t you share your recent discoveries of a place that felt special to you? Did you rediscover a garden? Were you walking along the beach just as the light changed and bathed the scene in glorious half-light? Or did you happen upon a place you never knew existed?

PS you can see more of my pictures taken at Tir Na Nog in this special Flickr set.

Red Bottle Brush by Rosa Say “I stepped outside to [...]]]> Last Friday, I set a challenge: take a time-specific photograph and contribute it to the new Photography Less Ordinary Flickr group. Not including myself, 12 members of the group decided to take up the challenge. Here they all are along with the photographers’ descriptions.

Red Bottle Brush by Rosa Say

“I stepped outside to take a few snapshots during a morning writing break, and then decided on this one for my timecapsule entry for Photography Less Ordinary, a challenge wherein our Mea Ho‘okipa Amy Palko asked us to help celebrate the group’s launch and all our fabulous members’ efforts
to date! 75 members in less than a month is quite impressive, don’t you think? I am quite sure it is the Aloha shared, a spirited energy which this blossom reminds me of, with the individual florets adding to the magnificence of the whole ”

Sproutlings by codyrockx

“I chose this one for the timecapsule project, cause it’s going to be a freakin’ long time for those things to get to full growth. Likewise it’s going to take even longer to heal the scars we’ve left on the Earth.”

Sunset at Half Moon Bay State Beach by TheMuseCalliope

“After dinner tonight (1 June 2008), we hurried to Half Moon Bay State Beach to photograph the sunset. We arrived just in time and stayed until the sun was completely down. Maybe it’s just me, but I love to watch the sun boiling into the sea. I am adding this photo to the timecapsule at “Photography Less Ordinary” as it is a time-specific event (sunset) and because I have been photographing sunsets since I first got a camera. It seems fitting somehow.”

Train on the Move by wonderwebby

“a moment in time…I missed the train, but not too late to take a photo
It’s that split second when you decide whether to get irritated, or make the most of a moment – matters ”

110 Years by ¿Nick?

“Close-up of the badge on a Heidelberg lithographic printing press. Taken with a Polaroid SX-70 Sonar from unsaleable.com. Scanned and reproduced loyally with no post-production.
Submitted under the timecapsule meme in the Photography Less Ordinary group in honour of the concept of a time capsule: a reminder that the great ideas and hard work we give freely today can still make ripples and change lives over one hundred years later. (Added bonus: we’re all a lot younger than we feel!)”

Behind the Chestnutblossom by kleine gelbe Ente

“I submit this to the “Photography Less Ordinary” timecapsule. Nothing captures time and the flow of time as well as those spring blooms on the trees. Already small fruit are forming. I went back to this place last week (http://www.flickr.com/photos/kleinegelbeente/2551173639/) this is what the flowers look like now. I will go back later this month as well to see how the fruit develop. I hope it will give a nice series at the end of summer/fall.”

The Moment of the Setting Sun by bobsee

“Sunset, May 31st………the END of May 2008
This is the moment, the present moment, that time we call sunset, and as the sun sinks behind the mountains, it throws up a final farewell flare. I’ve never seen it do that before. Not behind these particular hills. The unexpected, the unpredicted, how it jumps up and grabs our attention, demands we pull ourselves right out of the dreams and worries about the future, right out of the memories and reveries of the past, and just for this brief moment, we are reminded that the present is sliding past our eyes, so maybe, just maybe, it would be good to open them.”

Port of Leith by Joanna Young

“I’ve chosen this picture as my contribution to the Photography Less Ordinary Time Capsule
I like the picture – I can even imagine it up on my wall with a frame (and as Rosa says it’s even better in large size).
It’s marked in time because:
It was taken on the last Saturday in May
It was the start of the Leith Festival, so the bars and cafes at the port were heaving with people
It was a gloriously sunny day, probably the best we’ve had so far this year
It was the end of an 8 mile walk: I walked from my house (SW Edinburgh) to Leith (NE) along the canal and then the Water of Leith: by water and green spaces all the way.
I always remember the days, times, and moments of walks: the thoughts, feelings, ideas, pieces of writing that start to form in my head at particular points in a walk. Taking photos adds to that: fixes them, lodges them somehow
Leith is a place that holds mixed emotions for me: I worked in Leith at the Scottish civil service for 9 years more or less, with some very good times and some very not so good times. Getting ready to leave Edinburgh for the west coast requires looking back on some of them and revisiting old haunts, and saying some goodbyes. This picture represents some of that (for me)
Last but not least: doesn’t the city look stunning? I’d like something to go into this time capsule that showed other people what a wonderful place Scotland is, and that the sun does shine… sometimes! And when it does, there’s nowhere to beat it.
Thanks for the invitation Amy, and I hope you can find room for this in the time capsule.”

A Different View by sunbeam_daisy

“I took this yesterday and have chosen it as my image for the time capsule because it represents Spring and because it’s taken from a different perspective. The Photography Less Ordinary group have inspired me to look at things differently … so this is to you all, with huge thanks!”

