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Greetings,
Here it is the Winter Solstice and I'm finally publishing my December newsletter. No real excuse except than there's not much news other than the kind that keeps us cringing and hiding under the covers.
But I do have an update on a pair of workshops that Cliff Zenor and I have been planning, along with a heartwarming story of companionship. Or something...
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Bosque and White Sands
Cliff Zenor and I will be leading a pair of workshops next December to Bosque del Apache NWR and White Sands National Park. The two places couldn’t be more different. One is a bird photography destination while the other is a prime location for abstract landscapes.
I still need to iron out a few details, (mostly due to slow replies by hotels...) but both trips are open for registration.
You can find more information and sign up for either or both trips (there’s a discount for signing up for both) on my workshops website.
photos courtesy of Cliff Zenor
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Creating your own web site
How many of you have your own websites? These days, when somebody you meet finds out you’re a photographer, the next question is “where can I see your work?” So it’s handy to have a website to send them to. What a great winter project, huh?
There are lots of options for creating your own website ranging from free or subscription sites with layouts you can choose from, to a site built from scratch by a web designer.
With the free and subscription sites, you don’t need to purchase hosting and often a domain name will be included. These can be pretty easy to set up but you’re often limited if you want to make any design tweaks or add functionality. And the free sites usually display ads.
Another option is WordPress. WordPress itself is free. You’ll need to purchase hosting and install WordPress on your site. Hosting can be pretty inexpensive, $3-4 / month, especially if you pay on a yearly basis or even for multiple years. Then you'll need to choose and install a theme along with a gallery plugin. Many of these are free but the best will be paid-for themes or plug-ins.
To me, the best option between ease of use and control of your own website is Backlight by The Turning Gate. Backlight, like WordPress, is installed on the server. Like anything else computer or photography related, there is a learning curve, but the developers have provided some pre-made starter templates so you can get great looking website up and running in a very short time. And you don’t have to pay a web designer to do it!
Using Backlight, I can create a new site and populate it with a few image albums in just a few minutes, but then again I’ve been using it for years. For a new user, I’d say you could use the default templates or one of the other provided templates and be up and running within an hour.
And if you do need help, there’s an active support community, of which I am one of the moderators.
Plus, I'm always happy to directly answer quick questions via email.
I have no financial affiliation with The Turning Gate. I’m a beta tester and forum moderator and for that I receive all the software free. Other than that, I have no financial interest or motivation for promoting Backlight, I truly believe it’s a great option for photographers wanting to build and control their own website.
If you do purchase Backlight and you want to dive in further beyond the defaults, I also have a web site devoted to using and customizing a TTG Backlight site, You can find that here.
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A touching holiday story about a man and his spider
I’m not a big fan of spiders, especially spiders that think my living space should be their living space too. No. Not going to happen.
Outdoor spiders, while they can still trigger a primal GAAHAHAHEWWW!!! in me, I can tolerate.
Recently, one of those outdoor spiders, a common garden spider, took up residence on the outside wall of my office just a couple feet to the left of the door.
After a week or so we decided to name her Prunella (Pruny for short). I’m assuming she was female, I don’t really know and really didn’t want to get close enough to ask.
My office has board and batten siding, and it was between a pair of battens that Prunella built a web and set up house. She’d catch a few small flying things and then retreat to the edge of the left batten and hunker down for a few days waiting out the cold weather until it was time rebuild/repair her web and catch dinner again.
This cycle went on for a few weeks and I started greeting Pruny every morning and saying goodnight to her at the end of the day.
One day she moved to the next board over, the one directly next to my door and under the porch light, perhaps to build her web closer to the light and catch more food.
During all this time a few other spiders came and went, but Pruny stuck around. And as time went on, fewer and fewer flying insects were about and one day Prunella was just gone. A day or two later I saw her (or a spider just like her) under the cover of the porch light. But that was the last time. We’ve had a few cold nights but no real hard freezing yet so she may still be out there. Perhaps one of those other spiders was her mate (and last meal) and she’s retreated somewhere a little more sheltered to lay her eggs.
I'd grown used to her and now I kind of miss her. So maybe, just maybe, I’m not the arachnophobe I thought I was?
Who am I kidding? Just ask my wife about the sound I made a few weeks back when a huge house spider scurried across the bathroom floor as I was getting ready for bed. That was epic. And there will be no disclaimer about spiders not being harmed in the production of this story.
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Happy Holidays
And with that touching yarn, I will end the final newsletter of the year with hopes of a happy holiday for everyone and my fervent wishes that 2021 will be much, much better than whatever that was we just went through with 2020.
Happiness and good health to you all.
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