Hello there! It's been FAR too long hasn't it? I thought a good way to catch up would be to take you through some of my recent Instagram photos. (Totally a lazy blog post. Sorry...!)
Party Time! Firstly, yes that's a colouring book. An adult colouring-in book. Yep. I've just turned 24 and I'm regressing back to childhood. I took this photo as I was 'celebrating' my blog hitting a great milestone with a glass of perry, a Bakewell Tart and some stationery. Because I know how to party!
Flowers. My parents very kindly bought me a selection of pretty roses to try and cheer me up after all that trouble with my neighbour. Flowers always brighten everything up, don't they?
Face for Radio. I've been volunteering at a local community radio station called Erewash Sound FM since June now. They're currently training me up to be a producer, which is very exciting! I took this photo when I was learning the ropes, and being taught stuff like how to top and tail songs, so that the presenters know exactly when to talk over songs without crashing into the singing.
Graham. On most trips to Belper River Gardens I end up meeting this swan. We've christened him Graham. (Graham the Swan... Graeme Swann. Get it...?) He hates me with a passion. In this photo, he was trying to work out how to eat my feet or something. He's always hissing at me. I really don't think he likes me, although that doesn't stop me going there and peeing him off.
Tidy Workspace, Tidy Mind. Yeah, my desk is ALWAYS a mess. It doesn't matter how much I tidy it, it just ends up an absolute tip within a matter of minutes. This was a photo I snapped while I was trying to rectify some issues with my blog layout. Basically, I was procrastinating by endlessly scrolling through Instagram and snapping that photo; instead of trying harder to fix the problem...
Yet Another Derby Sunset. This is a little photo I snapped in the car on the way out of Derby, after having done some late night shopping. I love the scenery from that stretch of road; with Derby Cathedral, the Council House, and the River Derwent. And that sky!
A Bit of a Shocker. I've been offered a place at Uni, starting this September! (Yeah, it was a bit of a shock to me too.) All being well, provided I cough up the cash required and they don't change their minds, I'll be off to Nottingham Trent University to study for a Masters in Broadcast Journalism!
Flowers. My parents very kindly bought me a selection of pretty roses to try and cheer me up after all that trouble with my neighbour. Flowers always brighten everything up, don't they?
Face for Radio. I've been volunteering at a local community radio station called Erewash Sound FM since June now. They're currently training me up to be a producer, which is very exciting! I took this photo when I was learning the ropes, and being taught stuff like how to top and tail songs, so that the presenters know exactly when to talk over songs without crashing into the singing.
Graham. On most trips to Belper River Gardens I end up meeting this swan. We've christened him Graham. (Graham the Swan... Graeme Swann. Get it...?) He hates me with a passion. In this photo, he was trying to work out how to eat my feet or something. He's always hissing at me. I really don't think he likes me, although that doesn't stop me going there and peeing him off.
Tidy Workspace, Tidy Mind. Yeah, my desk is ALWAYS a mess. It doesn't matter how much I tidy it, it just ends up an absolute tip within a matter of minutes. This was a photo I snapped while I was trying to rectify some issues with my blog layout. Basically, I was procrastinating by endlessly scrolling through Instagram and snapping that photo; instead of trying harder to fix the problem...
I Like Stationery. This is a photo I snapped of my shiny new Moleskine planner, which I got for a ridiculously cheap price from The Works, complete with my iPad to show everyone about my latest YouTube video. Y'know the one with the River Gardens? (You can also see the shiny new YouTube Channel header I made, which I'm much happier with.)
Yet Another Derby Sunset. This is a little photo I snapped in the car on the way out of Derby, after having done some late night shopping. I love the scenery from that stretch of road; with Derby Cathedral, the Council House, and the River Derwent. And that sky!
A Bit of a Shocker. I've been offered a place at Uni, starting this September! (Yeah, it was a bit of a shock to me too.) All being well, provided I cough up the cash required and they don't change their minds, I'll be off to Nottingham Trent University to study for a Masters in Broadcast Journalism!