Graduating by ballerinagirl

“In a little over a week, I will be graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics. It’s been a long, difficult journey, with both great events (meeting Son) and some not so great ones (my car accident, Patrick’s cancer, my dad’s cancer). I’m so excited to be done… now it’s time for the rest of my life to begin!
I took this picture for Photography Less Ordinary’s time capsule project. It was taken today, June 4th, after I picked up my cap and gown!”

Autumn by a memory forever

“Autumn is my favourite season of the year. I love the amazing colours, how the leave crackle under your feet and how the colours glisten after a rain.
31st May 2008″

A Happy Start to the Day by my whimsy

“Morning treat. June 4, 2008.
For Photography Less Ordinary time capsule.”

And, finally, here’s my own contribution:

All by Myself by amypalko

“This is my contribution to the time capsule.
It was taken on Sunday morning, when my youngest learned to ride his two-wheeler bike without stabilisers. We started out slowly and painfully (24 bruises altogether!) but he is one determined wee soul, and ultimately he succeeded. To say that his mummy is proud of him is to vastly understate the obvious!
This photograph captures such a lovely moment and one which, I suspect, signals his transition to a stage of greater freedom and independence. He knows his mummy will always be there to clean up his grazes and scrapes as he travels along the bumpy path to adulthood, and with that knowledge, he moves forward determinedly and confidently.”

Well, that’s the first Photography Less Ordinary challenge over, and didn’t everyone excel themselves? A truly outstanding collection of photographs. Well done everyone!!

Update: I have received a couple more contributions to the time capsule. Enjoy!

South Station – New Info Signs by shersteve

“Coincidence?
The new signs fond previously were over the intervening days in various stages of installation until finally last Thursday they were actually running test patterns. I was running for the train and was without my camera last week.
Yesterday there were tests being conducted. It sounds like the announcements will be automated and timed to deliver the text on the sign as the trains are called.
Today, I catch up to Amy Palko’s request for a time capsule picture, low and behold the signs were operational. My camera was ready this time.
Coincidence? No, destiny.”
Description taken from Steve’s 2 Cents

Garden Iris, A History Exposed by bo mackison

“An iris from stock that my grandfather grew when I was a young child, 50 years ago. It is a deep golden yellow and it’s mahogany markings are stunning. This is deep in the iris, at it’s very core. It grows only a few steps from the front door of my home, 300 miles from my hometown. I feel as if I have carried a bit of my heritage with me when I see the iris in bloom
This is a fitting entry for a time capsule, as it represents the origins of my love of gardening and nature – my grandfather and I spent hours together each day, out in the gardens. There I learned to tell the difference between a flower and a weed, to plant a seed and transplant a plant, and to reap the rewards of gardens – beautiful flowers, luscious vegetables, and a deep satisfaction with the beauty and gifts of nature..”

This week I’m trying something a little different. Inspired by this fabulous quote carved into a flagstone outside Edinburgh’s Writer’s Museum, just off the Royal Mile, I’ve decided to post a photography series:

Now this is [...]]]>

This week I’m trying something a little different. Inspired by this fabulous quote carved into a flagstone outside Edinburgh’s Writer’s Museum, just off the Royal Mile, I’ve decided to post a photography series:

1. Why I Started To Take Photos
2. Why I Continue To Take Photos
3. Why I Think You Should Take Photos
4. Some Practical Tips
5. Photography Announcement

Now this is not a series designed to intimidate or self-promote, rather it is a series to inspire, to support and to nurture. At the end of the week, I’ll be making a special announcement, so make sure you watch out for it. If you haven’t already subscribed, you might want to do so now!

Anyway, without further ado, here’s the 1st of 5 posts in my Fire of Images photography series:

Why I Started Taking Photos

If you were to count the number of photographs that I have included in the posts here at Lives Less Ordinary, you would discover that there are close to 1000 of my own. I am actually astonished at just how many images I have captured and shared here, as it was never my intention for this blog to become known for my photography!

When I began Less Ordinary, I knew I wanted to create a space where I would enjoy spending time, and so I knew that I would need to integrate images that I personally found aesthetically pleasing. I began investigating using Flickr images, but quickly became confused by the copyright licenses. It soon became clear to me that using photos I had taken myself would be a much easier route.

And so I began carrying my camera with me whenever I went, and kick-started my love affair with photography. That was back in August 2007 – just 8 short months ago.

I’ve told you this story because I want you to know where I’m coming from on this. I’m not an expert – I’m an enthusiast. I’ve not attended photography classes and I don’t own a DSLR camera. This series is for people who are at the stage I was at last August: people who enjoy taking photos, and would like to share them, but who don’t feel that their captured images are worthy of gracing a blog post or being included in a Flickr photostream.

I do hope you’ll join me for the rest of the series. However, if you’re still not convinced that taking photographs is an activity worthy of your time and attention, hopefully tomorrow’s post will convince you otherwise, when I share why I continue to take photos.

Do you enjoy taking photos? How and why did you start taking them? Also please share any thoughts that come to you throughout the series about your personal experience of photography – they are all welcome here!