Blog Post #66
Musings on next steps
Firstly, apologies to anyone who tried to access my website or any of its features at the beginning of the month and was met by a “Website Unavailable” type of message. My domain name (peterdegnanphotography.com), is hosted by a company called “Namecheap” to whom I pay a small annual fee. In August I got an email saying it was due for renewal at the end of the month but if I wished to continue as normal I need do nothing. I took this as read but then found my website had gone off the air. I contacted them and they said I hadn’t paid but explained to them the wording on the email I got. Apparently I had to put the funds into my “Namecheap” account for it to auto renew as opposed to me thinking they would take it by direct debit. After a day or two it was all resolved but a lesson was learned.
Video
When I purchased my latest camera (Fuji X-T5), it came with full 4K video capability. The previous two cameras I have had also had video built in. So why have I never used this capability? Many years ago I had a Sony portable video camera and used it now and again to record the kids growing up and would make these into DVDs. I enjoyed doing it so why, given the fact I now have a 4K video camera, do I not use it? .
It may be because my primary passion is for stills photography and to go down the road of video would deflect me from this and use up lots of precious time. It would also mean added expenditure in equipment and maybe software to enable good videos to be made. I was recently looking at the cost of a decent gimbal like the Ronin range and they are significant investments.
I would also be embarking on a long learning curve, which doesn’t worry me, but again is it time that I could be putting to better use on my stills photography? If I did go down the video learning route it would be a whole new world. Do I really need this at my time of life or is a new challenge a good thing to keep the old grey cells busy?
I know many photographers that have cameras with excellent video capability but like me have never used it. The fact that it is there on my camera makes me want to have a go because after all, 50% or so of the cost I paid for the body is sitting idle. Watch this space.
Going forward with the blog
I started this blog in July 2021 and this is the 66th blog post. It has a reasonable number of followers and the open rate for each published blog post is about average. I have had some good feedback but if I am honest, the interaction is nowhere near what I expected. I have had only a few comments of agreement/disagreement on the topics I have covered. I also try to make it an easy read of about 5 mins worth of text and photos.
I have been doing some thinking recently regarding where the blog is heading. I have narrowed it down to a few options;
Bring it to a close.
Keep going in the current style with a short blog post every 2 weeks or so
Podcast. Not great for sharing photos, and I know I get bored with podcasts.
YouTube Video. This would be good for sharing and talking about my photos but involves a bit more work. It may encourage me to develop my video skills though as previously discussed.
In the meantime I will continue as usual but I would like to know your thoughts please.
A few weeks ago I visited the west of Scotland to visit family and spend a few days in the highlands. We did about 1,010 miles in total over the journey. The trip included a visit to Fort William and I got some shots of “The Jacobite” or the Harry Potter train as some call it.
Castle Stalker. Famous as a location for “Monty Python and The Holy Grail”
An alleyway in Glasgow, with my granddaughter providing some attitude.
