Blog Note: 2356 Days 469 Posts

Today is more than the day which marks the first anniversary of this blog because we've been some weeks past it. Having watched the above intriguing video (He shot himself a photo everyday for 2356 days), I was inspired to reflect on the past year of blogging here.

I started out with a humble hope of writing occasionally and getting maybe ten readers for each post. The first month passed, and the scenario was very different. The hit rate was like 200 to 300 a day, which fuelled me to write more regularly, i.e. daily.

It was still the first month when posts started to be done daily. I questioned myself in the head, "Will there be enough topics to carry on for a month?" Now, this is more than 12 months.

Since 31 October 2008 the total hit rate is some 80700 or 6200 per month (as of today), with readers ranging from Taiwan to Tunisia. Sometimes, we've got visitors from unknown origin but the tracker suggested probably a ship (I was keen to think it a submarine) on the open seas.

The highest number of visitors in a day is 2356 during the week of the discussion of the GF-1.

^It's almost Christmas again, the best time for a photography trip to Hong Kong with all the fantastic Christmas decorations. Almost the same time last year GX GARNERINGS was started.

This is not an easy task for I'm far from retirement and actually leading a rather hectic life (who don't in a big city like HK). Apart from the posts contributed by the co-editor and a number of guest writers, the majority of the 469 posts so far have been written by me. Quite a number of posts were written by way of staying up late or getting up early.

But I was, and still are, really honoured to be able to share what I have learnt about photography and cameras.

So far I have ended up with having learned more about photography from the commenters, less the occasional slanderers here and there, the contributors and the bloggers I've got in contact with. These solo flyers are also doing their blogs to share experiences in photography. This is such a vibrate community. And I salute to them for their efforts.

Looking forward, we would certainly love to continue doing reviews of new serious compacts as long as I manage to get one. The reviews will basically lean on giving an user's impressions without repeating the technical bits which some big sites are already doing so well. I may also reflect if writing daily is actually fitting.

So, thank all of you readers visiting, commenting and photographers contributing to GX GARNERINGS. For those who have sent in email asking questions about your frustration in buying new cameras, I hope that you've got a good choice and starting using it every day.

Practise your photographer's eye every day. Good light!

And… have fun:

To pay tribute to Noah, Homer took pictures of himself every day for 36 years.

A Real Hero

(Grip On Reality: This photo was taken on my way to work. I was walking past trucks parking on a cul-de-sac when the ropes caught my attention. The light was right, the colour was right and the criss-crossing pattern was perfect and I held up my GX200. People passing by checked me out and wondered what could be made out of such a boring scene. To me, the fun in photography is that the photographer makes something interesting out of what is not obvious to most at the scene. The ropes tied in knots somehow reminded people I know who are in the grip of the recession) You must have also known a friend or two, or even yourself, being baffled by the spiral downturn of the economy. Bank went bankrupt and the rich was faced with a shrinking wealth. A friend of mine has just had his salary cut by over 10% and some of his colleagues started to be shed. But, wait. Was this done really for the sake of continuing the business? Or is there a factor or greed in it? I wonder whether the

New Low Prices

The window shopping some hours ago has almost provoked my AgIDS illness. Just in case you’re in Hong Kong or are coming here, and have the money to burn (All in HK$/ body only): GX200 = $3,280 GRD2 = $3,380 LX3 = $3,180 G10 = $3,280 Prices are available form a gear shop on the 1st floor of the Mongkok Computer Centre. Besides these new low prices, I found that Wing Shing Photo (55-57Sai Yeung Choi St., MK Tel: 2396 6886/ 91-95 Fa Yuen St., MK Tel: 2396 6885) is offering a Sony A700 + Carl Zeiss Lens package for HK$9,980 (hopefully, a bargain will make it some hundreds cheaper).

Eye Contact

(Leica D-lux 5) The digital era may make it easier to end up with fave shots. Even lousy photos may be turned likable after a few clicks in the post-processing workflow. But if digital advancement or amendments have any bearing on the cultivation of personal style, no photographers will need to discover his or her own photographer’s eye. Undoutedly, this is out of the question. Only with a trained photographer’s eye can we give a thinking gaze and capture an eternal moment, in our unique style. Style is the soul of a great photo. A few posts have been written in GXG to touch on the topic of photographer’s eye. Instead of finding an answer, which would require academic discussions, the posts are intended to give my general reflections and spark interests in moving towards further exploration of the topic. The posts can be viewed after the links: 1) Photographer's Eye: Storytelling 2) Photographer's Eye: Little Show of Observing 3) Photographer's Eye: Sight-Worthy 4

GX GARNERINGS

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