Yesterday afternoon, having sat pretty much all day at the computer writing, I decided to go for a walk. When we had the dog we went for four walks a day in all weathers.
Now we just go for exercise or to take photos.
We went down 21st Street to 10th Avenue to Clement Moore Park. Clement Moore was the clergyman who wrote "T'was the Night Before Christmas". Some people dispute this, but I choose to think he did.
We went into the Park which Robert had never done before since he had always had the dog with him. I was looking for shadows for "Shadow Shot Sunday" - and, of course, the sun kept going in........and then coming out again.
Having a blog and participating in various blog events makes one look at things in a slightly different way, which is a bit like having an art project at school or doing exercises. You wouldn't necessarily have thought of it yourself, but it's good for you.
I have been thinking about blogging and why people do it. It's a bit like a glorified extension of a diary.
Bloggers love to record things.
Question: How many of you bloggers out there wrote diaries as young people?
The good thing about blogs - or the ones I read anyway - is you get the glimpses into other people's worlds but without the miserable soul searching that accompanied most of our adolescent outpourings.
Since blogs are public, we edit like mad which is probably a good thing.
Someone suggested that instead of reading magazines she now reads blogs.
I can quite understand why, because you can visit and see pictures from like minded people. It's like having a personalized magazine, and you can contact the authors and they often write back.
This scary door is right by the park.
I have added (see below) some of the cool collages Tracey of Hey Harriet made from various Shadow Shot Sundays.
These seem to exemplify for me what blogging should be all about. She is very technically gifted.
Anyway, she has combined efforts from people all over the world who are having fun doing the same thing.
Added together they seem even more fun than when seen individually.
Have a wonderful weekend.
I can honestly say I never noticed shadows until I saw photos, in my early days of blogging, on a blog called Shadows and Clouds. I didn't really have any interest in photography until I started a blog. I now read blogs instead of magazines. Blogging has opened up my world. Great post Elizabeth, it really has got me thinking. x
ReplyDeleteI started so many diaries when I was young. It was such a romantic notion. But I lacked in consistancy.
ReplyDeleteYes, blogging really is like having our own magazines, isn't it. Fun.
Love the scary door!
Love the photos. The scary door looks like one of the entrances to Mordor.
ReplyDeleteOne of the reasons I started by blog was to write the sort of magazine I liked to read, but had a hard time finding.
Yummy shadows, where would we be without them? in some bright, and glaring world without relief? In early adolescence my friends and I were highly influenced by "Harriet the Spy" and we had small notebooks and wrote everything down in them. I found one when I was cleaning out my parents apartment.......rather telling in retrospect.
ReplyDeleteLove the shadows in your pics!
ReplyDeleteYes, blogging does change your outlook on things. I seem to be always thinking of things in the light of posting about them-ha! And, yes, I was a diary keeper, too.
Wonderful post on blogging. Never been to Clement Moore Park before.
ReplyDeletePaz
Yes, I wrote in a diary. I find that blogging has helped me process my surgery, health issues...therapeutic and encouraging--a way to keep in touch.
ReplyDeleteI love your pictures and the collages of your friend. Neat! What kind of camera do you have? I want to get a new one before returning.
I love these photos. Very lovely and creative!Yes, I did have a diary and then a journal growing up, and thank God we edit :-).
ReplyDeleteMy first diary had an olive green leather cover and a tiny gold key. My parents gave it to me with my first Parker Fountain pen on the Christmas of my sixth birthday. And I still have them...
ReplyDeleteYes...to so many things in your post...especially the delete key. (Edit, edit, edit)
ReplyDeleteLike Willow, I started a diary, but lacked consistency.
I look at far more blogs than I do magazines...in part, I think, because there are fewer ads!
What an interesting post. I never wrote a diary as a youngster but I wrote a lot of god-awful bleak poetry! I was always running around capturing & recording things on a little super 8 film camera that my dad owned (which I own now & still use from time to time). I much prefer to read blogs than magazines. It may be that I feel more of a connection to a blog writer/editor than a mag writer/editor. Could also be that I'm too much of a cheapskate to purchase magazines ;)
ReplyDeleteAs for me being 'very technically gifted' ...haha! That's very sweet of you to think that but I can assure you that I'm not. I have great difficulty with the the most simple of techie-type tasks. You've no idea! But thank you for the kind words. xo
I LOVE the first shot of the shadowy bench, it is cold, mysterious, yet full of organic color with the grays, the mossy and the rust. To me it typifies New York, stealy, old structures letting time take their will, yet inviting man to sit and observe.
ReplyDeletesharon
Great post, Elizabeth! You say blogging is "like having a personalized magazine, and you can contact the authors and they often write back" I believe that's why I like blogging so much! You're very observant!
ReplyDeleteI have a box full of journals from when I was younger-- with their fair share of angst, for sure!
ReplyDeleteThe amount I learn from other bloggers is astounding, especially since I mostly follow those in my field-- writers, artists, illustrators. It's nice to have a sense of connection when you work on your own.
Good question, Elizabeth!
Great insights into blogging Elizabeth.
ReplyDeleteI never kept a diary since you wondered.
It is better than magazines for reasons that you have stated and more. I find that since I started blogging, it takes me forever to read the magazines that I once waited for. I often dont even read them anymore.
It has been a busy summer and I am just catching up on your blog. Pardon my absence.