REFLECTION AND RECONSTRUCTION

It will come as no suprise to regular visitors that my blog has been unusually quiet in recent weeks.

Sometimes in life events happen that make you want to reflect on how best to move forward. Sometimes when these events come along one at a time it is difficult enough but when a number of events come together at the same time it can be almost impossible to reflect and choose best paths because of all the 'noise'.

My friend Paula White wrote a blog called 'What Do You Say To The Person In The Mirror' which tells the story of a networking event we attended which included a motivtional talk from Jim McLeod. Jim spoke about identifying and removing influences which prevent you from achieving your aims and happiness and so I set about identifying what those might be.

Having given it some thought I decided on courses of action I need to take but to take all of them at the same time just isn't possible. The next step I took was to put them in an actionable order.

The first action I have decided to take is to simplify my on-line presence to make it more manageable and effective within the time I am able to dedicate to it. I'll do this by streamlining the relationship between my blog and professional website and effectively integrate the two.

This will give me more time to start to action other steps I need to complete to move forward again.


This work includes changing the colour scheme to match that of my professional website and simplify the page layout and give it an integrated look and feel. It may be a bit untidy for a while but once it's finished I hope it will look so much better.

In the meantime, if you have arrived at this page through the Kevin Leighton Photography website and you can't get back by clicking the 'Home' button please use the 'Back' button on your browser. If you didn't and you'd like to go there then please click here.

Reflection on the news, Twitter and life in general

It has been a few weeks since I have written a blog. I'm not sure how many and I'm not going to look because it doesn't matter. What matters is that I'm back and I'm blogging.

So what's been happening in my life? It has just been so busy. The first two weeks in July included a photographic commission for networking group MumsUnltd, organising the first North Somerset and Bristol tweetmeet at The George Backwell and setting myself up on Google+ .

It all seemed so simple on the face of it but it turned out to be quite a challenge and there was no time for blogging what with everything else going on. Then followed a holiday, two weeks in a very warm and sunny Portugal at this apartment, enough to relax and unwind and start to reflect.

It was the middle weekend of the fortnight that reflection kicked. Although I wasn't watching any TV news I was dipping into Twitter and that's when bad news started to filter thru. The death of Amy Winehouse, train crash in China, shooting in Norway. Opinions dashed to and fro across Twitter as to which was the most shocking of the events and which deserved most focus or attention.

I was still removed from it all so I paid no more than a passing interest but still referred to Twitter for updates.

My return from holiday prompted a bout of post holiday reflection. I didn't watch the TV news or read newspapers but the story of a polar bear attack on some students and the riots in London started to break. Even then I didn't watch TV news but referenced Twitter for updates.

So where is all this going? For a start I was interested to analyse the fact that I really wasn't interested in following the news via the TV or newspapers. Was this disinterest because of being super busy and then on holiday, I think so. But then also of interest was why I would turn to Twitter for updates.

I think because Twitter provided me with easily scannable 'throwaway headlines' and URLs to blogs and web pages with detail I was really interested in. I could find opinion and articles from people I trust and value rather than those trotted out in front of me by the news organisations. Whether it's information from a professional reporter or just a regular man or woman off the street Twitter and blogging give the perfect platforms for direct access of information from trusted sources, and thoughtful opinion from experts and laymen alike.

My reading has been varied over this time and has included the wonderful art and colour of rachomini including her blog reference to 'The Seven Deadly Sins of Indoor Photography', the thoughtful analysis from Paula White on Twitter responses to the sad weekend of the death of Amy Winehouse, the Norway shootings, etc,. and reading about life decisions on this blog from John Foster. Add to this the calm reflections on life from journalist Rachel Burden and the man who can even make the weather interesting Ian Fergusson and I wonder why I need to go anywhere else for my daily dose.

What are your thoughts?

Kevin

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My First Portrait Shoot

It was a match made in photographic heaven. On one side there was an aspiring photographer looking for the opportunity to practice his photographic skills and on the other a local business woman who needed a portfolio of pictures to place on her various social media sites. 

She was a good sport and patient enough to let him practice his technique in return for a set of photos she could use at the end of it.

The aspiring photographer was me and the willing subject was Paula White from White Social Media and it was my first opportunity to see if I could really cut it at taking good usable portrait photos.

This is the story of the shoot ......

After an initial meeting to discuss what was required, and deciding not to try to use a studio environment it was agreed that the shots would be taken outside in various locations to take in as many different styles of background as possible.

They would be mostly head and shoulders most with a bokeh background. The style would be a relaxed but professional to demonstrate Paulas personal style.

On the appointed day we set out and spent five hours in various locations looking to get the right background and atmosphere for the shots. The weather was dry but it was blustery and the light changed from sunny to shade with annoying regularity.

Nearly 200 shots later the shoot was over and it was time to go our separate ways and reflect on the day's work.

The next day we reconvened and agreed on the photos to be discarded. We both had copies of the rest and agreed that we would both build our own favourite portfolio. Paula wanted a set that best reflected the image she needed to portray and I wanted a set which I believed best showed off my own skills.


Strangely enough we were very similar in our choices.


So how did I do? Well I think I did OK, Paula has updated the photos across her sites and her followers thankfully love them.

Now whether I am on Paulas Twitter, Flickr, Facebook or the White Social Media website I see the results of my work starting back at me. It gives me the most incredible feeling to know that I helped to create them and every time I see one I just have to stop and have one more look.

Of course I could never have achieved it without Paula. 
















But what do you think? Please check out the full set on Flickr and if you like them leave a comment, if you have any suggestions then I'd be pleased to hear from you.

Thanks Paula.

Kevin

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I get interviewed - do competitions on blogs work? Read on .....

Some readers may remember that I ran a competition a while back to see if anyone could identify which of my recent posts had an image which had recently been used in a movie poster.

Read this article from Paula White of White Social Media to find out what a competition could bring to your blog or website.