Birthday Train Fun Times. The last photo is of my friend and I. That's Amy on the left, and me on the right. We were on our way to London to celebrate my birthday, but more about that soon! (Amy also writes a blog with her boyfriend, Tony, which you can check out here if you fancy!)
To see more photos like this, you can follow me on Instagram!
A bit of tranquility in an otherwise bustling town.
I love this place. In fact, sometimes when I get overwhelmed by wanderlust, this is the only place that reminds me that it's not so bad being stuck in Belper. If you read my last post, you'll know that things have been a bit rubbish recently, and it's going to places like this (where I'm not constantly looking over my shoulder) that keep me sane.
It's just a park, basically, but it's so serene compared to the rest of the town, that it's easy to forget that you're by a busy road, a train line and in a bustling town centre.
So, I thought I'd shoot a little video just to show you lovely readers one of my favourite places right now! Hope you enjoy it!
YouTube | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Bloglovin'
June's been a bit of a hectic month. I've had so many opportunities to give my lovely new lens a try though, which I've relished! I've spent FAR too much money, and I've been working on some new opportunities which I'll go into detail about as soon as I can!
Not beauty. Not really lifestyle either, but I felt the need to share this little Derbyshire gem with you all.
Alport is genuinely one of my favourite places ever. It's only about 15 minutes out of town, but is staggeringly remote. Apparently, on a clear day, you can see SEVEN different counties from there!
Let's face it, I'm not the world's greatest photographer but, for this weekend's post, I thought I'd talk you through some of my photography kit.
I was interested in photography way before I started this blog, so I'd already picked up some skills here and there. My main camera is the Canon 600D DSLR, which I bought last June. Before that, I had the Pentax K-x DSLR, which I got when I was still at Uni.
I love my 600D, I'm not going to lie. Most of my blog photos are taken with it, and my YouTube videos are shot with this too. On offer, it cost me around £450, with the kit lens, an 8GB memory card and a camera bag included. I know that sounds like a pretty hefty amount of money, but if you're an avid photographer, it's definitely a worthwhile investment. DSLRs can be a tad daunting to begin with though. Despite the fact that I've had mine for the best part of a year, I still feel like I'm learning new things about it. There are loads of settings I've yet to fully explore and new effects to try out, but that's all part of the fun!
The 600D is really handy for videos, as the LCD screen on the back can be flipped, making it easy to see yourself whilst filming a piece to the camera! (If you're a budding YouTuber, that is.)
I love my 600D, I'm not going to lie. Most of my blog photos are taken with it, and my YouTube videos are shot with this too. On offer, it cost me around £450, with the kit lens, an 8GB memory card and a camera bag included. I know that sounds like a pretty hefty amount of money, but if you're an avid photographer, it's definitely a worthwhile investment. DSLRs can be a tad daunting to begin with though. Despite the fact that I've had mine for the best part of a year, I still feel like I'm learning new things about it. There are loads of settings I've yet to fully explore and new effects to try out, but that's all part of the fun!
The 600D is really handy for videos, as the LCD screen on the back can be flipped, making it easy to see yourself whilst filming a piece to the camera! (If you're a budding YouTuber, that is.)
This week, I finally invested in my first ever prime lens. For the uninitiated, a prime lens is one that's fixed and doesn't zoom. You have to physically move the camera (and yourself) instead of just zooming in, like you do with the kit lens or a zoom lens.
It's 50mm, but as my DSLR is a cropped body camera, it's a bit more like an 85mm; as the body sticks out a little. I have done so much research into different prime lenses over the past few months before I settled on the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8II lens. At £74 from Currys PC World, it's probably the cheapest lens that I've stumbled across.
The main reason that I decided I wanted a prime lens, rather than a zoom one, was because I've become a little obsessed with the bokeh effect (out-of-focus lights in the background) that these lenses are so good at creating. It's so beautiful, honestly. Here's a photo that I've taken while experimenting with this lens over the past couple of days, complete with the bokeh effect:
It's 50mm, but as my DSLR is a cropped body camera, it's a bit more like an 85mm; as the body sticks out a little. I have done so much research into different prime lenses over the past few months before I settled on the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8II lens. At £74 from Currys PC World, it's probably the cheapest lens that I've stumbled across.
