Blogging Blues.

Folks, I’m getting close to the end of this here blog project! I have a bad case of the blogging blues. A few weeks ago I started the From the Vault Series as a way of putting place keeper posts in play to help buy me some time. You may have noticed my struggle.

I had a post prepared for today. About living in lockdown and emptying my freezer. It was well enough written but it was still crap. A self-indulgent bit of fluff from a privileged white person who had enough food in their freezer to last 6 weeks.

Woop-di-do!

Not that it’s my intention for this blog to be an esoteric deep thinking tome. Rather, as it says on my About page, a fairly lighthearted collection of observational jottings through the eyes of a 60-year-old.

This place was not meant to be all about me per se but rather about what I see happening in the world. While not a diary or a substitute journal it will, of course, reflect what I’m doing, thinking and feeling.

It’s come to the point where I am resenting the time it takes me to get posts prepared and published. Not that it’s a big chunk of time to do the physical part but rather the mental energy of thinking of something to write. That’s the tough bit. To be truthful the resentment comes from the lack of feedback. I’ve been slogging away at this for 4 years and have around 500 followers. (THANK YOU!!) I have written at least one post every week for that entire time. (363 posts including this one) I rarely get comments and usually no more than 30 views. As far as I know, it’s coming into your inbox and going straight into your trash folder.

This image is here because the Yoast SEO told me I needed am image! But I guess i could say it represents my journey into the future! Main Range loop Track

Last weekly post

To alleviate these blogging blues, this will be my last weekly post. I am going to revert to fortnightly or monthly posts that will concentrate on my move to intentional living and joining my family in Armidale.

In the meantime, help me out folks! Who am I speaking to? Who are you? What do you want to hear?

(sound of crickets!)

Anybody? Apart from my Editors! Thanks, Mum!! And don’t reply if it’s your aim to sell me something! If you’d actually read any of my posts, you’d know I’m not into that kind of stuff. I’d like to hear from genuine sincere people. Let me know the types of posts you enjoy from my back catalogue and comment below.

Be selfish and make it your random act of kindness for the day. Just don’t say travel, because I can’t leave home – did I tell you I’m in lockdown?

PS: I have decided to publish the aforementioned post anyway. In my tradition of reducing waste, it would be hypocritical of me not to use the embodied energy that the post contains. 🙂

From the Vault – memories of past posts

I am returning to a From the Vault post. I have been writing this blog since July 2017, and this week I’m looking back at the posts I wrote in July in those 4 years, al la Facebook Memories.

I’ve been Facebooking since 2009. Like many of us, I spend way too much time scrolling through other people’s stories. I really like being able to keep in contact with my diaspora of friends who are scattered near and far. In these COVID times, it’s often the only way I stay in touch with some people.

I hate the posts from random companies that pop in my feed. The sponsored ones. The people who I don’t know. The ones that crowd out the ones I do know. I hate the ads. I particularly hate the ads that show up three milliseconds after you’ve searched for something online. Look at bullet journals, next thing you’ve got ads for bullet journal courses, bullet journals themselves, pens etc etc etc. I could solve this problem by switching to a private browser and for the most part, I do. But sometimes it’s just easier to have auto-fill do the work.

My Road Trip to Broken Hill in July 2017

Facebook Memories

You’ll notice I didn’t include zero social media in my Year of Zero challenge! I knew I wouldn’t be able to do it! I’d be happy to start with just one day without Facebook. My good intentions are usually thwarted because I manage the social media for my school, and while I‘m there on the school’s page I just have to peek at what’s going on on my own page!

What I really enjoy about Facebook is the memories feed. While I don’t believe that Facebook actually cares about my memories, I do! When you think of it Facebook is a journal, even if it only includes the glossy bits.

This time last year…and the year before…

This week I have been enjoying Facebook memories from my trips to Scotland and Canada. There are snippets of my first attempts at serious photography and sharing good times with good friends.

In the spirit of Facebook, here are my memories from my blog for the past four years.

2020 – Ecohacks – Episode 4 – Meal Planning.

2019 – My Scottish Road Trip Comes to an End.

2018 – Canada – just like Australia but with Mountains and Bears!

2017 – Looking for Breakfast at Sydney Airport.

5 highland cows with scenic background — From July 2019 – Isle of Mull

Light Painting

From the vault

This week’s From the Vault Installment is about light painting. Light painting is a photographic technique used to create images in the dark using a torch or other bright light source. I went to a workshop with Peter Solness of Illuminated Landscapes a few years ago and played around with some of these methods. It’s something I’d like to do more of. It even made it to my 60 for 60 list!

My trusty Panasonic FZ1000 is able to handle the technical requirements of light painting. Namely being able to keep your shutter open for 30 seconds or more. If you decide to give it a go make sure you’re able to use your camera in a manual focus mode. You’ll waste a lot of time relying on the auto-focus to try and find something to focus on in the dark. You will of course need a tripod!

About the images

Old Shack: This shot was taken on an Instameet in Bright, Victoria. While you can’t see it there is a man walking around with a torch, “painting” the shack.

Protea: The protea was attached to a light stand using a peg. It was up against a white wall. I used a small LED torch to paint it. You can put bits of coloured cellophane over the torch to make different colours.

The Fish: This image used a pixel stick. Pixel sticks use LED lights to create an image which is uploaded to it as a JPEG. A bit of digital magic!

Coloured spirals: This was a group effort. Three people with a bunch of torches tied together on stings. Swing them around and walk forward in a line one behind the other. Different lengths of string led to different spiral sizes. It never ceases to amaze me that you can’t see the person swinging the string! If they keep moving the sensor does not have enough time to capture them. You need to wear dark clothes as well.

Next level!

If you really want to get into light painting and have money to spare, check out Denis Smith’s Ball of Light Site. Peter Solness also runs his workshops on a semi-regular basis. Covid may have put a stop to that though!