things you have liked

I have been looking at the statistics on my blogs recently, in lieu of the report that WordPress used to send us all at the end of the year. It is interesting to see which posts have proved the most popular. Whether this affects the way I post is debatable, but may have a bearing on what I post.

All Time Viewings ( from April 2013 when this blog was first published)

1. Flowers in Australia #4
2. Garden Photography Challenge (Page)
3. About (Page)
4. Garden Portrait | Berrington Hall Walled Garden
5. Garden Photography | Orange Peel
6. Garden Photography | Get a little Closer
7. Osteospermum Whirligig
8. Garden Portrait | More from Nymans
9. Macro Monday #96
10. Horse Chestnut

I think some of these are through searches as I wouldn’t count numbers 7 and 10 as my best flower photography by a long mile! And neither post has many likes or comments.

And during the last year (2018)

1. Flowers in Australia #4
2. Macro Monday #96
3. About (Page)
4. Up the Garden Path
5. Bee #7
6. Change the Way You Feel
7. Macro Monday #97
8. Small is Beautiful
9. Macro Monday #100
10. World Garden List (Page)

Looking back at these posts has been good. I can at least see that my flower photography has improved since those early days! In fact I might well be doing some culling of the older posts. The camera I use has changed during this time, but I also think my way of photographing flowers has also changed. Now I don’t just snap randomly, but I look. I notice how the light falls, I move around to see if I can get a better image, a nicer background. Sometimes I just don’t bother. I walk away. I used to think that a bad shot was better than no shot. Now I don’t. I had a lot of fun hosting the garden photography challenge throughout 2016 and I might consider something similar this year, though on a smaller scale. Challenges are fun, but a lot of hard work!

I don’t want my flower photography to become jaded, so I need to figure some way of enhancing what I do. Whether that is by using editing software to create art or concentrating solely on macro work (and yes, using a tripod!) I don’t know. But I do feel that I need to energise this blog. If you have any suggestions for the direction I should take, or if you can let me know what you have liked best about this blog then I would really appreciate it. Meanwhile I shall be posting again soon with a “Flower of the Month“.  I hope you will join me.