The main reason that I decided I wanted a prime lens, rather than a zoom one, was because I've become a little obsessed with the bokeh effect (out-of-focus lights in the background) that these lenses are so good at creating. It's so beautiful, honestly. Here's a photo that I've taken while experimenting with this lens over the past couple of days, complete with the bokeh effect:
With regards to lighting, I don't really have a lot of kit. A pair of softboxes are definitely on my wishlist, but they're expensive and tend to take up a lot of space. I bought this affordable LED ring light from Amazon a few months ago, which just screws onto the end of your lens. I don't tend to use this very often as it's SO bright. Seriously, look into it at your peril. You'll be seeing rings for ages afterwards. So, at the moment, the majority of my blog photos are taken in natural light. I've recently bought a set of 5 reflectors from Amazon, to try and improve the brightness of my images, but they haven't arrived yet! The whole natural light thing is okay at this time of year, but I'm dreading autumn and winter, as I know that there's a pretty small window in which to take relatively decent blog photos in.
To see more photos from me, follow me on Instagram!
To see more photos from me, follow me on Instagram!
YouTube | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Bloglovin'
I love this time of year. The sun's out a lot, but it's not too hot or too cold. There are so many beautiful flowers around at the moment too, which I don't think I've ever fully appreciated until now.
I've taken my camera here, there and everywhere to snap away: From Carsington, Alport Heights, or even just to Starbucks. This month I also braved Photoshop for the first time since I was at school and I've been slowly teaching myself how to use it.
And as you can see, I bought a Fitbit and surprised myself about how much walking I actually do each day. It's definitely helping me to stay focused during my 'training' for the Race for Life.
Let's hope June brings even more pretty sights to photograph!
YouTube | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Bloglovin'
Excuse the picture-heavy post, but I felt like showing off a few photos that I took last night at Carsington Water.
Do you remember when I visited a few weeks ago and made that video? Well, I thought I'd nip back and take a few photos in what's dubbed the 'golden hour'. The hour after sunrise and before sunset where the sun is lower in the sky, creating fantastic conditions for artsy photography.
Whilst there, I discovered that I'm a dab hand at scaring geese away. Who knew? They kept on quietly honking at me as they walked away en masse. In the end, I looked like some weird camera-wielding goose herder. I also very nearly stepped in goose poo on several occasions, which is pretty gross. Although, unlike last time, I didn't get any swans trying to pick a fight with me, thankfully.
I love the fact that Carsington is only about 20 minutes away in the car and that it's just so stunning. I don't think I'll ever tire of wandering around there with my camera. (Even though the geese might have already tired of me.)
YouTube | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Bloglovin'
April was the month of tech goodies and some freebies.
It actually started to feel a little like spring; and I was lucky to witness some stunning sunsets. I ended up visiting the beautiful Darley Park in Derby for the first time, which is pretty bad considering it's only down the road. During a trip to Leicester, I received a new, unbroken iPhone, some delicious free coffee & cake from John Lewis and bought a new MAC lipstick too, just because.
To nosy at some more photos like this, follow me on Instagram.
YouTube | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Bloglovin'
New to blogging? Or lost your blogging mojo? Read on for plenty of advice!
It's worth noting that I'm definitely not some kind of blogging deity... I'm relatively new to this, but here are some tips that I've picked up so far:
Appreciate Your Followers
Your followers and readers are the ones who ensure you keep blogging. Appreciate them. Without them, there'd be little point in you even bothering. It doesn't matter if you've got three or 3000 followers, be grateful for their support.
Use Twitter
Twitter is a great platform for attracting more readers. A large chunk of my readers now come here directly from Twitter.
I use Hootsuite to schedule tweets to promote my blog when I'm out or busy. That way, I know that I don't have to keep on revisiting Twitter constantly throughout the day.
