{"id":1366,"date":"2014-04-06T05:00:34","date_gmt":"2014-04-06T12:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/?p=1366"},"modified":"2014-04-05T22:31:24","modified_gmt":"2014-04-06T05:31:24","slug":"do-bloggers-also-have-to-be-photographers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/writing\/do-bloggers-also-have-to-be-photographers\/","title":{"rendered":"Do Bloggers Also Have to Be Photographers?"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

Seven or eight months ago when I was thinking about starting a blog, the idea of illustrating it with photos or other images didn\u2019t enter my mind. I\u2019d write things, I thought, little essays. Wasn\u2019t that what blogging was all about?<\/p>\n

\"2012,<\/a>Well \u2026 not exclusively. After cruising the blogosphere, I found that I often enjoyed a story more when the blogger used pictures. The image drew my attention to the story and stayed with me, hovering, ghost-like after I clicked away to another site.<\/p>\n

Kate on Views and Mews<\/a> starts each of her humorous essays with a gorgeous banner photo of one of her beautiful cats. The clarity of her photos makes it easy to imagine a cat on my lap, purring to be petted.<\/p>\n

On chinaelevatorstories<\/a>, R showcases her own original illustrations as she shares conversations she\u2019s had or overheard in Chinese elevators, taxis, trains and buses.<\/p>\n

Marilyn on Serendipity <\/a>is an accomplished photographer who can lure you down an ordinary woodsy path with the beauty of her photos.<\/p>\n

On speakingofchina<\/a>, Jocelyn Eikenburg\u2019s photos invite us into the life she shares with her Chinese husband.<\/p>\n

One post I loved recently on bottledworder <\/a>didn\u2019t have a single image until the very end. A dried leaf, nothing more. And yet, the post was so well written that that was all she needed. I can still see that little yellow-brown leaf.<\/p>\n

Images on my blog<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\"photo<\/a>Finding images for my blog hasn\u2019t been easy. I\u2019ve combed through my old photo albums and carefully (or not so carefully) removed faded family photos and scanned them. I\u2019ve asked strangers, friends, and my daughter and sister for photos. I\u2019ve bought images and found others online that were free as long as I gave the photographer credit and followed certain rules.<\/p>\n

When I wanted to take pictures myself, I had two options: use my iPod or buy a roll of film, pull out my decades old point-and-shoot, take 24 pictures, and then run to the nearby drugstore to get them developed. Neither was a great choice. It took too long to finish a roll of film. And since the iPod was only an iPod after all, the pictures weren\u2019t as clear as I wanted.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_0811\"<\/a>Soooo \u2026 going on the theory that bloggers also need to be photographers, I ordered my first digital camera: a Canon PowerShot 170 IS. A red one, just for fun.<\/p>\n

A new reason to take pictures
\n<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\"photos\"<\/a>I used to take a fair number of pictures. When my kids were young and adorable and constantly changing, they were my ever-present subjects. Then they grew up and left home, and my picture-taking became far less frequent. At some point, I started throwing photos into boxes instead of putting them in albums. That’s when I lost interest and almost stopped taking pictures altogether.<\/p>\n

It was time for a change. And going digital was only a minor part of it. What I needed was a new purpose for picture-taking.<\/p>\n

And now I have one: my blog.<\/p>\n

So what kind of photos can you expect to see here? I don\u2019t know yet, but I expect this will be a different kind of photography for me, one that requires attention to the world around me, an artist\u2019s eye, and an appreciation for ordinary things. At least, that\u2019s the way I envision it. We\u2019ll see.<\/p>\n

It should be fun. Stay tuned to see what I end up capturing with my new red camera.<\/p>\n

What do you like to photograph? Have your subjects and cameras changed over the years? Do you have on-line albums? boxes full of old photos?<\/p>\n

\"my<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  Seven or eight months ago when I was thinking about starting a blog, the idea of illustrating it with photos or other images didn\u2019t enter my mind. I\u2019d write things, I thought, little essays. Wasn\u2019t that what blogging was all about? Well \u2026 not exclusively. After cruising the blogosphere, I found that I often […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[317,155,318,4],"tags":[932,320,321,319,933],"class_list":["post-1366","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blogging","category-family","category-photography","category-writing","tag-blogging","tag-canon-powershot-170-is","tag-digital-camera","tag-old-photo-albums","tag-photography"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3Kn1e-m2","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5502,"url":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/writing\/blogging-three-years-and-counting\/","url_meta":{"origin":1366,"position":0},"title":"Blogging, Three Years and Counting","author":"Nicki Chen","date":"September 11, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 I started my blog on August 7, 2013, more than three years ago. 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