Lumb Island, North Berwick, Scotland
This post is really just to try out the process of blogging in readiness for this term's module of Visual Communication. Having never really done a blog before this is going to be a test as I am not the most diligent of journal keepers and find it hard to believe that anyone is interested in anything I have to say. Those who know me will know that I always have plenty to say and plenty of opinions, but whether anyone is listening or bothered is something else entirely. Of course, I will have a captive audience in the poor tutor who has to follow the rantings of a middle-aged woman on the verge of a mid-life crisis, but if we both survive this we should be better people for it, based on the premise of what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.
Anyway, a little background to be going on with... For those who don't know me, I am a 43 year old student at the University of Bradford, studying for a BA (Hons) in Photography for Digital Media. I'm a mother, wife, photographer and part-time domestic engineer (though not a particularly good one), married to Charles with whom I have two children, Ben and Safia. Last term I did a visual diary about identity and found out I was a bunch of other stuff too, but I don't want to bore you rigid so the above will have to suffice.
This blog is entitled 'Visual Communication' so as not to confuse my tutors, and whilst it is not a particularly creative title, it is accurate and so it will remain. I have inserted a photo from our family holiday to North Berwick last summer just to see if I can upload photos, which it seems I can, but in the spirit of the blog I should also like to add that it does actually have some significance to what I am about. Having being brought up in Jersey and Portugal and always having lived on the coast, I now live about as far inland as one can get in Yorkshire and I yearn for the sea breeze and the infinite horizon. Our holidays in North Berwick give me respite from the limits of landlocked living and for a couple of weeks in the summer I feel able to breathe freely again and take stock of the year that has passed and the one yet to come. This particular photo was taken within in minutes of us arriving at our holiday home, before I even unpacked a single item of clothing, and whenever I look at it the feeling of exhilaration washes over me once more and I am on the beach, the wind on my face and the sun at my back, laughing like a giddy child and wishing the moment would never end. It is not a fantastic photo technically but that's not really the point; it has the power to transport me to another time and place where everything is fine and I haven't a care in the world. Which is why I became a photographer; to capture a moment in time that will mean something to someone and make them feel as I do.
And so ends my first blog. Hopefully, over time, the posts will become more intellectual and I'll surprise even myself with insight and knowledge that I never knew I had. (Yeah, don't hold your breath). Meanwhile, I hope you found this mildly interesting and feel you might like to follow it for a few more posts.
Thanks for reading and see you next time.