Don't spam your followers though! Post a maximum of four tweets a day when you publish a new post. Also ensure that those tweets are posted with intervals and that they're scheduled for peak times.
I use Hootsuite to schedule tweets to promote my blog when I'm out or busy. That way, I know that I don't have to keep on revisiting Twitter constantly throughout the day.
Don't spam your followers though! Post a maximum of four tweets a day when you publish a new post. Also ensure that those tweets are posted with intervals and that they're scheduled for peak times.
Don't expect miracles
You're not going to become a success overnight. It takes time to hone your writing skills. Keep on grafting and rest assured that someday it'll pay off.
Publish Regularly
Write as often as you can. I've written something nearly every day for the past month, despite not having published every day. Readers will show more interest in you if you can prove that you're taking your blog seriously.
Get Organised
I like lists. There, I've said it. I also like making tables and schedules. Which is probably why I don't have any friends... It's really helpful to devise a loose schedule for every day of the month. Even if you're not planning on publishing every day; it really helps you to know when you can find the time to write drafts, take photographs and edit photos and posts.
Don't Be Hard on Yourself & Learn from Your Mistakes
So your latest post didn't exactly take off like you expected? That's okay. Learn from it and move on. Now you know that not as many people are interested in cheap blusher as you thought. Harness that and bear it in mind when creating new posts.
Don't be a careerist idiot
Nobody likes fickle followers. You know, the ones who follow you, wait for you to follow them back (out of courtesy) and then they unfollow you so it bumps their follower number up? Don't be one of those people, please. You're better than that.
If you're hemorrhaging followers, then that's perhaps something that you need to address, but when it's those 'careerist' bloggers and vloggers that are messing you around, don't be too hard on yourself. It's their agenda to try and get their 'follower' number higher than their 'following' number... That's their main concern and it's incredibly shallow.
It's more important to network than it is to have a ridiculously high follower number. You're guaranteed to annoy people if you follow-unfollow. It's rude, arrogant and rightly makes people think that you've got a high sense of self-importance.
It's not confined to Twitter and Instagram, but also rife on Bloglovin' too. (This is seriously one of my pet hates and if you do it to me, I will unfollow you back on principle, you numpty).
If you're hemorrhaging followers, then that's perhaps something that you need to address, but when it's those 'careerist' bloggers and vloggers that are messing you around, don't be too hard on yourself. It's their agenda to try and get their 'follower' number higher than their 'following' number... That's their main concern and it's incredibly shallow.
♥ If you only want to be 'Internet Famous' you're blogging for all the wrong reasons. ♥
It's more important to network than it is to have a ridiculously high follower number. You're guaranteed to annoy people if you follow-unfollow. It's rude, arrogant and rightly makes people think that you've got a high sense of self-importance.
It's not confined to Twitter and Instagram, but also rife on Bloglovin' too. (This is seriously one of my pet hates and if you do it to me, I will unfollow you back on principle, you numpty).
Put Effort into Photography
What's the first thing that readers see? Your photos. It really pays to ensure that they look impressive.
If you can afford it, use a DSLR. I recently upgraded my old Pentax K-X to a Canon 600D. Expensive as they are, they allow you to really take control over your photos and the quality that they produce is wonderful. If you're not into photography, at least have a crack at it!
- Try and take your photos in daylight too. I'm guilty of this and it can't be helped at times, but photos taken in artificial light never look as good as ones taken in natural light.
- Focus on the product. Take photos from several angles and decide which ones look best afterwards. If you don't have Photoshop or aren't adept at editing, use a free online editor instead. I use Pic Monkey (www.picmonkey.com).
- Take photos with the light behind you, not facing into the light! I can't stress how much better this'll make your pics look!
- Lastly, try and alternate the background of your photos to keep them looking fresh!
Pat Yourself on the Back!
At the time of writing this, I've been writing my blog for about three months, but in that time I've picked up a vast number of new skills: Photography skills, blogging skills, photo editing skills, SEO skills, basic HTML coding skills, Social Media skills... The list is endless! Be proud of what you've achieved so far and look forward to learning even more skills in the future!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)