Wednesday, December 28, 2011

A Year at LightDescription

Although not quite the end of the year, today I have the time and inclination to summarize 2011.  I blame this timing on my real job for which I must submit a monthly report before the end of each month.  First, some background and statistics.

LightDescription began five years ago with a variation on a joke and true story; it now includes 356 posts – some 70 posts per year.  I usually do at least one post per week.  This year, there have been 92 posts – primarily because of my PAW commitment. Except for PAW, LightDescription has become mostly about my adventures in learning to use equipment and technique.  Next year the PAW (as such) will be dropped; its replacement will be photographic but non-geek in nature.

For many readers, LightDescription is about the G series of Canon PowerShot cameras; however, it really is not.  I happen to find the G series to be a good fit to my needs, purposes, and preferences and therefore have chosen to use them as my primary cameras (although I have, uh, many other, cameras).  By “using” a camera, I really mean to become proficient with (nearly) all its features and doing so takes me quite a while.  Organizing my thoughts for a blog post helps me in the process – hence LightDescription.

In much the same way as becoming proficient with a camera, I want to learn to use a flash.  This “want” has led me to many flashes, add-ons, gadgets, techniques, etc.  In many ways, flash is even more geek-like than a camera and lens.  I have a long way to go in the learning-about-flash process.

In 2011, there have been nearly 60,000 visits to LightDescription.  Most days there are between 100 and 300 visitors.  Most visitors are new to LightDescription and find their way here through a search engine looking for information about a piece of camera or flash equipment.  On average, a visitor views two posts before exiting. 

The most popular posts for the past 30 days are shown on the left hand side of the blog.  The most popular post during 2011 has been about the Yongnuo 460 flash which still works well for me and is used regularly.

I’ll summarize the PAW experience and popular pictures in another post.

As for being the “G12 blog”, that almost certainly will change in 2012 as will the need for focusing on the G12. I could continue using the G12 for my photography or, based on past choices, I could be getting and writing about a G14 but who knows what Canon will be doing and when they will be doing it? 

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