Posting photos on WordPress Blogs

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(I will share how to do a slideshow next post… this is just a teaser!)

My Grandfather taught me to see (and introduced me to the rest of my senses as a result)… took me around his two acre patch of paradise garden with him when I was just two years old. And, with hands clasped behind our backs, we toured he taught me Latin names of plants, and the intricate and important task of seeing by paying attention, looking, stopping, staring, considering, discussing, praising, and… wait for it… AWE. So, maybe in hindsight, my Grandfather planted in me the roots that have grown and bloomed into poetry…hmmm…I wonder.

Grandpa’s words were simple enough, “Would you look at that!.”

Anyway, part of looking for me is to capture what I see with words and, after a long time without any equipment, suddenly I have been blessed with a camera (thanks again son) which allows me yet another way to capture moments.

A good friend asked me the other day how to post big and beautiful photos on his blog… so, the primary reason for my blog today is to try to help him with that goal in mind. Posting big and beautiful, drawing attention to, capturing, looking, and yes… seeing… what surrounds us.

Step One:

Take a beautiful photograph. Ansel Adams said, “Sometimes I do get to places just when God’s ready to have somebody click the shutter…” And I believe that to be true. So, take the photo. Divine appointment click!

Step Two:

Download your photos from your camera onto your computer. In my case, I’m Mac gal, so I download/upload (always get the two mixed up!) into iPhoto.

Step Three:

Go to WordPress, prepare to post a blog just as you always do. Just under the title box you will see “Upload/Insert” and there are three icons following … 1 for Media (photos/music/video), 1 for a Poll, and 1 for Custom Form. I’ve never used the last two… but this is about the first. So, click on Media and you will arrive at a page with a little box in the middle that says, “Drop files here or select files.” I always click on select files which then takes me into iPhoto where I select and upload what I want to use.

Step Four:

So, on my computer I have a choice of four options… these are they: (oddly enough, large and full size look identical… who knew???)

Choose thumbnail

Choose medium

Choose large

Choose full size

THEN

WAY DOWN ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE OF THE PAGE YOU WILL SEE MEDIA GALLERY… that is where you will find images from the internet that are recommended relating to your topic. Here is an Ansel Adams photo because I mention him in this post. I have found these images to be helpful at times, but not very large and look a bit borrowed. You will need in each case to set your icon where you want the picture to fall in your text… and that’s all folks… !!!

English: Ansel Adams The Tetons and the Snake River (1942) Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming. National Archives and Records Administration, Records of the National Park Service. (79-AAG-1) Français : Ansel Adams. Les Grands Tetons et la rivière Snake (1942). Parc National des Grands Tetons, Wyoming. Archives Nationales des USA, Archives du service des parcs nationaux. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Top (10) reasons why Blogs fail…

Image by Ed Yourdon via Flickr

1. It’s all about you…it’s all one-sided… you forget that a relationship takes both parties.  Your readers will know if you care, or if you are just looking for more traffic.

2. Your content is boring, yes BORING… I mean how many people really want to read all about your ingrown toenail and what you ate for dinner last night, day after day after day… come on!

4. Your content is too serious, you don’t keep it light and fun. Or, you take yourself too seriously. Even worse! (I need to work on this one!)

5. You don’t use photographs or any kind of visual images to break up the text. Borrow pics from friends, or use a photo app like Zemanta”. It really helps break up the words!

6. You talk too much… it’s got to be quick facts, not essays. I still struggle with this. Edit, edit, edit! My midweek random rambles are good examples. Many of my other posts are not.

7. You never answer questions or respond to reader comments. (see #1)

8. You are irrelevant. (see#9)

9. You don’t get out much. (see #8)

10. You only have a virtual network, not a real life group of friends, and they are only about networking, not relating.

OK, THAT’S 10, SO YOU CAN STOP READING NOW IF YOU WANT TO!!! (or keep going…)

11. Your motives are questionable. (see #1)

12. You are too busy blogging (networking, facebooking etc) and forget your real friends, which brings you back to #10.

13. You engage in many meaningless conversations rather than a few meaningful ones.

14. You pretend to be someone you are not, use old photos of yourself (or someone else entirely). I mean, someone’s going to want to meet you in real life someday… so be prepared!

15. You steal content from other blogs, and your readers find out (or not, but you still do it!).

16. You try too hard to be cool, trendy, edgy, sophisticated, ___________ (you fill it in) rather than just being yourself. Be yourself!

17. You are stale… don’t read anything, don’t stay on top of what’s going on the world, don’t respond to current events (see #9).  Does this mean I have to start watching the news?

18. You appear to be better than others, preachy in your content, hypocritical, judgmental, like you have it all together. This is never attractive!

