The EdublogsClub prompt this week is photos. This is an interesting subject because I love taking photos on social media, but they are low quality and I always feel like my blog should have better content. However, I do have access to a digital camera and I rarely use it. I was given a mid-range camera twelve years ago and I used it until it gave up the ghost a couple of years back. I was very attached to it and, at the time, it was the most expensive thing anyone ever gave me. That might have been the reason I was so attached to it – I was afraid of losing it because it would’ve taken my parents years to afford anything like that (not that it was a hugely expensive camera, it’s just that may parents didn’t earn much). So when my ex-partner gave it to me I was hugely protective of it and I never felt connected to any other camera since.

I loved taking photos. My only regret is that I did not save them all or upload them somewhere. I did manage to upload a few dozen on my flickr a few years back. Most of them are not taken on my favourite camera, but this set was:

Especially now, as my life feels like it’s changing so fast. It has been a month since Xmas and I cannot believe all I have achieved in that time. I had a tutorial today and I went from feeling like I was misunderstanding the criteria, ranting and irrelevant to actually feeling like I have something valid to say. From mess, to calm.

I prefer blog posts to have an image, or other media in them if only as a visual break from the writing. But also because the image can draw people in. Particularly if you are sharing the blog post on social media! If you post a link to a specific entry on Twitter or Facebook you can see a preview, so having an image just makes the preview look a bit more interesting. Also, many blog themes (if you’re interested in customising) utilise the images in blog posts – so if you make sure you have an image in each entry you can make your blog look like a portfolio.

Image descriptions are hugely important and I am ashamed to admit I rarely describe images myself. This is unacceptable as someone who is regularly promoting accessibility. My lack of image descriptions is just laziness (plus not really thinking through my use of images). However, in my professional blogs I make sure there is no information in an image that cannot be found in the text or on linked websites. This blog isn’t really something I expect many people to read, so I have never really considered readership until this month.

BTW – if you want to see an example of good image descriptions (in my opinion) I recommend marandaelizabeth.com. Some blogs (including Edublogs) have boxes where you can write image descriptions in after you upload your image, so there really is no excuse for me not to do captions or image descriptions.

I meant to take a photo of me working on my research poster in St Peter’s House library today but I went over time when I was trying to print. I thought that would be a great representation of where I’m at. But instead, I am going to post a photo of a Sweet Dreams Kit I bought in a charity shop today for 99p. Normally I get a bit grossed out by secondhand toiletries unless they are clearly unopened. I don’t mean to sound so uppity but I visualise dead skin around lids/tops… However, I just liked the scratched and smudged plastic in contrast to the clear colourful liquid, the smooth font and silver parts.

Sweet Dreams Kit oils