19. You put expectations on people you don’t really know… make demands.

20. You mistake online relationships for friends (see #19)

21. You take a stand on something, but don’t back it up with facts.  You have the audacity to hold out things like faith as an answer to real life problems. (I guess I fail here… but I’m not going to stop doing this!)

22. You state moral absolutes (I guess I fail again!)

23. You talk about people in your real life without asking their permission… you embarrass them, frustrate them, confuse them. You have to ask their forgiveness.

Thanks for reading… all the way to the bottom!!!

Lesley-Anne

Related articles

• Why do my ingrown toenails get infected sometimes? (zocdoc.com)
• Zemanta For Blogger ?! (sedatkurtulus.blogspot.com)
• Random Flickr Image via Zemanta; experiment ensues (quantumxen.net)
• Midweek random ramble021 (buddybreathing.wordpress.com)
• About Top Tens (clubpenguinsmac.wordpress.com)
• Christina Aguilera: Top Ten on ‘Letterman’! (justjared.buzznet.com)

Why blog?

I have a dear woman (talented author, speaker, blogger) in my life who agreed some time ago to be my ‘writing mentor’. Might sound somewhat pretentious or mysterious, but all it really means is that she and I meet from time to time and talk about all things ‘writing’. She encourages me, questions me, and even corrects me when most needed. She isn’t afraid to speak the truth into my life because I’ve given her permission to do so. She is a gift.

The last couple of times we’ve met, the topic of ‘Twitter’ has come up. We’ve asked, “Why Twitter?” And, to tell you the truth, the jury is still out on whether this means of communication is helpful or a hindrance to the writers of the world. My friend has tested the waters… rather than using Twitter to broadcast news about herself, she’s used it to ask provocative questions in the hope that Twitter can be a two way conversation rather than just a monologue. Her results are not that promising.

And, most recently, the question of blogging has become a topic of conversation for my mentor and I. “Why do we blog?” is the question that plagues us. Is it similar to ‘Twitter’, meeting a need to broadcast ourselves and our thoughts to the world?  Obviously blogging is incredibly popular, with brilliant authors and topics and blogs that are followed by people globally. According to‘Technorati’, the top three blogs in the world are on the topics of Politics and Technology.  Number one, an American news website and aggregated blog founded by Arianna Huffington, ‘The Huffington Post,’ receives over 4 million hits per month!  Now, if you are trying to have a voice, position yourself, or create a platform, that is definitely the type of readership you’d want to have.

But, what if blogging is about other things. When I ask myself the question, “Why do I blog?” I’d have to say that having readers is important to me. Knowing that I’m saying something of value makes the writing more worthwhile, of course. And, when someone responds to a blog post with a comment, well, that’s the icing on the cake. Yet, I know in my heart that there are some equally important reasons why I blog.

The first is simply the cathartic process that happens for me when I dig down inside myself and put into words what I’m feeling or going through or those moments of illustriousness where some thought takes on greater meaning. And, being able to record those thoughts, whether for an audience or not, is therapeutic.

Blogging fits into this particular season of my life as a wife, mother, writer and a follower of Jesus Christ. Publishing a book, or getting a full time job as a writer, might be prematurely biting off more than I can chew. Blogging offers a way to share my words, experiences and life with others, expressing how God makes a difference in how I do marriage and mothering and writing and all the other details.

If you’ve read my other blogs, then you’ll know that doesn’t mean I’m a preacher. I never profess to have everything figured out, and have lots of my own questions. But the hope that I share, the hope of Buddy Breathing, is all about the hope found in God.  So, if what I write here opens up that possibility for you, allows you to kick the tires of faith a bit, or even gives you a reason to keep on the path, then I’m all about my life being an open book… messy, coffee stained, dog-eared corners and all.

There is also the accountability of writing on a regular basis for someone else. Now blogs don’t carry as much motivation as, say, showing up for a job, but still, when you know that you’ve committed to blogging and that there are people looking to see what’s new, then you are more prone to be regular about it. Perhaps a little bit of guilt motivation works for me.

I’ve been blogging for over a year now, and I really do love it. There’s something about blogging that validates who I am as a writer when I see my blog page opened up in front of me in a well designed template, with words that (for the most part) make sense. Whether or not my blog becomes a platform for something more, well that remains to be seen. For now, I continue to post what I have on any particular day, and I boldly open up my life and my mind to those who care to read.

Buddy breathing has a ‘hit counter’, while my other blogs My Grace Notes and Sometimes Suicidal Mama did not. And I have to say that watching that number is kind of fun. Four hundred is a far cry from 4 million, but it’s a start.

So, for all the reasons I’ve identified, as well as some I’m probably not even aware of, I continue to blog.

Logging off for today,

Lesley-Anne